In those far-off days, when colour TV was still something of a novelty and viewers were restricted to a trio of TV channels, the two funniest people on the box were, without question, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise.
Not for nothing was Morecambe voted the funniest person of the 20th century, ahead of such other greats as Tommy Cooper and John Cleese, in an internet poll taken in 1999.
Jonathan Ross hosts new documentary Morecambe & Wise in America, which will focus on the comedy double act’s attempt to break America.
Airing this Christmas on Gold, the three-part documentary will feature over an hour’s worth of footage never seen before in the UK. Ross explores the duo’s working relationship and a series of trips they made to appear on one of the USA’s largest variety shows, The Ed Sullivan Show.
The pair were watched by as many as “60 million people” on The Ed Sullivan Show which was also credited with helping The Beatles crack America.
By many people's reckoning, Armando Iannucci is one of our greatest and funniest TV satirists. The political classes and the grammar and conceits of television have proved fertile ground for Iannucci's wit and his team of gifted collaborators, notably Steve Coogan, Rebecca Front and Chris Morris.
Will television eat itself? A flat screen might be easier to get down than a cathode-ray tube, and cause less indigestion – but, still, it doesn't really sound like a sensible diet.
All trades and professions are fascinated with themselves and like nothing more than talking endlessly about their own work. The TV industry is no different. In it's case, making telly about telly is proving increasingly irresistible.
We are all a bit too wised-up to dream about "the magic of television" any more. The schedules struggle to hold our attention.
