ABSOLUTELY,
WHAT WAS IT?
A page about Absolutely, the comedy sketch series.
So what was Absolutely? | |||
Absolutely
was a television comedy sketch show that was aired on Channel 4 in the
UK between 1989-1993. It ran for four seasons with a total of 28 episodes
altogether, that’s a total of 15 Hours and 52 minutes of material! In early 1991 there was also a compilation of sketches from series 1 and 2 called "The very bits of Absolutely". |
Absolutely was written by and starred Moray Hunter, Morwenna Banks, Jack Docherty, Peter Baikie, Gordon Kennedy & John Sparkes. The show consisted of a series of sketches, some of which were linked to each other. There were regular characters that appeared as well as one offs. Some of their best known characters that appeared in the show were : The Little Girl, Stoneybridge councilors, The Nice Family, Frank Hovis, Don & George, Calum Gilhooley, DIY Denzil & Mac McGlashan. |
At its peak Vox magazine described Absolutely as 'one of Channel 4's best-kept secrets'. I would certainly agree with this and I'm sure the many people who have viewed my website would do too, Absolutely was a unique, under-appreciated and under- rated gem of a programme. |
Unitil I had created this fan site, The
Absolutely team didn't seem to appreciate its legacy and appeal. To my
knowledge it has never been repeated on U.K. terrestrial television.
Apparently it has been shown on the Paramount Comedy Channel in June
2000 but I missed it. There were many rumors that that the master tapes
of Absolutely have been lost so it can never be repeated, these were untrue. |
How did Absolutely come about? | ||
Back
in 1985 Jack Docherty and Moray Hunter wrote a Radio 4 comedy show called 'In
Other Words The Bodgers' it ran for four episodes. In 1986 they were
joined by Morwenna Banks and John Sparkes (who at the time was familiar
to viewers of Naked Video as the anorak wearing poet 'Siadwel'). They
made six episodes of 'Bodgers Banks & Sparkes' Here the characters
'Don & George' were introduced, |
Absolutely the television series. The team set-up
the independent production company 'Absolutely Productions' in 1986
and created the now legendary comedy Absolutely, the first episode shown
to the public in 1989 and was |
Today | ||
In my opinion Absolutely was one of the best comedy sketch shows ever shown on British television and this website is my dedication to the great programme, After looking for a long time on the internet I could not find much information about Absolutely. |
The six stars
of Absolutely have all continued with their careers in comedy as you
can see here. |
• John Sparkes went on to have several series of "Barry Welsh is coming" this is shown on HTV (Wales) and is sometimes shown on the Paramount comedy channel. For more info please visit the Absolutely Links page where you can buy his Video's and DVD's. • Peter Baikie was the Producer for Barry Welsh is coming. • Jack Docherty and Moray Hunter went on to have their own comedy series together in 1993 called "Mr Don and Mr George". Basically this was six episodes featuring the two characters Don and George. I have all 6 episodes of Mr Don and Mr George on tape which I recorded at the time. Jack Docherty had his own 5 nightly chat show on Channel 5 in which he interviewed all the members of Absolutely. He also wrote "The Creatives" for BBC1. • Gordon Kennedy
went on to present the National Lottery live show, has appeared on Have
I Got News For You, The Morwenna Banks Show, Norman Ormal, Athletico
Parthtic, Glasgow Kiss. Stared in the film The Announcement. In 2006 he was in Robin Hood ! |
Click
the button below to go to the main index of the Absolutely web site. |
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