Clips show how Nicholas Parsons's career was full of deviation...

Here's a selection of clips from Nicholas Parson's long comedy career, starting with Arthur Haynes in his 1961 TV show

With Arthur Haynes (and future EastEnder Wendy Richard) again, this time from 1963:

With Benny Hill in his Undercover Sanitary Inspector sketch from 1971

From 1971 to 1983, Parsons was best known as host of Sale Of The Century, 'from Norwich, it's the quiz of the week'

Being interviewed by Kenneth Williams in 1986, when the Carry On star was standing in for Terry Wogan on his daily talk show. Parsons was talking about working with Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson on their Comic Strip film Mr Jolly Lives Next Door.

And here's a brief clip from that film:

Mayall was later reunited with Parsons on a 1989 episode of The New Statesman:

With Norman Wisdom doing the legendary wallpaper sketch at the 1988 Children's Royal Variety Show. The skit was famously performed by Wisdom and Bruce Forsyth on Sunday Night at the London Palladium in 1961, when an Equity strike meant the two comics had to carry the hour-long programme entirely on their own:

Hosting Laughlines, a comedy quiz show for satellite TV in 1990. This episode features Simon Fanshawe, Hattie Hayridge, Kit Hollerbach and Jeremy Hardy

And, yes, we do have to include a Just A Minute extract or two:

Published: 28 Jan 2020