Round The Horne revival blasted

Round The Horne writer Barry Took would not have approved of the revival that stormed the West End, his son has claimed.

David Took has revealed that the nostalgic tribute came as a shock, as the first h knew of it was when he saw adverts for it.

And he says there was no need for Brian Cooke, who worked on the original series, to rewrite the classic scripts Took created with Marty Feldman, since they stand the test of time.

In an interview in the new edition of Kettering, a fanzine dedicated to ‘elderly British comedy’, David Took said: “Round The Horne… Revisited came as something as a shock.

“When Dad was alive there were negotiations to stage a puppet version of the show using original broadcast soundtracks with puppets made by the Spitting Image team. That project hit the rocks over permissions.

“We’re not aware that the Brian Cooke show was ever discussed when he was alive, and it would seem unlikely that he would have allowed someone else to rewrite his and Marty’s original material.

“Brian Cooke was only involved in the writing of the last series and never wrote with Marty, so to add new material is a tough task.

“Changing original lines is fraught with danger. Even the classic Julian and Sandy introduction has been altered, which Dad would never have allowed.

“With so much good material to call on it is madness to insert indifferent items, Dad and Marty would not be amused.”

Round The Horne… Revisited continues at The Venue in London (click for tickets) before touring.

Published: 24 Nov 2004