Paul Whitehouse, Sally Phillips, Romesh Ranganathan and Alexei Sayle

Sir Lenny Henry is to profile the comedy careers of Paul Whitehouse, Sally Phillips, Romesh Ranganathan and Alexei Sayle in a new Channel 4 series.

All four are described as Sir Lenny’s ‘comedy heroes’ – and he said: ‘It was great fun spending time with my friends and hearing about what makes them laugh and what they take inspiration from. I hope the audience enjoys it as much as I did.’

The series, entitled Legends of Comedy with Lenny Henry, will air later this year and promises ‘a mix of in-depth, illuminating chats [and] archive clips’ as it investigates ‘the true genius of comedy’.

Channel 4 commissioning editor Deborah Dunnett  said: ‘It’s a true privilege to be bringing the legendary Sir Lenny Henry together with such a fantastic line-up of talented and brilliantly funny comedians to learn more their careers, their heroes and their craft. I can’t wait to see the chats between Lenny and his fabulous guests, which are guaranteed to be very very funny.’

The programme is being made by production company Red Sauce along with Sir Lenny’s own firm Douglas Road Productions.

 Tom Edwards, creative director of Red Sauce, said: ‘It’s a joy to craft an entirely new comedy-ents format with a performer like Sir Lenny. It’s a really fresh way to carve up the comedy space, full of genuine insight and hearty laughs.’

Sir Lenny is currently starring in his playwriting debut, August In England, a one-man play about the Windrush scandal at the Bush Theatre in West London.

Made by: Red Sauce and Douglas Road Productions
Commissioned by: Deborah Dunnett and Jayne Stanger, commissioning editors, daytime and geatures, with Jo Street, head of daytime and features
Executive producers: Ben Smith for Red Sauce and Angela Ferreira for Douglas Road Productions

Published: 16 May 2023