Editing Beyond Our Ken (section)

==Background==

[[Eric Merriman]] had written some material for [[Barry Took]], when the latter was an aspiring [[stand-up comedy|stand-up comic]].<ref name=t137>Took, p. 137</ref> They subsequently collaborated in writing material for [[Kenneth Horne]] for [[BBC]] radio shows, and in June 1957 the [[BBC]] producer [[Jacques Brown]] asked Merriman to devise a thirty-minute show with Horne as the star.<ref name=t137/> The proposal was for a series depicting a fictional week in Horne's life. The original working title was ''Don't Look Now'', but a senior official in the BBC's Variety department thought the title weak, and Took was asked to suggest some alternatives. His own preferred title was ''Round the Horne'', and Merriman favoured ''Hornerama'', but from Took's list the BBC chose ''Beyond Our Ken'', and it was under that title that Merriman and Took completed the script for the pilot show.<ref name=j171/>

For the supporting cast it was agreed that the show required a strong team of versatile comedy actors who could play a wide range of parts. They were drawn from the [[West End theatre|West End]] and BBC radio and television. From  [[revue]]{{refn|By the time of the first series, Moody, Paddick and Lancaster were appearing in the revue ''For Adults Only'', which ran at the [[Novello Theatre|Strand Theatre]] for 292 performances from 25 June 1958.<ref>Gaye, p. 1531</ref> Took, who had not yet abandoned his stage career, was a member of the cast.<ref name=t138/>|group=n}} the show featured the actors [[Ron Moody]] and [[Hugh Paddick]] and the singer Pat Lancaster; from BBC television, [[Betty Marsden]]; and from radio [[Kenneth Williams]].<ref name=j171>Johnston, p. 171</ref>