Editing Round the Horne (section)

===Background===
In 1957 the radio presenter and comedian [[Kenneth Horne]] was the compere on the popular Saturday evening comedy and music radio show ''[[Variety Playhouse (BBC)|Variety Playhouse]]''.{{sfn|Johnston|2006|pp=164–165}} The programme's writers were [[Eric Merriman]] and [[Barry Took]], and when the series came to an end, they prepared a script for a pilot episode of a new show, ''[[Beyond Our Ken]]''. The show, in which Horne was joined by [[Kenneth Williams]], [[Ron Moody]], [[Hugh Paddick]] and [[Betty Marsden]], was broadcast in October 1957.{{sfn|Johnston|2006|pp=170–171}} The series was due to begin in April 1958, but in February Horne suffered a debilitating [[stroke]]; he was temporarily paralysed down his left-hand side and lost the power of speech. The BBC postponed the series.{{sfn|Hackforth|1976|pp=103–105}}{{sfn|Johnston|2006|p=175}} After physiotherapy Horne was able to begin recording ''Beyond Our Ken'' in June, in preparation for the broadcast of the first series between July and November.{{sfn|Johnston|2006|pp=177–178 & 181}}{{sfn|Hackforth|1976|p=105}}

''Beyond Our Ken'' was written around the imperturbable establishment figure of Horne, while the other performers played a "spectrum of characters never before heard on the radio",{{sfn|Foster|Furst|1996|p=213}} including the exaggeratedly upper class Rodney and Charles (Williams and Paddick), the genteel, dotty pensioners Ambrose and Felicity (Williams and Marsden), the hoarse-voiced cook Fanny Haddock – a parody of the television cook [[Fanny Cradock]] (Marsden), the earthy gardening guru Arthur Fallowfield (Williams), the semi-articulate rock and roll singer Ricky Livid (Paddick) and Hankie Flowered, a parody of the comedian [[Frankie Howerd]] ([[Bill Pertwee]]).{{sfn|Took|1981|p=138}}{{sfn|"Beyond Our Ken". ''BBC''. 28 October 2014}}{{sfn|Hackforth|1976|pp=121–122}} The first episode was not well received by a sample audience,{{sfn|Johnston|2006|p=181}} but the BBC decided to back Horne and his team, and the initial six-week contract was extended to 21 weeks.{{sfn|Johnston|2006|pp=185–186}} Before the series came to an end, a second had been commissioned to run the following year.{{sfn|Johnston|2006|p=188}}{{refn|''Beyond Our Ken'' ran for seven series and two Christmas specials, with the final edition broadcast on 16 February 1964.{{sfn|Foster|Furst|1996|pp=211–216}}|group=n}} After the first series Moody was succeeded by Pertwee; Took left after the second series, leaving Merriman to write the remaining programmes on his own.{{sfn|Foster|Furst|1996|pp=212–213}}

[[File:Marty Feldman 1972.JPG|thumb|upright=1|Feldman in 1972]]
After the seventh series of ''Beyond Our Ken'' ended Horne was scheduled to appear in a number of other BBC programmes; Eric Merriman objected, contending that he had made Horne into a star, and that "no other comedy series should be allowed to use him", according to Horne's biographer, Barry Johnston.{{sfn|Johnston|2006|p=238}} When the BBC refused to withdraw Horne from the programme ''Down with Women'', Merriman resigned from writing ''Beyond Our Ken'' and the show came to an end.{{sfn|Johnston|2006|p=238}} After some pressure from Horne to keep the remainder of the team together, the BBC commissioned ''Round the Horne'' as a replacement on similar lines. They turned to Took, as one of the original writers of ''Beyond Our Ken'', and his new writing partner, [[Marty Feldman]].{{sfn|Foster|Furst|1996|p=211}} The name of the programme came from a pun on Horne's name, combined with the naval term "round the Horn", meaning to navigate the waters at the southern tip of South America, [[Cape Horn]].{{sfn|Gilbert|1993|p=44}} The pair aimed to write what they described as "down-market material in an upmarket way".{{sfn|Johnston|2006|p=244}} The scripts they produced led to a faster-paced programme than ''Beyond Our Ken'', including more allusions to contemporary events, including politics and films.{{sfn|Foster|Furst|1996|p=261}}