Editing Lenny Henry (section)

===Early career===
Henry's formative years in comedy were spent in [[working men's club]]s, where he impersonated mainly white characters, such as the ''[[Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em]]'' character Frank Spencer. His earliest television appearance was on the ''[[New Faces]]'' talent show in 1975, aged 16, which he won with impersonations of Frank Spencer, [[Stevie Wonder]] and others.<ref>{{Cite web|date=21 October 2019|title=Lenny Henry: 'I wish somebody had taught me how to defend myself' |url=http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/oct/21/lenny-henry-wish-somebody-taught-me-to-defend-myself|access-date=8 December 2020|website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en}}</ref>

His first manager was [[Robert Luff]], who signed him in 1975 and gave him the opportunity, between the ages of 16 and 21, to perform as a comedian as part of the Luff-produced touring stage version of ''[[The Black and White Minstrel Show]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|date=23 February 2009|title=Robert Luff (obituary) |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/4788794/Robert-Luff.html|url-access=subscription|url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/4788794/Robert-Luff.html|archive-date=12 January 2022|access-date=1 March 2009|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London, England}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In July 2009, Lenny Henry stated he was contractually obliged to perform and regretted his part in the show,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8156190.stm Five Minutes With:Lenny Henry]. BBC News, 18 July 2009.</ref> telling ''[[The Times]]'' in 2015 that his appearance on the show led to a profound "wormhole of depression", and he regretted his family not intervening.<ref name="MidgleyJun16">{{Cite news|last=Midgley|first=Carol |date=6 June 2015|title=Lenny Henry on racism and regret|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/lenny-henry-on-racism-and-regret-673j707tckk|url-access=subscription|access-date=24 September 2018|work=[[The Times]]}}</ref>

In 1976, Henry appeared with [[Norman Beaton]] in [[London Weekend Television|LWT]]'s sitcom ''[[The Fosters (British TV series)|The Fosters]]'', Britain's first comedy series featuring a predominantly black cast. Henry also made guest appearances on television programmes including ''[[Celebrity Squares]]'', ''[[Seaside Special]]'' and ''The [[Ronnie Corbett]] Show''.<ref name=blackpool/>