Goon Pod

A podcast where we talk about classic comedy with particular focus on the work of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe & Michael Bentine. You'll also hear us discuss the likes of Monty Python, Hancock, Blackadder, the Carry On films, Peter Cook, Steptoe & Son and countless other comedy figures & fixtures from the postwar era.

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246 episodes
Updated Wednesday

Episodes246

Newest first

Dec 21, 2022 · 1 hr 31 min
The Phantom Raspberry Blower Of Old London Town - with Joel Morris
Comedy writer, author, podcaster and musician Joel Morris is our special guest this week and what could be more Christmassy than a chat about The Phantom Raspberry Blower Of Old London Town? (Plenty - Ed.) Originally conceived by Spike Milligan as a vehicle for him, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe, this proposed Goons special was stymied early on by Sellers' filming commitments elsewhere. A couple of years later Milligan dusted off the script and repurposed it for an episode of Six Dates With Barker, Ronnie Barker's 1971 series of one-off plays (similar to the Comedy Playhouse format which spawned a number of sitcoms) and if it had been left at that then it's highly likely that few people would remember it today. However, in 1976 Ronnie Barker collaborated with Milligan to expand the length of the play and serialise it in weekly episodes for the fifth series of The Two Ronnies. It is this version that is most fondly remembered by the public and is generally considered to be the strongest of the Ronnies' serials. Joel joins Tyler to laud the lost art of the comic play and talks about Milligan's genius, with a few caveats (Joel presents a strong argument that when writing without the grounding influence of collaborators Spike’s ideas were often in danger of becoming loosed from their moorings) and there's also plenty of time to talk about other comedy too, including Peter Cook, The Office and Python. Joel is currently writing a book about comedy and is the host of the podcast Comfort Blanket: https://pod.link/1614879928
Dec 14, 2022 · 51 min
The Jet-Propelled Guided NAAFI
One of Peter Sellers’ favourite episodes of The Goon Show, The Jet-Propelled Guided NAAFI was inspired directly by the news, after Spike Milligan seized on a Daily Telegraph story about the misuse of taxpayer money overseas. James Page joins Tyler to discuss the episode, exploring how a fortunate detail in the original article gave Milligan the perfect comic hook — a gag whose original context may have faded, but whose impact endures. They also delve into the episode’s many quotable lines and memorable sequences (including the surprising appearance of g-strings in 1956), the introduction of a new theme tune, and contemporaneous negotiations with the BBC for a new series. There’s also time for some well-earned Ratties praise, and the story of that moment when an audience member wandered onto the set of Wogan during a Harry Secombe and Spike Milligan interview.
Dec 7, 2022 · 1 hr 14 min
Mel Brooks' History Of The World Part One (1981)
As it's nearly Santa's birthday what better way to mark the occasion than by two podcasts doing a crossover episode? Christopher Webb & Robert Johnson are the hosts of Still Any Good which examines films and television shows that they enjoyed in their misspent youth and now revisit to see if they still hold up today. A perfect example is the 1981 Mel Brooks anthology comedy movie History Of The World Part One which qualifies for Goon Pod due to a small but significant role for Spike Milligan playing, as Chris puts it, "the Birdman of the Bastille". The film purports to tell the history of the world since man evolved from the fish, although skips most of it - what we do get is Sid Caesar and pals ugging it up as comedy cavepeople; a memorable Moses moment; a sword-and-sandal saga which outstays its welcome; the circumstances surrounding The Last Supper (with John Hurt as Jesus); the Spanish Inquisition as reimagined by Busby Berkeley; and the first stirrings of the French Revolution (it's highly doubtful Mel Brooks troubled himself to read Thomas Carlyle on the subject, being more interested in portraying Louis XVI as a randy old goat with a bums and bosoms fixation - hump or death? Purrrrlease.) Still, there's chuckles to be had along the way as Rob & Chris join Tyler to ask the question: is it Still Any Goon? SAG is here: https://stillanygood.buzzsprout.com/113660
Nov 30, 2022 · 1 hr 25 min
Two Way Stretch (1960)
If there's one thing the public cannot reach agreement on it's what was the greatest British black & white Peter Sellers film of all time. There is obviously a strong groundswell of support for that popular favourite, I'm All Right Jack, while trendier types (sneering metropolitan elites looking down on the hoi polloi) insist that Only Two Can Play is far superior. Others argue for The Naked Truth, with some justification, while a handful of nitwits push for The Ladykillers, completely misunderstanding the notion of 'black & white' as opposed to 'colour'. However, they are all wrong. Sensible people everywhere acknowledge that the correct answer is Two Way Stretch from 1960, a film which has only gained in popularity over the years. Directed by Robert Day from an original screenplay by John Warren & Len Heath (and with additional dialogue by Alan Hackney, writer of I’m All Right Jack), the working title for the film was Nothing Barred and it clearly provided inspiration for one of the greatest British sitcoms of all time - Porridge. It reunites Sellers with his 'Jack co-stars Irene Handl and Liz Fraser and teams him up with David Lodge and Bernard Cribbins, but the film's most memorable performance is delivered by the peerless Lionel Jeffries as Chief Officer Crout. Joining Tyler this week to do a bit of stir is returning guest Jeremy Limb - musician, actor and one third of The Trap.
Nov 23, 2022 · 1 hr 25 min
The Fear Of Wages
Comedian and podcaster Ben Van Der Velde joins Tyler this week to discuss The Fear Of Wages, Spike Milligan's favourite Goon Show ever and a neat parody of the classic French film The Wages Of Fear (later remade as Sorcerer). Broadcast in March 1956 its entry in the BBC Transcription Services catalogue reads: "For fourteen years Major Bloodnok and Captain Neddie Seagoon have been fighting the Japanese in Burma. For eleven of those years the war has been over, but the two sides have only recently awoken to this fact. Preparing for a triumphal return to Britain, complete with Japanese prisoners and Japanese saké, Neddie has the honour to be put in charge of the truck containing nitro-glycerine." Tyler and Ben talk comedy influences, contemporary politics, favourite gags and characters, topics and language 'of its time', ask why the Ray Ellington number Pink Champagne was edited out of the later versions while an aural joke was fixed, and point out a Bluebottle inconsistency. Ben's podcast Worst Foot Forward is HERE: worstfootforwardpodcast.com
Nov 16, 2022 · 1 hr
It's A Square World
Our guest this week is podcaster and producer Tilt Araiza, who joins Tyler to talk about Michael Bentine and his ground-breaking television series It’s A Square World. Written by Bentine and John Law, It’s A Square World ran on the BBC from 1960-64 totalling 57 episodes and was a clear influence on later comedy series, notably Monty Python’s Flying Circus. As well as Bentine the programme featured the likes of Clive Dunn, Frank Thornton, Deryck Guyler, John Bluthal, Benny Lee, Dick Emery, Ronnie Barker and Sherie Winton. It won the Press Prize at the Rose d’Or Festival in Montreux in 1963 and scooped a Light Entertainment BAFTA award the year before. This week’s show is roughly divided into two parts: the second half mainly focuses on It's A Square World but firstly Tilt & Tyler talk more generally about Bentine’s extraordinary life. Having grown up enjoying many of the trappings of privilege his early years were marked by an inability to communicate properly, thanks to some avoidable home-surgery on his tonsils. Later he faced innumerable barriers to entry into the Second World War due to his Peruvian roots and when he finally did enter the services he was almost killed due to a mistake during a routine typhoid vaccination and was in a coma for several weeks. He later recovered and joined Military Intelligence and was among those who helped liberate Bergen-Belsen. Despite all this he retained an optimistic, positive disposition and swept away on the currents of his imagination and facility for invention he found success as a comedian and performer in the late nineteen-forties. He met Harry Secombe who in turn introduced him to some friends of his, Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers, and the seeds of The Goon Show were planted. Bentine would later go on to find fame on television with shows like It’s A Square World and also his childrens’ series such as the much-loved Potty Time in the seventies. A committed believer in the paranormal he became President of the Association For the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena and somehow found time to sail yachts, shoot, practise archery and go on hovercraft expeditions up the Amazon. As for It’s A Square World, producer Barry Lupino told the Radio Times in 1961: “It has been called a diversion for the low in brow – but I wonder? The topics are lofty enough. What could be more uplifting than the opening of the Royal Academy?... Nor of course shall we overlook the situation in Volcania, of the effects of children’s television on the adult viewer, and the arrival and departure of distinguished personages in the great metropolis.” The series also has the distinction of likely producing the first Dr Who parody – with Clive Dunn turning up barely a month after DW began dressed in an unmistakably Hartnellesque fashion. All this and more is up for discussion in what is likely to be the first of a two part Bentine retrospective (Tilt will return next year).
Nov 9, 2022 · 1 hr 22 min
The Great McGonagall (1974)
Phil Cannon from the Who's He? podcast joins Tyler this week to discuss a film unfairly overlooked by the Academy - Spike Milligan's The Great McGonagall from 1974. Written by Spike and Joe McGrath (Casino Royale, Digby the Biggest Dog in the World, Not Only But Also) and starring Milligan as the titular poet & tragedian, the film also featured Peter Sellers as Queen Victoria (kneeling on a skateboard), John Bluthal, Victor Spinetti and Julia Foster. Considered by many to be the worst poet who ever drew breath, William Topaz McGonagall had long been a favourite of Sellers and Milligan and indeed had been woven into the fabric of The Goon Show, turning up as a character in occasional episodes (notably The Tay Bridge in 1959). This film takes constant liberties with the truth and is about as far away from being a faithful account of the poet's life as any biopic could credibly claim to be. That said, several of his poems were used and a handful of scenes were at least partly based on actual events. The film was shot over three weeks entirely at Wilton's Music Hall and was not a success, receiving only limited release. It did garner a few fairly favourable notices (Richard Eder, writing in the New York Times, described it as a "radiant failure") but most reviewers were chilly towards it. Time Out thundered: "The humour is forced and the social/political comment embarrassingly exposed... it looks like some tiresome theatrical junket brought out in the wake of the departing Lord Chamberlain, crammed full of previously vetoed references to the Royal Family!" Calm down Time Out, it's a low-budget British comedy, it's not trying to be Pather Panchali. Despite this (or perhaps because of it!) Tyler and Phil had an enjoyable time chatting about it and would welcome listeners to check out the film if they haven't already seen it: available for a few quid on DVD and for free on YouTube (as of time of writing). Who's He?: http://www.whos-he-podcast.co.uk/
Nov 2, 2022 · 1 hr
Jonathan Coe
Novelist and writer Jonathan Coe is our guest this week. He is the author of several novels which your host holds dear, including What A Carve Up! and The Rotter's Club and his latest book, Bournville, is published this week. A master of social & political satires, state-of-the-nation sagas and generation-spanning comic narratives, Jonathan often plays with the form and, as we find out, before he discovered influential writers such as B.S Johnson and Flann O'Brien he was introduced to experimental comic prose via Spike Milligan's 1963 novel Puckoon. His enthusiasm for comedy as a youth drove him to seek out more Milligan as well as the likes of David Nobbs and he built up a sizeable library of comic novels, sitcom tie-in books and comedy books in general. He talks to Tyler about the comedy and humour he grew up with, especially the work of Milligan, and how it informed his way of looking at the world. 'Bournville' will be published by Viking on 3rd November. Read a review of it here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/oct/30/bournville-by-jonathan-coe-review-hugely-impressive-state-of-the-nation-tale
Oct 26, 2022 · 1 hr 31 min
I'm All Right Jack (1959)
EVERYBODY OUT! For this week's show Tyler and comedian & writer Meryl O'Rourke downed tools and refused to record a podcast until their demands were met! To pass the time they chatted about the cracking 1959 film I'm All Right Jack, starring Peter Sellers, Ian Carmichael, Margaret Rutherford, Terry-Thomas, Dennis Price, Richard Attenborough, Sam Kydd, Victor Maddern and many others. They ascribed superlatives aplenty to Irene Handl and Liz Fraser and proposed a motion to officially acknowledge that Esma Cannon was criminally underused! The film is still strikingly relevant in many aspects and they were able to draw parallels between some of its themes & issues and current events some 60+ years later. Has the world really moved on all that much? As well as talking about the film itself there were many conversational meanderings via The Young Ones, Battleship Potemkin, Frankie Boyle, Mick Lynch and what is likely to be the first and last reference to Little Mix ever on Goon Pod! Check out Meryl: https://watch.nextupcomedy.com/videos/merylorovanilla0
Oct 19, 2022 · 50 min
SPIKE Star Robert Wilfort
This is where the story really starts: Having enjoyed success on the stage with The Wipers Times and Trial By Laughter Nick Newman & Ian Hislop hit upon the idea of writing a play about Spike Milligan, focusing on his Goon Show years and highlighting his running battles with the BBC. And so they did. As the play's publicity puts it: "Flanked by his fellow Goons and bolstered by the efforts of irrepressible sound assistant Janet, Spike takes a flourishing nosedive off the cliffs of respectability, and mashes up his haunted past to create the comedy of the future. His war with Hitler may be over, but his war with Auntie Beeb - and ultimately himself - has just begun." SPIKE premiered at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury at the beginning of 2022 and was a big success. Regular listeners to this show will know that Tyler spoke to Nick, to John Dagleish (who played Milligan) and to Margaret Cabourn-Smith (Janet) earlier this year - all those shows are available in the archive. Then it was announced that SPIKE would be setting out on a nationwide tour from September and that there would be a few new additions to the cast - most notably the role of Spike himself was to be taken on by actor Robert Wilfort (known for Gavin & Stacey, Sex Education and going down a waterslide in his underpants). Although it was a hugely challenging role to tackle Robert threw himself into it with brio and the new production is drawing rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. Tyler managed to catch Robert for an entertaining chat ahead of a run of shows at the Malvern Festival Theatre last month. The show is running until 26th November and fast selling out: for more information and booking see SPIKE | Touring the UK this autumn (spiketheplay.co.uk)
Oct 12, 2022 · 1 hr 6 min
Keith Wickham
This week Tyler talks to voice actor and restorer Keith Wickham about his history with the Goons, about a show he has produced for Radio 4 called Raiders of the Lost Archive (which is being broadcast the day after this podcast goes out, on the 13th October) and a recently discovered Hancock's Half Hour featuring Peter Sellers. One of this country's most in-demand voice artists, Keith discovered Sellers at a tender age thanks to an indulgent schoolteacher and was immediately hooked. He soon abandoned his ambition to become a surgeon to focus on comedy and he recounts visits to watch classic radio comedy series being recorded, including I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue and Just A Minute. He also developed an interest and talent for restoring radio shows, and as well as The Goon Show one of his proudest achievements in this field has been the complete I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again. He talks about collaborating with people like Ted Kendall, Richard Harrison and Steve Arnold and how he went about sourcing material - old tapes, discs etc - and the challenges he faced. Raiders of the Lost Archive tells the story of the audio engineers, enthusiasts and hobbyists who have spent years tracking down lost radio shows, dusting them off, cleaning them up and releasing them back into the world. Of particular note is the recently unearthed Hancock's Half Hour episode 'The Marriage Bureau', long thought lost forever, which featured Peter Sellers in a one-off appearance standing in for Kenneth Williams. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001cxx2
Oct 5, 2022 · 1 hr 1 min
George Martin (with Andrew Hickey)
If you are listening to this show on the day it goes out - Wednesday 5th October 2022 - then it is exactly 60 years since the Beatles' first single, Love Me Do, was released*. It's also exactly 50 years to the day since The Last Goon Show Of All was broadcast! We've previously dedicated a show to the connections between the Beatles & The Goons and an argument could be made that were it not for the Goons the Beatles (as we know them today) may not have existed. Had an EMI producer named George Martin not made a children's record called Jakka and the Flying Saucers in 1953 with an up-and-coming radio comedian then he may not have gone on to oversee Peter Sellers' (for it was he) subsequent hit comedy LPs at the end of the decade. He also may not have met and worked with Sellers' colleague Spike Milligan, and were it not for Martin's involvement with those two Goons on records which had entertained the teenage Beatles then he may have failed to have impressed them much when he met them in 1962. Things could have been so different... ... Ok, maybe that's a stretch but the importance of George Martin in British - in world - popular culture is undeniable. And without his experience creating those comedy & novelty records in the fifties and early sixties it is possible that much of the Beatles' later work may have lacked the levels of inventiveness and technical complexity that they achieved. This week Tyler is joined by Andrew Hickey - from the hugely popular podcast A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs - to talk about George Martin and specifically his work with Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan, as well as some of the other records he had a hand in, pre-Beatles. We talk about The Best of Sellers, Songs For Swinging Sellers, Unchained Melody, You Gotta Go Oww, the Sellers Beatles covers, Milligan Preserved, Bridge On The River Wye, Peter & Sophia and much more! * We're now as far away from that day as the Beatles were from the funeral of Émile Zola. A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs: 500songs.com/
Sep 28, 2022 · 1 hr 6 min
The Sahara Desert Statue
Returning guest Sean Gaffney is back to talk about the Series 9 opener The Sahara Desert Statue - the one about what would happen if a nude Welshman holding a rice pudding in the middle of the desert got hit by an atom bomb. We talk a great deal about the events and circumstances leading up to the beginning of Series 9 and how it almost didn't get made. Spike Milligan was in Australia issuing demands to the BBC, Peter Sellers was making his first faltering steps in a legitimate stage production which famously collapsed under the weight of its star's self-indulgence, Harry Secombe was also appearing in a stage show and preparing for the Royal Variety Performance, while Max Geldray narrowly avoided the chop! Sean and Tyler discuss the episode itself, and Sean explains why it is his go-to show when he needs a bit of comfort listening. There's also a slightly wince-making recording of Wallace Greenslade trying to do Goon voices... hats off to the old man for trying but wiser counsel should have prevailed!
Sep 21, 2022 · 1 hr 20 min
The Scaffold: Gorman, McGough & McCartney
Roger McGough, John Gorman and Mike McCartney first performed together sixty years ago and very quickly found fame and success as The Scaffold, combining comedy, poetry and music. With Top 10 singles (including a Number One with Lily The Pink in 1968), a slew of acclaimed live shows, albums, television appearances and collaborations with the likes of the Bonzos (as Grimms), The Scaffold proved to be a unique creative force who could count the Queen Mum and Harold Wilson among their fans. They've reunited for a special show in October at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool: An Audience With The Scaffold (more details at: An Audience with The Scaffold | Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse theatres (everymanplayhouse.com) ) Like many of their peers and contemporaries they were influenced by The Goons and were happy to talk about growing up listening to the show as well as later encounters with Spike Milligan. We also discover how they first got on TV, why Mike's name went through a few variations, beating Richard Burton to the bar, hobnobbing with Royalty and an explosive evening with Vivian Stanshall. Also: memories of working with Graham Nash, Jack Bruce and Elton John and the time Mike had to give musical direction to Jimi Hendrix! All this and much more!
Sep 14, 2022 · 58 min
The Treasure In The Lake
This week we welcome to the show Chris Shaw of the mighty I Am The Eggpod podcast, who came along to talk about a loch, a sunken galleon, a family inheritance and a faithful old man dog. Yes, it's The Treasure In The Lake (also known as The Treasure of Loch Lomond) from Series 6 which was issued on LP by the BBC in 1978 (with The Greenslade Story on side 2) and is a fondly-regarded fan favourite. Down-at heel and down-on his luck, Ned Seagoon is busking in Leicester Square when he is approached by Norris Toof who tells him that upon the death of his Scottish uncle, the Laird McGool, he stands to inherit £10,000. Ned hotfoots it to Castle McGool and meets the Laird but the nephew’s rather cavalier attitude towards his uncle’s wellbeing results in Eccles – disguised as a dog - driving him from the castle. Ned is then duped into a villainous scheme to drain Loch Lomond by drinking it, a plan devised by Grytpype Thynne and Moriarty in order to gain access to a sunken Spanish treasure galleon. But has someone else got there before them..? We also get a rendition of I'm Walking Backwards For Christmas and Chris asks a question about it which I think many of us have wondered from time to time... among other things under discussion are The Goons Hit Wales, Derek & Clive, Tony Hancock and Prince (now King) Charles doing Bluebottle impressions. Jings! https://iamtheeggpod.com/
Sep 7, 2022 · 1 hr 4 min
China Story
The Goons made China Story twice: once as part of the fifth series and a year or so later as part of The National Radio Show at Earls Court. It was producer Peter Eton's favourite show and a Spike Milligan/Eric Sykes collaboration although exactly who had the lion's share is unclear - probably Spike but Eric must have had a hand in the overall structure. It's a firm fan favourite, despite perhaps a number of 'of it's time' moments! Notable for the memorable appearance(s) by Adolphus Spriggs, a frustrated balladeer, whose attempts to earn some coin by singing I'm Only A Strolling Vagabond are doomed to failure, it also contains one of the show's greatest sound gags of all time. Joining Tyler this week to talk about both versions of the show is Roger Stevenson, who among other things raises a very interesting point about Spike's generosity with gags. It was a fun conversation. Enjoy!
Aug 31, 2022 · 53 min
Jeffrey Holland
Actor Jeffrey Holland is best known for his role as Spike Dixon, the third rate camp comic in the popular BBC sitcom Hi-De-Hi! but he is of particular interest to this podcast as he took on the rather daunting task of performing Peter Sellers' characters in the much-acclaimed 2001 show Goon Again, alongside Andrew Secombe, Jon Glover and Christopher Timothy and produced by friend of the show Dirk Maggs. Tyler and Jeffrey discuss that show and what the Goons mean to him, as well as running through his career in general - as well as Hi-De-Hi! they talk about You Rang M'Lord (and why it's so popular in Hungary), Are You Being Served, It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Dad's Army. Jeffrey was a delight and very generous with his time - hope you enjoy the show.
Aug 24, 2022 · 1 hr 27 min
The Beatles and The Goons
Steven Cockcroft, co-host of the tremendous Nothing Is Real podcast, joins Tyler this week to delve into the many connections between the Beatles and the Goons. A major influence on all four Fabs - especially John - The Goon Show ran until 1960 but Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan were to go on and develop friendships with all the Beatles and even work with them professionally (notably Sellers and Ringo appearing together in The Magic Christian). Tyler and Steven try to identify as many connections as they can (no matter how tenuous!) and among the things they touch on are: Spike & Across The Universe; George Martin; Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds; Richard Lester; Sellers in Get Back; The Beatles Cartoon; Paul's poem to Spike; I Am The Walrus; George and Peter in Disneyland; Sellers does A Hard Day's Night; The Grandma Awards; The Goon Show Scripts; You Know My Name Look Up The Number; Unchained Melody; Spike and The Primal Scream; The Nerk Twins... and much much more! It's a fun conversation which anybody with even a passing interest in the Goons and/or the Beatles will enjoy! (And it wasn't until the show was edited and in the can that Tyler realised that the young John Lennon could not have possibly seen Idiot Weekly or A Show Called Fred on television as these were only screened in the London region - HOWEVER, he *could* have seen Son Of Fred as apparently that show was screened in the North in late 1956!) Nothing Is Real: https://www.nothingisrealpod.com/
Aug 17, 2022 · 1 hr
Louis Barfe on Angela Morley
Over a career spanning seven decades the composer and arranger Angela Morley brought something special to every project she was involved with, be it movie soundtrack, record, radio show or television programme. Working with such heavyweights as John Williams, Shirley Bassey, Noel Coward, Scott Walker, Andre Previn and Frankie Vaughan she gained a reputation as a talented, reliable and resourceful musical collaborator. Although her latter career based mainly in the US was primarily focused on film scores (including Watership Down, Star Wars, Home Alone and Schindler's List) plus TV shows such as Dynasty and Dallas, it is for her earlier work that listeners to this podcast are probably most familiar with her - on The Goon Show and Hancock's Half Hour. Writer Louis Barfe joined Tyler to talk about the life of Angela Morley and some of the standout work and notable musicians with whom she collaborated. Plus: the generosity of Harry Secombe, being told off by Ken Dodd and a warm tribute to the recently departed Bernard Cribbins.
Aug 10, 2022 · 1 hr 15 min
The Blockhouse (1973)
The One Where We Chart The Development Of Peter Sellers' Beard! Writer and Summer Wino Bob Fischer is this week's guest - he came along to talk about one of the most obscure and little-seen Peter Sellers films of all: The Blockhouse, from 1973. Despite the film's bleak, at times harrowing depiction of desperate men entombed awaiting the inevitable, it was a very upbeat and enjoyable conversation which naturally flitted all over the shop. Warning: Includes chat about Last Of The Summer Wine, Scarred For Life and Jack Douglas... Bob recalled interviewing one of the actors from The Blockhouse, the incomparable Peter Vaughan, who said he'd enjoyed working with Sellers on the film - by all accounts the former Goon had been on his best behaviour. Several theories abound as to why this might have been. If you haven't seen The Blockhouse - and not many people have - this podcast episode is the next best thing. With laughs. More Bob: hauntedgeneration.co.uk