Listen to Les: A BBC Radio 4 vintage comedy

25 episodes from the long-running BBC comedy series starring the legendary Les Dawson

For over a decade between 1974 and 1985, lugubrious funnyman Les Dawson had radio audiences in stitches with his hit comedy show Listen to Les.

Included in this collection are 25 vintage episodes, showcasing the gravel-voiced master of mirth at his very best. All your favourite characters are here, including gossip-loving housewives Cissie and Ada; chat show host Cosmo Smallpiece; the elegant Sophisticates and the hilariously dismal Desponds - as well as Wotan, Man of Steel; the debut appearance of comic discovery Justin Jest; and a rare interview with boxer Sugar Albert Ackroyd.

You'll hear tales of 1920s gangsters, Britain's first space hero, and Leonard Shufflebottom: a man so thin, he was once used as a dipstick. Les also pays tribute to a feisty barber and a sheep-headed publican, presents his very own versions of Dallas and Columbo, reflects on the British sense of humour - and reveals how the mother-in-law joke was invented...

Packed with deadpan one-liners, melancholic monologues, side-splitting sketches and unforgettable piano sing-alongs, these classic shows are sure to have your tear ducts prickling with laughter.

NB: Some of the humour on this recording reflects the era in which it was first broadcast

Production credits
Performed by Les Dawson
With Roy Barraclough, Colin Edwynn, Daphne Oxenford and Eli Woods
Written and produced by James Casey
Music by Brian Fitzgerald

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2, 11 August 1974-17 March 1985

© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd