Up Sunday

Up Sunday was a British late night comedy satire TV show shown on BBC2 that ran for 55 editions over four series from January 1972 to December 1973, featuring many comedy stars of its era. It was a spin-off from the arts discussion show Late Night Line-Up, and created by its Programme Editor, the late Mike Hill. Initially the show featured the "long, rambling topical reflections" of Willie Rushton and James Cameron. These were later pruned, and the cast enlarged to feature the likes of Clive James, Kenny Everett and John Wells. All broadcast late on a Sunday night. Wells said the show was "aimed at dirty minded insomniacs". The cast enacted the roles of newscasters, celebrities, pedestrians, and innocent bystanders. Described by the Off The Telly site as "a haphazard but worthwhile review of the week with plenty of above average material and a small but loyal audience". The show was very low-budget, and considered the very "last gasp" of the sixties satire boom, featuring many of that movement's key figures. The show later broadened its talent base to go into wider and more surrealist areas. Guests included Peter Sellers, Eric Idle, Sir John Betjeman, Spike Milligan, Ivor Cutler, Eleanor Bron, Barry Humphries, John Fortune, Max Wall, Richard Murdoch, Roy Hudd, Vivian Stanshall, Percy Edwards, Adge Cutler and The Wurzels. The show also contained musical spots, like folk singer Jake Thackray singing Brother Gorilla and Little Black Foal.