The News Huddlines
| Genre | Sketch show |
|---|---|
| Running time | 30 mins |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 2 |
| Starring | Roy Hudd |
| Produced by | Dirk Maggs |
| Air dates | 1975 to 2001 |
| No. of series | 51 |
The News Huddlines was a long-running BBC Radio 2 topical comedy sketch show starring Roy Hudd that ran for fifty one series from 1975 until 2001. Each episode lasted for half an hour and consisted of topical sketches, songs and one-liners.
The regular cast consisted of comedy performers Roy Hudd, June Whitfield, and Chris Emmett. The announcer was Richard Clegg, and the music was directed and performed by Peter Moss and The Huddliners.
Hudd and Emmett were with the show since its inception and Whitfield joined the show in 1984, taking over from Alison Steadman, who in her turn had replaced original cast member Janet Brown.
For the recording on 29 October 1975 Roy Hudd was stuck abroad and could not make the recording so Ray Alan was asked at very short notice to present the show.
The show became British radio’s longest-running audience comedy in 1994 and became the second longest-running overall behind Week Ending, which ended in 1998.
Many and varied writers added to the success of the show over the years. A feature of the show was its aim to let the public send in gags which they used and gave credit to those authors at the end of the show. It was hoped that this policy would help develop inexperienced writers. Major contributors included:
The News Huddlines was established in 1975 as Radio 2’s answer to the BBC Radio 4 current affairs sketch show Week Ending, albeit with a distinctive style, much of it involving the stage persona of lead performer Hudd.
Huddlines ended in 2001 with a Christmas special show. In January 2002, Hudd accepted the role of Archie Shuttleworth in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street and felt he could not continue in both capacities.
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