The Two Ronnies

The Two Ronnies
The spectacles logo from the show's opening. Both performers wore glasses; Barker's are on top, Corbett's underneath.
Created by	Bill Cotton
Starring	Ronnie Barker Ronnie Corbett
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	12
No. of episodes	93
Production
Running time	40–58 minutes
Release
Original network	BBC1
Picture format	PAL (576i)
Audio format	Mono
Original release	10 April 1971 – 25 December 1987
Chronology
Followed by	The Two Ronnies Sketchbook The One Ronnie

The Two Ronnies is a BBC television comedy sketch show created by Bill Cotton for the BBC, which aired on BBC One from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the two Ronnies of the title.

Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett met for the first time at the Buckstone Club in the Haymarket, London, where Ronnie Corbett was serving drinks between acting jobs. They were invited by David Frost to appear in his new show, The Frost Report, with John Cleese, but the pair's big break came when they filled in for a few minutes during a technical hitch at an awards ceremony in 1970. In the audience was Bill Cotton, the Head of Light Entertainment for the BBC, and Sir Paul Fox, the Controller of BBC1. Cotton was so impressed by the duo that he turned to Fox and asked "How would you like those two on your network?". As a result, Barker and Corbett were given their own show by the BBC.

The show was based on the complementary personalities of Barker and Corbett, who never became an exclusive pairing, but continued to work independently in television outside of the editions of the Two Ronnies. The show was produced annually between 1971 and 1987. It had many notable writers including Ray Alan, John Cleese, Barry Cryer, Spike Milligan, David Nobbs, David Renwick, Eric Idle, John Sullivan, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Laurie Rowley. In addition, Barker used the pseudonym Gerald Wiley when writing sketches.