Despite its obvious role as a few links to repeated material, I’ve been a big supporter of the BBC One show Comedy Sketchbook.

But last night something changed.

With a barbed script from 5 writers (including Toby Hadoke) Angus Deayton manages to hold together a series of sketches from the BBC and Thames/LWT archives with his usual confident Basil Fawlty-esque disdain.

Even he was unable to prevent the closing clip - despite being evidently unimpressed by it.

At 110 quid a year, I don’t mind paying for a superb mix of television, radio and internet, a reckon that despite its compulsory nature, the licence fee is good value for money.

I don’t expect to pay it and then the same day my direct debit sends the monthly installment to the government have to sit through HALE & PACE.

They have no place on comedy sketchbook for 2 very good reasons:

1. They’re not funny
2. They’re not funny

I don’t even think I know which is which - but that doesn’t matter when they’re mugging painfully at the camera singing a “Northern Calypso” which tickled my funny bone about as much as the idea of a colonoscopy does.

There’s no reason for these utter oafs to be allowed on television in a dramatic role (they went on to appear seperately in low budget dramas) nevermind under the banner of comedy.

Plumbing the depths for Little and Large is one thing - Hale & Pace should never see the back of a cathode ray tube ever again.

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