The World of Beachcomber

The World of Beachcomber was a surreal television comedy show produced by the BBC, inspired by the Beachcomber column in the Daily Express newspaper. The show, like the column, consisted of a series of unrelated pieces of humour. Links between the items were provided by Spike Milligan, dressed in a smoking jacket and cap, as in the cartoon logo above the newspaper column. The other actors were a Who's Who of British comedy of the time, encompassing almost every supporting player seen or heard in comedy, not excluding people of diminutive stature. In all, 19 episodes were produced beginning in 1968. Unfortunately, like many shows of the time, the original videotapes were wiped. Only one complete episode, on black and white 16mm film, now survives in the BBC archives, from the penultimate edition.