The prodigiously talented Ben Elton was at the vanguard of the alternative comedy scene in the late 70s and early 80s, both as a writer and performer. While he sustained a prolific output of hilarious sitcom scripts including The Young Ones and Blackadder, he also developed a unique stand-up style based upon a breathless, motormouth delivery. There was simply nobody to match his rambling monologues, delivered at express speed and complete with wild digressions taking in all manner of bizarre observation. Having compered Saturday Live and then in 1989 being given the prestigious job of presenting BBC One's Wogan during its regular host's holidays, in 1990 Elton was given his own BBC starring vehicle: The Man from Auntie. The show started off as virtually a rolling stream of stand-up, showcasing Elton's trademark style and interspersed occasionally with soundbites from a range of talking 'potato heads'. Cleverly breaking up the flow, these were reminiscent of the surreal cutaways of talking inanimate objects that had peppered The Young Ones. The Man from Auntie was perhaps unlike any other mainstream show in its open treatment of politics and with Elton unafraid to put forward his openly left-wing views he quickly antagonised sections of the tabloid press, who labelled him 'dangerous'. Often, though, his targets were simply the ridiculous aspects of modern life. After a four-year hiatus, a second series reached screens in 1994 with a slightly rejigged formula. Longer sketches saw Elton playing a host of characters, usually without any attempt at impersonation (for Des Lynam, a wig and fake moustache would suffice) across parodies of TV adverts and other programmes. The star remained his sharply satirical self and took aim not just at the Tory government (although of course they still featured strongly) but anything topical that took his fancy. The rapid-fire stand-up was still the backbone of each show, but by breaking it up with a more varied range of sketches and short 'news headline' style gags, the new series seemed to have a stronger structure. Each episode still climaxed with a final long monologue, in which Elton used his signature method to conjure up a bizarre world populated by a succession of surreal images and characters. His machine-gun delivery and excitedly gesturing style lent himself to lampooning by other comics, especially Rory Bremner, but Elton remained a highly popular star and in 1998 he returned with a new format, The Ben Elton Show. However, with the Tory government finally deposed and offering an unlikely regular guest slot for Ronnie Corbett, he never quite recaptured the bite that had coursed so strongly through the veins of The Man From Auntie.

ben elton, performer, john burrows, geoffrey perkins,