Firstly, I would like to express my sorrow at the sad passing of Mike Yarwood. It is easy to forget now what a huge star he was back in the day. I have watched a number of his shows recently and they are still enjoyable.
Onto Doddy. His most recent television show had been 'Funny You Should Say That' for ATV. "World Of Laughter" was more of the same - Doddy doing stand-up and sketches interspersed with songs and interminable dance routines featuring The Young Generation in flared trousers. Among the sketches was a parody of the famous Hovis ad in which a flat-capped boy pushes a bike carrying loaves of bread up a steep hill. Relieved of his burden, he rides the bike down the hill, only to crash at the bottom. Cartoonist Bill Tidy turns the Mona Lisa into a family portrait. Miriam Margolyes appears briefly. Windsor Davies plays Dodd's father in a sketch in which Dodd reveals he is pregnant. Veteran comedian Sandy Powell does a magic act.
When this went out, a general election was imminent, hence Dodd ( a staunch Tory ) gives us a lot of gags at the expense of Labour leader Harold Wilson. Which would have been okay if he had done a few about Ted Heath and Jeremy Thorpe, but he did not. No Diddymen, surprisingly.
Transmitted on Thursday evenings, 'World Of Laughter' proved popular enough to run until 1976. Dodd defected later in the decade to Thames television.
Onto Doddy. His most recent television show had been 'Funny You Should Say That' for ATV. "World Of Laughter" was more of the same - Doddy doing stand-up and sketches interspersed with songs and interminable dance routines featuring The Young Generation in flared trousers. Among the sketches was a parody of the famous Hovis ad in which a flat-capped boy pushes a bike carrying loaves of bread up a steep hill. Relieved of his burden, he rides the bike down the hill, only to crash at the bottom. Cartoonist Bill Tidy turns the Mona Lisa into a family portrait. Miriam Margolyes appears briefly. Windsor Davies plays Dodd's father in a sketch in which Dodd reveals he is pregnant. Veteran comedian Sandy Powell does a magic act.
When this went out, a general election was imminent, hence Dodd ( a staunch Tory ) gives us a lot of gags at the expense of Labour leader Harold Wilson. Which would have been okay if he had done a few about Ted Heath and Jeremy Thorpe, but he did not. No Diddymen, surprisingly.
Transmitted on Thursday evenings, 'World Of Laughter' proved popular enough to run until 1976. Dodd defected later in the decade to Thames television.