The Two Ninnies

The Two Ronnies was a television comedy sketch show created by Bill Cotton for the BBC, which aired from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Barker and Corbett, the Two Ronnies of the title. The show was produced annually between 1971 and 1987. It had many notable writers including John Cleese, Spike Milligan, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones. In addition, Barker used the pseudonym Gerald Wiley when writing sketches.

The show featured comic sketches in which Barker and Corbett appeared both together and separately, with various additions giving the program the feeling of a variety show. The sketches often involved complex word-play, much of it written by Barker, who also liked to parody officialdom and establishment figures, as well as eccentrics. In addition to their regular TV series, the Ronnies also made a number of Christmas specials and telemovies, the best known of which being Futtocks End, The Picnic and By The Sea.

In common with similar British productions of the time, The Ronnie's humor included healthy doses of innuendo and the occasional baring of a starlet's knickers, particularly during the "serial" segments such ''Death Can Be Fatal.'' Full-figure lingerie scenes were much rarer than in The Benny Hill Show, but young female extras appeared in their underwear on occasion throughout the Seventies and early Eighties.

Garters Galore!

And now for another (in)famous chase scene from The Benny Hill Show! By the end of the eighties, the starring cast must have been stripped down to their underwear in every manner humanly possible, but apparently, the Old Reprobate still had a few tricks up his sleeve.

 

 

 

 

This 1986 closing sketch finished with Benny fleeing through the Dimpton countryside with the obligatory Traffic Wardens in hot pursuit. Inevitably, a chance encounter with a barbed wire fence leaves the girls in nothing but their bras and knickers, at which point the tables abruptly turn and the WPCs find themselves sprinting half-naked through the woods.

 

 

On the run again...

 

The skit appears to have been a fun shoot for everybody concerned; evidently the girls found running around in their stockings and garters as much of a thrill as we do. Interestingly, the scene posted above originally had the closing credits rolling over the action. We'd be very interested to know how they removed the titles for this animated gif. It seems to have been lifted from an old video compilation (as opposed to DVD), maybe there's an alternate source concealed somewhere on the net :)

Up To His Old Tricks Again...

Yes, Benny Hill will do literally anything to meet a pretty girl. In this 'silent movie' sketch, Benny dresses up as an old maid then finds himself alone in a room with four sweet young things (apologies for the grainy screencaps):

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a good quality clip of this scene anywhere online. Feel free to post a link if you happen to have one.

James Whale Radio TV Show: The Dream Girls

 James Whale (no relation to the acclaimed Universal movie director) was a run-of-the-mill talk-back radio host until he unaccountably graduated to TV in the late 1980s. While otherwise painfully unremarkable, the show occasionally featured scantily-clad British beauties whose sole purpose was to spice up the proceedings with a touch of risque humor.  One of the more memorable appearances consisted of the aptly named Dream Girls: 

VCR screencap - apologies for the low resolution.

For some inexplicable reason, this multi-talented dance troupe had to perform in the sexiest of lace corsetry imaginable - basques, torsolettes, garter belts and waist-cinchers - complete with matching black hosiery. Interestingly enough, none of the other guests were required to remove any clothing whatsoever - most probably because they were male.

James meets the Dream Girls: beware of vulgar humor.

Apropos to their act, James asked the girls, "Did you enjoy that?" - to which Lisa (the blonde in the middle) replied, "Yes we did, very much" - a sentiment evidently shared by everyone who saw them. A phone-in poll confirmed that 95 percent of the viewing audience wanted to see The Dream Girls back in future episodes. Not sure whether they returned as regular guests - information on the group is extremely rare at this point of time - but hope always springs eternal.

The full dance sequence may be seen in this (regrettably low resolution) video from 1991. Fast forward to 25.31; the Girls are literally the only thing worth watching over the course of the entire sordid program.

For cryin' out loud - get RID of the fat guy!