Channel 5 celebrate the world of Frankie Howerd

The king of the titter is celebrated this evening, in his own words.

From sitcoms to stand-up, theatre roles and big-screen comedy, there wasn’t much in the world of laughter that Frankie Howerd didn’t do.

Tonight Channel 5 invite long-time fan David Walliams to chart the story of fellow innuendo-fuelled Frankie and his on-and-off screen life, with the emphasis mainly on his work thankfully – that allows us to view some fabulous moments.

Frankie was a big hit in the fifties on radio and television comedies, fell out of style in the early 60s only to make a triumpant come back in the mid-sixties. He commanded television and film hits in the seventies before once again fading from the spotlight only to have another huge comeback when he became a darling of the student scene that lead to further television adventures.

Frankie on ATV’s Startime

His career highlights are celebrated in this documentary using chat show interviews to show the work of star of Up Pompeii in his own words. Spanning six decades of performance the programme brings together long-forgotten footage, rare performances and personal photographs.

Take a journey through the life of the British comedian whose career gave the world several catchphrases, some still impersonated even today, and who appeared in hit movies such as the Carry On franchise, hosted his own comedy series’ for both the BBC and ITV and ever released ‘pop songs’ – who could ever fail to remember, once heard, his version of Up Je T’aime with June Whitfield?

Frankie Howerd: In his own Words, Channel 5, 8pm

Frankie appears on ATV’s The Golden Shot as his Up Pompeii character Lurcio