Radio Times: Review by:; David Crawford

David Nobbs is a funny man. Not only did he create one of the greatest comic characters in Reggie Perrin but he also has a funny name, ripe for comic exploitation — something he’s not shy of in this hugely entertaining talk on his life and career.

He wryly covers everything from his ten-year-old self’s attempts to write books, which only stretched to the titles, to the moment he first got a sketch — or a line from a sketch — on That Was the Week That Was. There are also readings of excerpts from his first staged work, an extract from his first book and the revelation that, like Reggie Perrin, he likes ravioli. He lived off tins of it while in lodgings.

About this programme

1/3. New series. Comedy writer David Nobbs presents a joke-laden examination of his career to a studio audience, featuring guest readings and archive material. In this edition he reflects on his younger years, and recalls how TV fame beckoned when taxis were sent to collect his sketches for a ground-breaking satirical show. With contributions by Martin Trenaman and Mia Soteriou.