Why Carry On icon Kenneth Williams's legacy in British entertainment continues to endure

Say the name Kenneth Williams and immediately you’re reminded of a rubber face, elongated vowels, a camp persona and a master of comic timing, as demonstrated in the Carry On films and radio programmes that are still popular today.

But for radio presenter and dedicated Williams fan Wes Butters, the comic luminary remains much more than a "cartoon character". Butters says, "He transcended all age groups, all levels of society, all BBC networks."

In a book, a radio documentary and now a film to be released later this year, Butters has been at pains to stress the star’s qualities as a person, something Williams would have appreciated, having often referred to the supposed ignominy of the creative artist required to perform low comedy.

When Butters was planning a celebration of Williams’s centenary – a whole day of programmes on Radio 4 Extra this Saturday to mark exactly 100 years since Williams’s birth on 22 February 1926 – he had the same aim, to remind us of his idol’s dedication and versatility.

Featured highlights include The Streets of London (1980) in which Williams proudly showed off his neighbourhood to Johnny Morris and Percy Edwards, and panel show The Law Game (1988), one of his last appearances. For Butters, this recording is bittersweet: "He’s so buoyant, at his best just months before he died."

Butters, 46, was still a boy when Williams died. "He was ubiquitous in my childhood," Butters recalls of a time when Williams’s cross-generational appeal extended to frequent storytelling duties on Jackanory. "Everything about him was amusing to me," says the presenter, who was confused when he read the star’s celebrated Diaries, posthumously revealing a much darker side. "I couldn’t reconcile that happy joyous character with the man who would not allow himself to feel joy."

One night in 2005, Butters bought a photo on eBay reportedly once owned by Williams. Butters contacted the seller, Williams’s godson Robert Chidell, who said he was selling everything, a collection his longtime fan was happy to scoop up in its entirety. Later, Butters was sitting with his memorabilia when Williams’s diaries fell open at a page on which the actor wondered what would become of his possessions after his death.

"It’s not just serendipitous, it’s spooky," Butters says. "I feel at times as though his hand has guided me."

Whether he was indulging in dirty postcard humour, a poetry recital or, surprisingly, Bible readings, Williams "drew you in". He was one of BBC Radio’s biggest stars, greatly loved for three comedy series – Hancock’s Half Hour, Just a Minute and Round the Horne — that have retained their popularity.

Meanwhile, Williams’s chat show anecdotes enjoy repeated airings, and the Carry On films remain a perennial TV treat. More than half a century later, why does Williams’s unique contribution to British entertainment endure?

"Because there was nobody like him," Butters offers. "He wasn’t trying to be anybody else." Williams died relatively young at 62; where could his career otherwise have taken him? "I like to think that he would have become a serious character actor," Butters says. But he also wonders whether that would have made Williams content: "The laughter was so important to him."

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The Versatile Voice of Kenneth Williams: A Centenary Celebration is on Sunday from 6am on Radio 4 Extra.

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