AS BEFITS a show that claims to be ‘the antidote to panel games’ it is appropriate that marking the 50th anniversary of I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue is itself problematic. Did it start in 1972, 1971 or 1964?
What is not at issue, however, is that the show’s roots sprang from that fertile breeding ground for comic talent, the Cambridge University Footlights Society.
The Society’s 1963 production, Cambridge Circus, alone brought together, amongst others, John Cleese, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie. Less bitingly satirical than Beyond The Fringe, it was a more surreal brand of humour, and was an obvious forerunner, not surprisingly given who was involved, of both The Goodies and Monty Python.
The radio sketch series followed in 1964, again featuring Cleese, Brooke-Taylor collaborators, and the recently deceased Jo Kendall – a gifted mimic – being the sole woman.
