Lenny Henry's Race Through Comedy

Starting with the hugely successful sitcom Love Thy Neighbour, the series looks at some of the well-meaning attempts television made to embrace the changing face of the nation during the 1970s. The advent of Channel 4 was a key catalyst in bringing diversity to UK homes during the 1980s and into the 90s, with shows such as No Problem!, The Cosby Show and Desmond's. The film concludes with a look at the influence diversity and multiculturalism has had on society on comedy through shows such as Phoneshop, People Just Do Nothing and Chewing Gum.

Starting with early pioneers such as Charlie Williams and Josh White, black men who braved the tough northern men's working clubs in the 1960s and 70s, the show also marks the start of Lenny Henry's own career. The show acknowledges the undeniable influence of the African-American cabaret club circuit as a training ground for a host of black comedians including the great Richard Pryor. Buoyed by the work of Pryor and Eddie Murphy in the 1980s, a new generation of British comedians including Curtis Walker, Angie Le Mar and Stephen K. Amos started to emerge. By the start of the millennium, black and Asian comedians were commonplace. There are also contributions from Shazia Mirza, Shappi Khorsandi and Gina Yashere on the challenges of being a woman of colour in stand-up.

Beginning with Lenny's prominence as a versatile performer and creator of characters, the film features great archive from Tiswas, Three of a Kind and Lenny's own shows. Curtis Walker and Llewella Gideon talk about the legacy of beloved 90s sketch show The Real McCoy, which also provided a platform for the late Felix Dexter. Meera Syal talks to Lenny about Goodness Gracious Me, British television's first Asian sketch show, as well as uncovering the secrets behind the success of The Kumars at Number 42. Lenny also speaks to Jocelyn Jee Esien about pranking the public as a member of Three Non Blondes, as well as talking about her own show Little Miss Jocelyn.