Balham, Gateway to the South is comedy sketch parody

Parody

A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

ing a short travel documentary

Travel documentary

A travel documentary is a documentary film or television program that describes travel in general or tourist attractions in a non-commercial way....

 about the south London suburb of Balham

Balham, London

Balham is a neighbourhood of south London, England, and is part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and the London Borough of Lambeth.-History:...

. It was written by Frank Muir

Frank Muir

Frank Herbert Muir was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wrote BBC radio's Take It From Here for over 10 years, and then appeared on BBC radio...

 and Denis Norden

Denis Norden

Denis Mostyn Norden CBE is a former English comedy writer and television presenter. After an early career working in cinemas, he began scriptwriting during World War II. From 1948 to 1959, he co-wrote the successful BBC Radio comedy programme Take It from Here with Frank Muir...

 for a 1950s BBC radio series called Third Division. The sketch featured the voice of Peter Sellers

Peter Sellers

Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...

 narrating, in a parody of the famous American newsreel-travelogue host James A. Fitzpatrick

James A. Fitzpatrick

James A. Fitzpatrick was a movie producer, director, writer, and narrator, best remembered for making indian documentaries. After completing training in dramatic arts, he worked, for a while, as a journalist...

, with highly exaggerated, dramatic claims regarding the putative attractions of 'Bal-ham'. The sketch was subsequently released on the 1958 record The Best of Sellers, produced by George Martin

George Martin

Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...

.

The sketch was considerably expanded in 1979 to form the script of a short (21-minute) colour film of the same name directed by Micky Dolenz

Micky Dolenz

George Michael "Micky" Dolenz, Jr. is an American actor, musician, television director, radio personality and theater director, best known as a member of the 1960s made-for-television band The Monkees.-Biography:...

. It starred Danny Schiller and Judy Gridley as a bewildered couple of American tourists, and Robbie Coltrane

Robbie Coltrane

Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...

 in several cameo roles, including those originally voiced by Sellers. It was narrated, this time in an English accent, by David de Keyser

David de Keyser

David de Keyser is a British actor. He is the father of Alexei de Keyser, Pia de Keyser and Thomas de Keyser.In the mid-sixties de Keyser worked twice with the writer, actor and director Jane Arden. Their first collaboration, The Logic Game, was the first BBC drama to be shot on film; it was...

.