The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand de Bargos was a 1989 BBC comedy television series, in which surreal and satirical narratives were assembled entirely out archive film clips, with new soundtracks provided by voice-over artists. It was written and produced by Geoff Atkinson

Geoff Atkinson

Geoff Atkinson is a British comedy writer and producer.He has written and produced various shows featuring Rory Bremner. He is managing director of Vera Productions, an Independent production company he set up with Bremner....

 and Kim Fuller

Kim Fuller

Kim Fuller is a British writer for film, radio and television. His brother Simon Fuller is Britain's most successful music manager as manager of Annie Lennox and The Spice Girls amongst others and creator of the Idol Series...

, and ran for three series until 1995.

Cast

Most of the voice-overs were provided by voice artists who were already well-known in the industry, having previously worked on comedy series such as Spitting Image

Spitting Image

Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....

. Among them were Jim Broadbent

Jim Broadbent

James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...

, Ronni Ancona

Ronni Ancona

Ronni Ancona is a Scottish actress, impressionist and author. Ancona won the Best TV Comedy Actress award at the 2003 British Comedy Awards for her work in Big Impression.- Career :...

, Kate Robbins

Kate Robbins

Katherine Robbins is an English actress, comedienne and singer.-Biography:Robbins is a first cousin once removed of Paul McCartney and older sister of Amy Robbins . She attended Wirral Grammar School for Girls and won the Drama Prizes each year, notably with her monologue "All this glitters is not...

, Enn Reitel

Enn Reitel

Enn Reitel is a Scottish actor and impressionist who specialises in voice work.- Early life :Reitel's family arrived in Scotland as refugees from Estonia, German Empire...

, Jon Glover

Jon Glover

Jon Glover is a British actor. He has appeared in various television programmes including Play School, Survivors, the Management consultant in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Casualty, Bodger and Badger and Peak Practice....

, Alistair Macgowan and Caroline Leddy. Many of them went on to perform in front of the camera, taking starring roles in impressionist comedy series such as The Big Impression.