The Sunday Format
Encyclopedia
The Sunday Format, "BBC Radio 4
's first high-quality weekend broadsheet
newspaper
", is a British
satirical
radio comedy
. The programme is a parody
of British middle class
newspapers, in particular the lifestyle supplements and glossy celebrity magazines that fill Sunday papers. The programme is a series of short sketches that dramatise the articles in the eponymous
newspaper, with the cast assuming accent
s to convey the characters of the journalist
or columnist
. The articles are presented in the format of a British Sunday newspaper, with the copy distributed in columns across the body of the paper, and commonly feature lists of items or instructions. Sketches are broken up, and often use backing music which also stops and starts along with the reading of the column. This leads to a surreal
, Dadaist juxtaposition of sketches, with jokes being set up at the beginning of the episode and the punchline being delivered at a random point before the end.
The show was devised by John Morton
and was produced by Paul Schlesinger and Helen Williams
, the writing team is Simon Blackwell
, Nick Revell
, Dave Cohen, Ewan Bailey, Emma Kennedy
, Bill Dare
, Laurence Howarth
, Andrew Marlatt and Tony Roche
. The cast is Ewan Bailey, Rebecca Front
, Simon Greenall
, Emma Kennedy, Chris Langham
and Tracy-Ann Oberman
. Alexander Armstrong
, Ben Miller
and Siriol Jenkins were also in earlier series.
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's first high-quality weekend broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
", is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
radio comedy
Radio comedy
Radio comedy, or comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve sitcom elements, sketches and various types of comedy found on other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elements, as these can be conveyed on a small budget with just a few sound effects or some...
. The programme is a 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...
of British middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
newspapers, in particular the lifestyle supplements and glossy celebrity magazines that fill Sunday papers. The programme is a series of short sketches that dramatise the articles in the eponymous
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
newspaper, with the cast assuming accent
Accent (linguistics)
In linguistics, an accent is a manner of pronunciation peculiar to a particular individual, location, or nation.An accent may identify the locality in which its speakers reside , the socio-economic status of its speakers, their ethnicity, their caste or social class, their first language In...
s to convey the characters of the journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
or columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
. The articles are presented in the format of a British Sunday newspaper, with the copy distributed in columns across the body of the paper, and commonly feature lists of items or instructions. Sketches are broken up, and often use backing music which also stops and starts along with the reading of the column. This leads to a surreal
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, Dadaist juxtaposition of sketches, with jokes being set up at the beginning of the episode and the punchline being delivered at a random point before the end.
Conception
The show was first heard in 1996 in a one-off pilot episode. It did not return until a four part series in Feb/Mar 1999, six episodes in Nov/Dec 2000 and four part series in Sep/Oct 2001, Jan 2003 and Jan/Feb 2004. The show has won a Sony Radio Award and British Comedy Award.The show was devised by John Morton
John Morton (writer)
John Morton is a British writer and director for television and radio, perhaps best known as the creator of People Like Us, which starred Chris Langham. which starred Chris Langham as the series as the hapless documentary maker Roy Mallard...
and was produced by Paul Schlesinger and Helen Williams
Helen Williams
Helen Mary Williams CB is a British civil servant and Director of School Curriculum and Pupil Well-being at the Department for Children, Schools and Families....
, the writing team is Simon Blackwell
Simon Blackwell
Simon Blackwell is a British comedy writer. He is best known for his collaborations with Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, and thus has written and co-written scripts for The Thick of It, In The Loop, The Old Guys, Have I Got News For You?, Four Lions and Peep Show amongst others.-External links:*...
, Nick Revell
Nick Revell
Nick Revell is a British stand-up comedian and writer for radio and television. Born John Revell, he studied at Lincoln College, Oxford, and subsequently taught English at Westminster School....
, Dave Cohen, Ewan Bailey, Emma Kennedy
Emma Kennedy
Emma Kennedy is an English actress, writer and television presenter....
, Bill Dare
Bill Dare
Bill Dare is an English producer and devisor of radio and television comedy programmes.The son of the actor and broadcaster Peter Jones, he is a graduate of the University of Manchester who subsequently became an actor, director and writer...
, Laurence Howarth
Laurence Howarth
Laurence Howarth is an English comic actor and writer. He has appeared in one episode each of the TV series After You've Gone , Hyperdrive , Blessed , The Robinsons , My Hero and Dark Ages...
, Andrew Marlatt and Tony Roche
Tony Roche (writer)
Tony Roche is a television and radio comedy writer, best-known as one of the members of the writing team behind the award-winning BBC Television series The Thick of It and its film spin-off In the Loop....
. The cast is Ewan Bailey, Rebecca Front
Rebecca Front
Rebecca Front is a BAFTA Award–winning English comedian and actress best known for her performances in The Thick of It in the late 2000s, and series of critically acclaimed satirical comedies in the early 1990s: On The Hour, The Day Today and Knowing Me, Knowing You...with Alan Partridge...
, Simon Greenall
Simon Greenall
Simon Greenall is a British actor, writer and voice artist from Longtown in Cumbria. He has appeared in a wide variety of roles in television, film, radio and the theatre, and is probably best known for his role as Michael in the TV series I'm Alan Partridge and as the voice of headmaster Iqbal in...
, Emma Kennedy, Chris Langham
Chris Langham
Christopher "Chris" Langham is an English writer, actor and comedian. He is most famous for playing MP Hugh Abbot in BBC Four sitcom The Thick of It and as presenter Roy Mallard in People Like Us, first on BBC Radio 4 and later on its transfer to television on BBC Two, where Mallard is almost...
and Tracy-Ann Oberman
Tracy-Ann Oberman
Tracy-Ann Oberman is an English television, theatre and radio actress, known for her role as Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera Eastenders...
. Alexander Armstrong
Alexander Armstrong (comedian)
Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong is a British comedian, actor and television presenter.-Early life and career:Armstrong was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, the youngest of three children, to Henry Angus Armstrong and his wife Emma Virginia Peronnet Thompson-McCausland, daughter of Lucius...
, Ben Miller
Ben Miller
Bennet Evan "Ben" Miller is an English comedian, actor and director. He is perhaps best known as one half of comedy double act Armstrong and Miller, along with Alexander Armstrong. Together the pair wrote and starred in Channel 4 sketch show Armstrong and Miller, and the more recent BBC television...
and Siriol Jenkins were also in earlier series.