The Shuttleworths

The Shuttleworths is a British radio comedy that, between 1993 and 2010, has aired for five series and numerous specials on BBC Radio 4. It features "versatile singer/songwriter from Sheffield" John Shuttleworth and his family and neighbours, all performed by comedian Graham Fellows.

The Shuttleworths
Radio Shuttleworth
John Shuttleworth's Open Mind
GenreComedy-drama
Running time15/30 minutes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Language(s)English
Home stationBBC Radio 4
StarringGraham Fellows
Created byGraham Fellows
Written byGraham Fellows
Original release11 October 1993 – 16 June 2010
No. of series5/2/1
No. of episodes37/11/5
Audio formatStereophonic sound

Format

In John's fictional world, each fifteen-minute episode is a cassette tape recording made by John, featuring John's commentary addressed directly to the listener and eavesdropping on John's daily life. Characters include his wife Mary, neighbour and agent Ken Worthington, their two teenage children Darren and Karen, and Mary's friend Joan Chitty, all voiced by Graham Fellows. Events are interspersed with his own bizarre bouncy keyboard ditties on such varied matters as Austin Ambassadors, garden centres and toast, all performed (usually badly) on his Yamaha Portasound electronic keyboard.

Each programme is improvised, recorded and edited by Fellows using multitrack recording. Early series were recorded in Fellows' garden shed on a four-track cassette, and one series was recorded in a hotel bedroom. Fellows now makes his programmes in his own digital recording studio.[1]

Shuttleworth's ShowTime

"was a six part series broadcast during November and December 1994 on Night time BBC Radio One. The series was produced by Paul Schlesinger and Jane Berthaud." It included guest stars such as poet Hovis Presley, comedian Mark Thomas, and singer Bonnie Tyler amongst regular characters of Ken Worthington, Mary Shuttleworth and the Shuttleworth children voiced by Fellowes himself. Unlike the other series this was never released commercially on CD but a single 60 minute cassette tape "Best of Shuttleworth's ShowTime" was briefly available.

The notes above are taken directly from the liner notes of that cassette tape.

Radio Shuttleworth

From 1998, John's attempt to set up a local radio station "serving the Sheffield region - and a little bit further even" was broadcast as two series of Radio Shuttleworth. The programmes followed a similar format to The Shuttleworths, but their new length of thirty minutes allowed celebrity guest slots (Impress an Impresario, Make Mary Merry, Annoy a prospective employer) and opportunities to interview celebrities on the show. The show was a Radio 4 continuation of the 1994 Radio 1 series Shuttleworth's Showtime, and some guests and segments (including Make Mary Merry) had previously appeared on the Radio 1 incarnation.

John Shuttleworth's Open Mind

In John Shuttleworth's Open Mind, John attempted to investigate five unsolved phenomena that fascinate the nation. Each programme was thirty minutes long. This was effectively a third series of Radio Shuttleworth.

John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music

In John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music, John Shuttleworth invited musical guests to his home to sing one of his songs and one of their own, if they were lucky. Each programme was thirty minutes long.

Episode lists

The Shuttleworths

SeriesEpisodeTitleFirst broadcast
11Cotton Buddies11 October 1993
2Mini-Break in Giggleswick12 October 1993
3How...13 October 1993
4The Pillock Of The Community14 October 1993
5One Foot In The Gravy26 March 1994
6John Goes to London2 April 1994
Special1Xmas Eve With The Shuttleworths20 December 1993
Special2New Year With The Shuttleworths31 December 1993
Special3Europigeon28 April 1994
21Wireless Wanderings (1)28 June 1995
2Wireless Wanderings (2)5 July 1995
3The Birthday Bench12 July 1995
4John Dries Up19 July 1995
5Shuttleworth Diplomacy26 July 1995
Special4John Shuttleworth's Open House #126 September 1996
Special5A Christmas Carol25 December 1996
31Chic Ken8 October 1997
2Ping Pong Pangs15 October 1997
3Radio Shuttleworth22 October 1997
4Caravan Capers29 October 1997
5John Le Shuttle5 November 1997
6Midsummer Madras12 November 1997
Special6John Shuttleworth's Open House #231 December 1997
Special7The Leg End of Robin Hood26 December 2000
Special8Plonker's Baby24 December 2002
41Cough in the Loft13 February 2003
2Chrome Alone20 February 2003
3A Moving Story27 February 2003
4Scare in the Community6 March 2003
5Every Cloud Has a Silver Wedding13 March 2003
6Hello, Hello, Hello20 March 2003
51Tale of a Toaster12 May 2010
2Smells Like White Spirit19 May 2010
3A Gig With Billy Joel26 May 2010
4How's Your Nan2 June 2010
5Picnic at Toadmouth Rock9 June 2010
6Wishee Washee Day16 June 2010 (originally scheduled for 2 June but postponed due to Cumbria shootings)
Special9Visiting Time23 December 2018
Special10Your Very Good Elf22 December 2019

Radio Shuttleworth

SeriesEpisodeSpecial guestsFirst broadcast
11Leo Sayer, John Hegley3 November 1998
2Wendy Craig, Lorraine Bowen, The League Against Tedium10 November 1998
3Patrick Moore, Seán Cullen, Jenny Eclair17 November 1998
4Vanessa Feltz, Boothby Graffoe24 November 1998
5John Kettley, John Moloney, Sean Lock1 December 1998
21Barbara Dickson, Bill Bailey, Hattie Hayridge24 February 2000
2Richard Whiteley, John Otway, Jo Enright2 March 2000
3Tony Hart, Lorraine Bowen, Stephen Frost9 March 2000
4Peter Purves, Phil Nichol, Milton Jones16 March 2000
5Katrina Leskanich, Robert Wyatt23 March 2000
6Matthew Kelly, Mitch Benn, Kevin Gildea30 March 2000

John Shuttleworth's Open Mind

SeriesEpisodeTitleFirst broadcast
11UFOs30 March 2006
2Ghosts6 April 2006
3Vampires13 April 2006
4Fairies20 April 2006
5The Bermuda Triangle27 April 2006

John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music

SeriesEpisodeTitleFirst broadcast
1 1 Chas & Dave 13 July 2014
2 Heaven 17 20 July 2014
3 Toyah Willcox 27 July 2014
4 Lee John 3 August 2014
2 1 Chris Difford 20 November 2016
2 Clare Grogan 27 November 2016
3 Nick Heyward 4 December 2016
4 Mari Wilson 11 December 2016

References

  1. Inglis, Sam (2004), "Graham Fellows (aka John Shuttleworth) Making Engineering Funny", Sound on Sound magazine, Cambridge, May 2004, retrieved 29 March 2012
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