Lenny Henry to meet comedy legends in new Channel 4 series

Virgin Radio

17 May 2023, 07:20

National treasure Sir Lenny Henry is set to spend time with other comedy stars in a brand-new series.

Legends of Comedy with Lenny Henry will see the award-winning comedian, actor and writer delve into the careers and inspirations of his comedy heroes.

The four-part series will air on Channel 4, and will see Lenny meet four of the country’s most iconic comedians to explore just how to make comedy gold. Each episode will see him take a deep dive into the career and work of his guest to discover how they – and other icons – have made their mark in the comedy world.

Along with in-depth chats there will be archive clips in each hour-long episode.

Paul Whitehouse of Fast Show and Gone Fishing fame will feature in one episode, while Sally Phillips from Smack the Pony, I’m Alan Partridge and Taskmaster, will be in another. 

The Ranganation’s Romesh Ranganathan will also be the focus of an episode, and the Comic Strip and Young Ones legend Alexei Sayle completes the impressive line-up of guests.

In a statement, Lenny said: “It was great fun spending time with my friends and hearing about what makes them laugh and what they take inspiration from. I hope the audience enjoys it as much as I did.”

Sir Lenny Henry recently joined the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with cinch to talk about making his playwriting debut with August in England, which gives insight into the lives impacted by the injustice of the Windrush scandal. 

He told Chris: “I wanted to write a story about post-Windrush people, who maybe came in the 60s, who came on their mother's passport like my sister, Kay, and then lived in this country for years and years and years and paid benefits and taxes and everything, and then suddenly had this thing arrive in their life that said, ‘Oh, you have no leave to remain, you've got to go home.’"

The one-man play runs at London’s Bush Theatre until Saturday 10th June.

There is currently no release date announced for when Legends of Comedy with Lenny Henry will air on Channel 4.