The Shuttleworths

Last updated

The Shuttleworths
Radio Shuttleworth
John Shuttleworth's Open Mind
Genre Comedy drama
Running time15/30 minutes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Language(s) English
Home station BBC Radio 4
Starring Graham Fellows
Created byGraham Fellows
Written byGraham Fellows
Original release11 October 1993 
16 June 2010
No. of series6/2/1
No. of episodes39/11/5
Audio format Stereophonic sound

The Shuttleworths is a British radio comedy that aired as five series between 1993 and 2010, with a sixth in 2022, and numerous specials on BBC Radio 4. It features singer/songwriter from Sheffield, John Shuttleworth, his family, and his neighbours, and is written and performed by comedian Graham Fellows. [1]

Contents

Format

The show revolves around John Shuttleworth and his family. Each episode is fifteen minutes long and is narrated by John Shuttleworth himself. The episodes are recorded on a cassette tape by John, featuring John's commentary addressed directly to the listener and eavesdropping on his own daily life.[ citation needed ] Characters include his wife Mary, their two teenagers Darren and Karen, neighbour and agent Ken Worthington, 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.

Fellows improvised, recorded and edited each programme using a multitrack recording. The earlier series were recorded in Fellows' garden shed on a four-track cassette, and one series was recorded in a hotel bedroom, while recent and current programmes from the series are now made in his own digital recording studio. [2]

Shuttleworth's ShowTime

It 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 Fellows himself. This series was never released commercially on CD, but a single 60 minute cassette tape "Best of Shuttleworth's ShowTime" was briefly available.

Radio Shuttleworth

From 1998, John's "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 30-minute length 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

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

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 Giggleswick 12 October 1993
3How...13 October 1993
4The Pillock Of The Community14 October 1993
5One Foot In The Gravy26 March 1994
6John Goes to London 2 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
2 Ping Pong Pangs15 October 1997
3Radio Shuttleworth22 October 1997
4 Caravan Capers29 October 1997
5John Le Shuttle5 November 1997
6Midsummer Madras 12 November 1997
Special6John Shuttleworth's Open House #231 December 1997
Special7The Leg End of Robin Hood 26 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 Wedding 13 March 2003
6Hello, Hello, Hello20 March 2003
51Tale of a Toaster12 May 2010
2Smells Like White Spirit19 May 2010
3A Gig With Billy Joel 26 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
61Rusty's Party1 December 2022
2All's Well That Begins Badly8 December 2022

Radio Shuttleworth

SeriesEpisodeSpecial guestsFirst broadcast
11 Leo Sayer, John Hegley 3 November 1998
2 Wendy Craig, Lorraine Bowen, The League Against Tedium 10 November 1998
3 Patrick Moore, Seán Cullen, Jenny Eclair 17 November 1998
4 Vanessa Feltz, Boothby Graffoe 24 November 1998
5 John Kettley, John Moloney, Sean Lock 1 December 1998
21 Barbara Dickson, Bill Bailey, Hattie Hayridge 24 February 2000
2 Richard Whiteley, John Otway, Jo Enright 2 March 2000
3 Tony Hart, Lorraine Bowen, Stephen Frost 9 March 2000
4 Peter Purves, Phil Nichol, Milton Jones 16 March 2000
5 Katrina Leskanich, Robert Wyatt 23 March 2000
6 Matthew Kelly, Mitch Benn, Kevin Gildea 30 March 2000

John Shuttleworth's Open Mind

SeriesEpisodeTitleFirst broadcast
11 UFOs 30 March 2006
2 Ghosts 6 April 2006
3 Vampires 13 April 2006
4 Fairies 20 April 2006
5The Bermuda Triangle 27 April 2006

John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music

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

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References

  1. "BBC Radio 4 - The Shuttleworths". BBC. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  2. Inglis, Sam (2004), "Graham Fellows (aka John Shuttleworth) Making Engineering Funny", Sound on Sound magazine, Cambridge, May 2004, retrieved 29 March 2012