The Very World of Milton Jones

Last updated

The Very World of Milton Jones was a comedy show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1998 and 2001 starring English comedian Milton Jones. It ran for three series. [1]

Each programme would begin with Jones facing certain death in some bizarre circumstance or other, such as being put before a firing squad in Mexico, or being faced with a cobra in the jungles of South America. At the moment before his death, a guardian angel would appear and freeze time, then spend the rest of the show reviewing and interpreting the events which had led up to his impending demise, as well as covering hypothetical situations that Milton could have been involved in (such as selling Watchtowers in Arthurian England). At the end of the show, the angel would leave, at which point Jones would be blessed with an incredibly narrow escape from death, usually related to jokes in the show (for example, in the "Firing Squad" episode, Milton is revealed as a supermarket worker, and he is saved from death when the bullets rebound from his Tesco clubcard), thus setting him up for the next episode.

In addition to Jones himself, various other performers frequently appeared on the show. These were Alexander Armstrong, Melanie Hudson, Dave Lamb, Alistair McGowan, Joanna Scanlan and former Week Ending comedian Sally Grace.

All three series were produced and directed by David Tyler.

The programme is often repeated on digital radio station BBC 7 / BBC Radio 4 Extra

All three series are available to download as audiobooks from Audible.com.

Episode list

Original Air Date [2] [3] Episode Title
Series 1
13 Aug 19981. Falling Through the Air Without a Parachute
20 Aug 19982. Chased by a Bull
27 Aug 19983. Bitten by a Cobra
04 Sep 19984. Shot in the Head by Gangsters
11 Sep 19985. Choking To Death on A Twix
18 Sep 19986. Tied to a railway track
Series 2
26 Oct 19991. Shot by a Firing Squad
02 Nov 19992. Struck by Lightning
16 Nov 19993. Freezing to Death whilst looking for Santa
16 Nov 19994. Hit by a Car at Cannes Film Festival
23 Nov 19995 . Crushed by a Newspaper Printing Press
30 Nov 19996. Attacked by a Shark
Series 3
19 Apr 20011. Leaking Spacesuit
26 Apr 20012. Boiled to Death in Sharksfin Soup
3 May 20013. Falling from a New York skyscraper
10 May 20014. Out on the Town in New Alexandria
17 May 20015. Heat Exhaustion in a Marathon
24 May 20016. Falling into a river.

Related Research Articles

Craig Charles English actor, comedian and DJ

Craig Joseph Charles is an English actor, presenter, comedian, author, and DJ. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera Coronation Street. He presented the gladiator-style game show Robot Wars from 1998 to 2004, and narrated the comedy endurance show Takeshi's Castle. As a DJ, he appears on BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.

Tony Hancock English actor

Anthony John Hancock was an English comedian and actor.

<i>Im Sorry I Havent a Clue</i> BBC radio comedy panel game

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue is a BBC radio comedy panel game. Billed as "the antidote to panel games", it consists of two teams of two comedians "given silly things to do" by a chairman. The show was launched in April 1972 as a parody of radio and TV panel games, and has been broadcast since on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service, with repeats aired on BBC Radio 4 Extra and, in the 1980s and 1990s, on BBC Radio 2. The 50th series was broadcast in November and December 2007.

<i>Whose Line Is It Anyway?</i> (British TV series)

Whose Line is it Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy television series, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, presented by Clive Anderson, and produced for Channel 4 between 23 September 1988 and 4 February 1999. The programme's format was on a panel of four performers conducting a series of short-form improvisation games, creating comedic scenes per pre-determined situations made by the host or from suggestions by the audience. Such games include creating sound effects, performing a scene to different television and film styles, using props, and making up a song on the spot. The programme originally began as a short-lived BBC radio programme, before the concept was adapted for television.

<i>Have I Got News for You</i> British television panel show

Have I Got News for You (HIGNFY) is a British television panel show, produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC, which premiered on 28 September 1990. The programme, loosely based on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, focuses on four panellists divided into two teams – captained by Ian Hislop and Paul Merton – answering questions on various news stories on the week prior to an episode's broadcast. However, the programme's format focuses more on the topical discussions on the subject of the news stories related to questions, and the satirical humour derived from these by the teams. As a result, the style of presentation had a profound impact on panel shows in British TV comedy, making it one of the genre's key standard-bearers.

Benny Hill English actor and comedian (1924–1992)

Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill was an English actor, comedian, singer and writer. He is remembered for his television programme The Benny Hill Show, an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and double entendre in a format that included live comedy and filmed segments, with Hill at the focus of almost every segment.

Bob Monkhouse English entertainer

Robert Alan Monkhouse was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including The Golden Shot, Celebrity Squares, Family Fortunes and Wipeout.

<i>The League of Gentlemen</i> British comedy television series

The League of Gentlemen is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the lives of bizarre characters, most of whom are played by three of the show's four writers – Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith – who, along with Jeremy Dyson, formed the League of Gentlemen comedy troupe in 1995. The series originally aired for three series from 1999 until 2002 followed by a film in 2005.

Stewart Lee British stand-up comedian, writer, director and musician

Stewart Graham Lee is a British stand-up comedian, writer and director. In the mid-1990s, he was a member of the radio/TV comedy duo Lee and Herring, alongside Richard Herring. His stand-up is characterised by repetition, callbacks, deadpan delivery and a pronounced use of deconstruction, which he often discusses on stage.

<i>Shooting Stars</i> (British TV series) British television comedy panel game

Shooting Stars was a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as three full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with two series before returning to BBC Two for another three series from 2008 until its cancellation in 2011. Created and hosted by double-act Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, it uses the panel show format but with the comedians' often slapstick, surreal and anarchic humour that does not rely on rules in order to function, with the pair apparently ignoring existing rules or inventing new ones as and when the mood takes them.

Bob Mortimer English comedian and actor

Robert Renwick Mortimer is an English comedian, podcast presenter, and actor. He is known for his work with Vic Reeves as part of their Vic and Bob comedy double act, and more recently the Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing series with comedian Paul Whitehouse. He has also appeared on panel shows such as Would I Lie to You? and Taskmaster.

<i>Fighting Talk</i>

Fighting Talk is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live during the English football season. The show is broadcast on Saturday mornings for an hour between 1100 and 1200 and is based on a similar format to the ESPN show Around the Horn.

Rhod Gilbert Welsh comedian

Rhodri Paul Gilbert is a Welsh comedian and television & radio presenter who was nominated in 2005 for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award. In 2008 he was nominated for the main comedy award.

The Museum of Curiosity, formerly titled The Professor of Curiosity, is a comedy talk show on BBC Radio 4 that was first broadcast on 20 February 2008. It is hosted by John Lloyd. He acts as the head of the (fictional) titular museum, while a panel of three guests – typically a comedian, an author and an academic – each donate to the museum an 'object' that fascinates them. The radio medium ensures that the suggested exhibits can be absolutely anything, limited only by the guests' imaginations.

The Apprentice: You're Fired! is a companion discussion programme, aired alongside The Apprentice since 2006, created by Mark Burnett for the BBC. The programme, initially shown on BBC Three before moving to BBC Two since 2007, focuses on interviews between the host and panel of guests, with a prominent candidate from the latest episode of the main programme that had been broadcast, often mixing general discussion, expert opinion and interviews, with highlight clips and small sketches designed for comedic effect. The programme is currently hosted by Tom Allen since 2019; over the course of its broadcast history, it has been hosted by Adrian Chiles, Dara Ó Briain, Jack Dee, and Rhod Gilbert.

Another Case of Milton Jones is the third distinct comedy programme starring Milton Jones to be broadcast by BBC Radio 4. The programme ran for five series, the last of which began on Thursday 21 July 2011. The four previous series were broadcast in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010.

<i>Dads Army</i> British comedy TV series

Dad's Army is a British television sitcom about the UK's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 1968 to 1977. It ran for nine series and 80 episodes in total; a feature film released in 1971, a stage show and a radio version based on the television scripts. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers, and is still shown internationally.

Sara Pascoe English actress, comedian and writer

Sara Patricia Pascoe is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has appeared on television programmes including 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown for Channel 4, QI for BBC and Taskmaster for the digital channel Dave.

James Acaster English comedian

James William Acaster is an English comedian, writer, and presenter.

Josh Widdicombe English comedian and presenter

Joshua Michael Widdicombe is an English comedian and presenter. He is best known for his appearances on The Last Leg (2012–present), Fighting Talk (2014–2016), Insert Name Here (2016–2019), Mock the Week (2012–2016) and his BBC Three sitcom Josh (2015–2017). He also won the first series of Taskmaster in 2015. and the show's first Champion of Champions special in 2017.

References