Frankie's On The Coals!

At 75 years old, Frankie Howerd is still working a crowd with the same arsenal of weary exasperation, stuttering delivery, and relentless double entendres that kept him employed for five decades. He operates exactly as expected, leaning on his familiar “titter ye not” catchphrases and a barrage of innuendo. There isn’t an overarching narrative or late-in-life introspection at play. It is simply a seasoned professional relying on a polished, slightly blue routine to get a specific audience on his side.

Howerd died in April 1992, right in the middle of producing a six-part stand-up series for ITV. The concept was straightforward: send the comedian to perform for various occupational groups. He only lived to record four episodes. Frankie’s On The Coals! is the second of those surviving broadcasts, placing him directly inside the Cotgrave Miners Welfare in Nottinghamshire.