What a Performance! - Spike Milligan

Spike Milligan is the focus of this extract from an episode of the Bob Monkhouse-hosted ITV series What A Performance! Each episode of the series addressed a different style of comic performer and in this final instalment, first broadcast 15 August 2000, the emphasis was on 'Madcap' comedians. Milligan's absurdist and non-conformist brilliance is celebrated in this segment of the show, taking in The Goons, the Q series and There's A Lot Of It About, but there is also an acknowledgement by several contributors of the problematic nature of some of Milligan's material in terms of ethnic stereotypes. Contributors include David Baddiel, Danny Baker, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Harry Hill, Clive James, Terry Jones and John Thomson.