Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett – known on television, of course, by the title of their show The Two Ronnies– were the jewels in the crown of the BBC light entertainment for a decade and a half through the Seventies and Eighties, their spectacular programmes regularly topping the ratings. But before Ronnie Barker retired from performing in 1987, he and Ronnie Corbett spent a year in Australia where they starred in a series of comedy shows for Kerry Packer’s Nine Network.

 

In this special programme, the best sketches and comic material from The Two Ronnies’ series in Australia is presented to a British television audience for the first time. The programme also tells the story of how Barker and Corbett came to be working in Australia, and how they spent a year in the Sydney sunshine with their families embracing the full outdoor lifestyle down under. Alongside the unseen sketches and songs, Ronnie Corbett’s widow Anne and daughter Sophie recount memories of their Australian adventure, together with Ronnie Barker’s daughter Charlotte.

 

The Two Ronnies: The Unseen Sketches first aired on Christmas Day 2019 on Channel 5, and was the highest rated programme of the night.

 

Produced for Channel 5