“I don’t find myself funny… it came as a surprise to me that I didn’t really learn anything by watching myself.”

In June 1969 BBC2 broadcast a documentary in which comedian and writer Marty Feldman tried to discover the essence of comedy by speaking with some of its leading lights such as Eric Morecambe, Dudley Moore, Denis Norden and... Peter Sellers.

According to a critic on The Daily Mirror: “Given the low state of comedy on the box right now – well, there’s Father, Dear Father and The Gnomes of Dulwich to name triers; but no Till Death and no Steptoe – a high-flyer like Marty might have chosen to show us how it’s done. He could have played a few bad jokes off against his writing partner Mr Barry Took (who was present and correct), batted them about, and come up with an extemporary routine or two. But no. Marty was sold on contradiction.”

Ignore that grump. The programme was a thoughtful, leisurely exercise in getting to the nub of of a very knotty topic where Marty philosophised and sometimes agonised while smoking a seemingly endless chain of cigarettes. From a bleak fairground in Margate via a kids' Punch & Judy show, a textile factory run by an ex-radio ventriloquist and a smoky jazz bar to a railway station in Henley where Peter Sellers was filming The Magic Christian, Marty never faltered in his pursuit of the truth: What is comedy?

Joining Tyler to talk about the programme and in particular the very revealing bits with Sellers is returning guest and podcaster Jon Auty. They also look at the early career of Marty Feldman and a couple of Spike Milligan TV appearances.

You can watch the programme on YT here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0it6iARj64&t=1907s

Behind The Stunts: https://www.youtube.com/@behindthestunts