Peter Cook picked by Jon Harvey aka Count Binface
Great Lives
BBC
4.2 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 19 May 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Peter Cook was at the centre of the satire boom of the early sixties, both on stage with Beyond the Fringe and with his Soho club, The Establishment. Later he became a famous double act with Dudley Moore, and was also less well known as Lord Gnome, the proprietor of Private Eye.
"I can't believe that after 600 episodes of Great Lives, no one has ever nominated him before."
A funny half hour on the life of Peter Cook, featuring archive of him both young and old. Jon Harvey makes the case for this comedy great along with the voices of biographer Harry Thompson, Jonathan Miller, Ian Hislop, Richard Ingrams, and - in an interview from 1993 - Chris Morris. Also includes an extract of The Strange Death of the Establishment from Radio 4 in 2004
The producer for BBC Studios is Miles Warde
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.3 | On BBC Sounds, there are podcasts to help you look after your body and your mind. |
| 0:12.7 | From increasing your immunity to feeling more confident. |
| 0:16.6 | Or tips on how to focus. |
| 0:18.5 | Sorry, what will you say? |
| 0:19.7 | If it matters to you, it matters to us. |
| 0:22.6 | Feel good inside of them. |
| 0:24.3 | With What's Up Docs. |
| 0:25.9 | And Complex with Kimberly Wilson. |
| 0:27.9 | Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:31.6 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:36.3 | E.L. Whisty is not a name you hear mentioned much anymore. His heyday was in the 60s, on TV, stage and radio, too. |
| 0:45.4 | That was where you heard his nasally tones offering some sage advice on anything, from spinach to tadpoles, |
| 0:53.2 | peace through nudism, |
| 0:54.8 | or maybe just walking over the hills. |
| 0:57.0 | I couldn't get enough of him. |
| 0:58.6 | He reminded me of some of my relations. |
| 1:02.0 | That's where poets wander. |
| 1:04.2 | Is her the hill and dale? |
| 1:06.1 | Other people wander over Hill and Dale. |
| 1:09.0 | But not the poets, they go, er. They think it sounds better. |
| 1:14.0 | Anyway, when he's wandered over hill and Ertherdale, he comes back again for a bit of tea, |
... |
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