That Was The Week That Was

Commonly referred to as TW3, it was intended to prick the pomposity of public figures.

The format of the show was simple. Millicent Martin would sing the title song, then David Frost would introduce the proceedings and act as link man between sketches. Originally John Bird was to be host but declined.

Bernard Levin interviewed people in the news. David Kernan parodied singers, Al Mancini pulled faces, Timothy Birdsall drew cartoons, and Kenneth Cope, Willie Rushton and Roy Kinnear fleshed out the sketches and comic chatter.

TW3 launched in November 1962, reached a peak of 12 million viewers and was finally axed by the BBC at the end of 1963.

Sir Hugh Carleton Greene, BBC Director-General, is quoted as saying: 'It was as a pillar of the Establishment that I yielded to the fascist hyena-like howls to take it off!'