“Suit you, sir.” 

“Scorchio!” 

“I freely admit…I was very, very drunk.” 

Even if you’ve never seen an episode of The Fast Show, it’s hard to ignore the impact its catchphrases have had on the cultural landscape. The sketch show celebrates its 30^th anniversary this September, and I wanted to find out why it’s still so popular today.  

As a long-time fan, I paid a visit to the archives to see the scripts, photographs, and memorabilia first hand. It was interesting to see how sketches grew from initial ideas, some from guest writers, including Bob Mortimer, and how much care went into organising the order of sketches for each show. 

Lead writers Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse met as students at UEA in the 1970s, and it is for this reason that our archives hold a vast amount of Fast Show-related material. However, comedy and script writing make up just a fraction of Higson’s collection at the UEA archive. After graduating in 1980 with a degree in English and Film Studies, he published a series of adult thrillers. More recently, he has written popular young adult novels, including the Young Bond series, and currently hosts a podcast on the history of the monarchy.  

The idea for the Fast Show did not emerge until the 1990s however, when Charlie and Paul were writing for Harry Enfield. According to Higson, “I just sort of joined in ‘cos I had a word processor and [Paul] didn’t.” 

The story goes that while watching a highlights reel, they decided to write a show with just the punchlines; short, rapid-fire sketches one after the other. Other writers and performers were enlisted; Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and Caroline Aherne, and the Fast Show was born.  

Originally, the show wasn’t a hit, being given an obscure slot by the BBC. However, as people started to tune in more regularly, the characters and catchphrases cemented themselves in pop culture. The catchphrases meant that fans felt that they were ‘in’ on the joke. By the time the third series aired in 1997, the writers were able to subvert expectations, arriving at the punchline in new ways. For instance, aristocrat Ralph, and gardener and object of his affections Ted, appeared in slower-paced, poignant sketches that highlighted their developing love story and highlighted the acting talents of Higson and Whitehouse, while breaking up some of the faster-paced sketches. In general, The Fast Show excelled at the delicate balance between comedy and drama, with the audience given an insight into the lives of characters beyond the catchphrase.  

Despite officially ending in 2000, the series has returned several times; as a web series, a documentary, and, earlier this year, a stage show. You can also watch every episode on BBC iPlayer. The Fast Show doesn’t seem to be slowing down yet… which is nice. 

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