The Cannon and Ball Show
UK comedy variety TV show 1979–1988
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cannon and Ball Show was a comedy variety show on ITV featuring the double act comprising Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball.[1]
| The Cannon and Ball Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sketch comedy |
| Starring | |
| Voices of | Robin Houston |
| Theme music composer | Nigel Hess |
| Opening theme | "Together We'll Be OK" |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 9 |
| No. of episodes | 64 (inc. 9 specials) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30–60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production companies | LWT (1979-88) Yorkshire Television (1988 Christmas Special) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 28 July 1979 – 24 December 1988 |
The pair were booked to perform on seven episodes of Bruce Forsyth's Big Night, but not all of their segments were screened, as producers were trying to shore up ratings and decided to give Forsyth more air time instead.[2] During this time, LWT's then director of programmes Michael Grade watched the dropped clips and decided to give the pair their own television series.[3]
Cannon & Ball's first regular television series was filmed by LWT and lasted nine years, until December 1988.[4]
After the series ended, the pair went on to Cannon and Ball's Casino, a Saturday-night game show for Yorkshire Television in 1990, and Plaza Patrol, also for Yorkshire Television.
Transmissions
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 July 1979 | 16 November 1979 | 6 |
| 2 | 11 April 1980 | 23 May 1980 | 7 |
| 3 | 25 April 1981 | 30 May 1981 | 6 |
| 4 | 8 May 1982 | 12 June 1982 | 6 |
| 5 | 3 December 1983 | 21 January 1984 | 6 |
| 6 | 13 October 1984 | 17 November 1984 | 6 |
| 7 | 26 April 1986 | 31 May 1986 | 6 |
| 8 | 10 January 1987 | 14 February 1987 | 6 |
| 9 | 28 May 1988 | 2 July 1988 | 6 |
Specials
| Date | Entitle |
|---|---|
| 20 December 1980 | Christmas Special |
| 2 January 1982 | Cannon & Ball at Drury Lane |
| 11 December 1982 | The Best of Cannon & Ball |
| 2 April 1983 | Easter Special |
| 7 April 1985 | The Best of Cannon & Ball |
| 21 December 1985 | Christmas Special |
| 27 December 1986 | Christmas Special |
| 2 January 1988 | The Cannon & Ball Special |
| 24 December 1988 | Christmas Special |
