Associated London Scripts

In 1954 Spike Milligan and Eric Sykes, along with Ray Galton, Alan Simpson and Frankie Howerd, formed Associated London Scripts, envisaged as a comedy scriptwriters' cooperative, situated above a greengrocers in Shepherd's Bush. Soon it would swell in number, with the likes of Johnny Speight, John Antrobus, Terry Nation, Brad Ashton and Dick Vosburgh coming on board, with the mighty Beryl Vertue acting as sort of de facto agent for them all. Between them they were responsible for much of the comedy coming out of Britain in the late fifties and sixties, including The Goon Show, Hancock's Half Hour, The Army Game, Till Death Us Do Part, Steptoe & Son, Sykes And A..., The Arthur Haynes Show and many more, while Terry Nation wrote for Tony Hancock and then came up with the idea for some pepperpot-shaped Timelord-botherers and never looked back. The story of ALS is too big a topic to condense down to ninety minutes, but Tyler and guest Mike Haskins try their best - Mike was involved in a Radio 4 documentary about ALS some twenty years ago and had access to the likes of Antrobus and Galton & Simpson and has some fascinating tales to share!