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Peter Cook picked by Jon Harvey aka Count Binface episode artwork

EPISODE · May 19, 2026 · 27 MIN

Peter Cook picked by Jon Harvey aka Count Binface

from Great Lives · host BBC Radio 4

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

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 19, 2026

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Peter Cook picked by Jon Harvey aka Count Binface

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