This two-hour release traces Hancock’s early career, starting like a 17-year-old inside a Bristol Variety show called A La Carte for the BBC Forces Programme and charts his rise through shows such as Variety bandbox and Happy-go-Lucky (where he first read words written by Galton and Simpson).

This is actually the story of his rise to success told from recordings, scripts, and press cuttings. It’s the history against which the famous performances stand out, the storyplot of a comic actor who could under no circumstances believe that he really was one of the biggest of his time. The programme is usually provided by Denis Norden with efforts from Paul Merton.