Ray's a Laugh (1949–61)

Nedlo, the Gypsy Violinist, started his own show in 1949 and made a success of it. Ray's a Laugh did not include Nedlo's name in the credits, nor indeed that of Charlie Olden (Ray's real name). Nedlo/Olden was, by 1949, calling himself Ted Ray (after the golfer^[3]) – and that was how he billed himself for his radio series.
Ray's a Laugh was a domestic comedy. Ray's wife was played by Kitty Bluett. Fred Yule played his brother-in-law. Patricia Hayes appeared, as did Kenneth Connor as Sidney Mincing. In later series Ray had left the Cannon Enquiry Agency and joined the Daily Bugle as a reporter. Jack Watson and Charles Leno joined the cast and new characters included Mrs Dipper and Roger Curfew, the paying guest with songs by John Hanson and the King's Men.
Another early member was Peter Sellers, then 23 and billing himself as an impressionist. He appeared as Soppy, a small boy criticised by the nation's watchdogs for his catchphrase, "Just like your big red conk!" Another of his characters was a strange woman, Crystal Jollibottom ("Stop it you saucebox!" he would cry in a crazy falsetto). Laidman Browne, as Ray's boss Mr Trumble, Pat Coombs as Ursula Prune, Charles Leno and Graham Stark were also present. Percy Edwards, the animal impersonator, played Gregory the chicken.
There was the glamour girl who would do anything, but "Not until after six-o'clock!" Songs came from the Beaux and the Belles and Bob and Alf Pearson provided the musical interlude—"We bring you melodies from out of the sky, my brother and I!" Bob also played the little girl Jennifer who, asked her name, would coyly reply: "Jen-ni-fer!"
The show was no real departure from tradition, even in its catch-phrases. There was Ivy's (Ted Ray) devotion to Mrs Hoskins, for instance: "You're a lovely woman, Mrs Hoskins!" And it was she to whom Mrs Hoskins would remark weakly: "It was agony, Ivy!" And whenever Ivy felt poorly, Mrs Hoskins would say, "I'll have to send for young Dr Hardcastle" to which Ivy would reply, "He's lovely, Mrs Hoskins, He's loooooovely!"
There was the adenoidal "If you haven't been to Manchester, you haven't lived." from Kenneth Connor.
Ray's a Laugh ran from 1949 until January 1961, eventually dropping the musical items. Ray also showed his skill at ad-libbing (together with Jimmy Edwards, Arthur Askey and Cyril Fletcher) in Does the Team Think?