Tommy's 1st BBC Audition

An extremely unfortunate appearance - you are joking.

Location: 25 Marylebone Road, NW1

Description: And so it was that after writing to Miss Cook at the 'Corporation' requesting that he be given a chance...

'My act consists of cod magic and comedy, which I think would be quite suitable for television'.

That on the 5th June 1947, the legendary comic 'Tommy Cooper' was summonend by the Television Booking Manager to attend a prelimnary audition at this very address the following Monday, the 9th at 11.45am.

With the protocol being 'your performance should not exceed 10 minutes'... the outcome was negative in the extreme!

Cooper was disparingly immortalised as an 'unattrative man with indistinct speaking voice and extremely unfortunate appearance'... which is indeed 'pure cooper'!

With his act taking 7 minutes of their time, his anarchic approach defied classification by the BBC it seems - ha - but what did they know.

Tommy Cooper went on to become perhaps the greatest comedian that Britain has ever produced - pure gold!

Tours: Tommy Cooper's London

Themes: Comedy Comedy Theme