The Mary Whitehouse Experience
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The Mary Whitehouse Experience was a UK topical comedy show, both on radio and TV, in the late '80s/early '90s. Its main stars were David Baddiel, Rob Newman, Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis.
It started in 1989 as a radio show, devised by Bill Dare, on BBC Radio 1. The two pairings of Newman and Baddiel and Punt and Dennis were central to the show - they would later have spin-off television series of their own. Guest performers included Nick Hancock, Jo Brand, Jack Dee, and Mark Thomas.
It had four radio series, building up an audience and moving to better time slots. After the fourth series, it was decided to move the show to television. The television run started in 1991 on BBC 2. It lasted two series, and obtained the honour of being the first programme to use the word 'wanker' on broadcast television in the UK. Robert Smith, lead singer of British rock band The Cure, made a guest appearance on one show in which Newman impersonated him. A spin-off book was also published.
The show was named after Mary Whitehouse, a prominent campaigner against what she saw as a decline in television standards and public morality. She threatened legal action against the show for its name.