Craig Charles Funny Black and on TV ITV
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Funny, Black and on TV: Craig Charles addresses The Fosters ‘error’

It also featured Danny John-Jules

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Craig and Danny: Funny, Black and on TV aired last night and had viewers howling as it took them down memory lane with clips from some of their all-time favourite TV shows.

The ITV documentary, shown on Tuesday (October 13) evening, had Red Dwarf’s Craig Charles and former Death in Paradise actor Danny John-Jules looking back at 50 years of black comedy legends.

Craig and Danny: Funny Black and on TV
Craig and Danny: Funny, Black and on TV featured Lenny Henry’s hit sitcom The Fosters (Credit: ITV)

What happened in ITV’s Craig and Danny: Funny, Black and on TV?

They discussed shows such as Rising Damp, The Fosters and Desmond’s, along with the black comedic pioneers who starred in them – such as Sir Lenny Henry, Don Warrington and Norman Beaton.

Also featured was Yorkshireman Charlie Williams, one of the first mixed-race comedians to storm Brits’ TV screens.

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However, on Twitter after it aired, host Craig hit back at critcism of the show as a viewer pointed out an apparent error in the script. Speaking on Funny, Black and on TV, Craig said that The Fosters, starring Lenny Henry, was axed after just one series.

Craig and Danny: Funny Black and on TV
The show, starring Lenny as Sonny Foster, ran for two series in the mid-late ’70s (Credit: ITV)

However, it ran for 27 episodes across two series.

The star admitted he “wasn’t in a position to fact-check everything” as he joked about the lockdown conditions under which he recorded his narration.

And he pointed out that, regardless of inaccuracies, the “motive and intention” of the documentary, part of ITV’s Black History Month TV, was what mattered.

Craig Charles
Craig Charles narrated the ITV documentary with Danny John-Jules (Credit: Stephen Crawshaw / Flynetpictures.com / SplashNews.com)

What did Craig Charles say?

A viewer tweeted: “Who wrote this [bleep]? The Fosters ran for two series, totalling 27 episodes. Who put these lies into @CCfunkandsoul’s mouth? #CraigAndDanny #FunnyBlackAndOnTV.”

Craig responded: “It did run for 27 episodes, Aaron.

“And whilst I wasn’t in a position to fact-check everything as I did the voiceover underneath a blanket with no pop shield and the air conditioning turned off in 32 degrees in Barbados, isn’t [it] about the motive and intention of the piece? Stay well.”

Responding, the viewer said: “Yes, to be clear, the script claimed ‘axed after one season’, unfairly implying (in my opinion) The Fosters only had a short run rather than the reasonably successful 2/27. It may seem a small gripe but it felt a key thing about an important sitcom in black UK TV.”

ED! contacted ITV for comment and a spokesperson said the inaccuracy would be amended.

Others heaped praise on the documentary, while some called for reruns of the shows it featured.

One tweeted: “So great seeing familiar faces such as @kojoanimlive @1Judilove etc talking about #Desmonds amongst other black TV shows from back in the day!”

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Another said: “#CraigAndDanny Would love to watch some reruns of The Fosters, The Lenny Henry Show and Desmond’s. I missed them first time round.”

A third put: “I’ve just seen #FunnyBlackAndOnTV with Craig and Danny. A comprehensive, inspiring and insightful look into the massive contribution black comics have had on British and world culture. Great to hear the stories of heroes like Lenny Henry. Really enjoyed it. #BlackHistoryMonth.”

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor