The Strange World of Gurney Slade is a surreal six-part British television comedy series devised by Anthony Newley and made by ATV, first transmitted by the ITV network between 22 October and 26 November 1960.
Newley devised the central concept of the show, whereas the series was written in its entirety by Sid Green and Dick Hills.
He appears to be a character in a typical family-oriented TV show who abruptly tires of the artificial environment he's apparently trapped in; the first episode opens with Slade breaking the fourth wall of a television sitcom and leaving the set, to the protestations of its director.
The series concludes with a final episode in which Slade, in a TV studio, appears to be little more than a machine-like performer whose every move is controlled by outside forces.
Prior success as a pop vocalist led Anthony Newley to be offered the opportunity, and a free hand, to create a six-part comedy series for ITV in collaboration with scriptwriters Dick Hills and Sid Green.
Having recently passed through the area, Newley remembered the name at an early meeting, after a number of proposed titles – including Up the Zambezi – were rejected.