Unknown to the pair, the renewal of their contract had just been declined by London Weekend Television of rival network ITV, freeing them to change channels.

[3] The show was based on the complementary personalities of Barker and Corbett, who never became an exclusive pairing, but continued to work independently in television outside of the editions of the Two Ronnies.

It had many notable writers including Ray Alan, John Cleese, Barry Cryer, Spike Milligan, David Nobbs, David Renwick, Terry Ravenscroft, Eric Idle, John Sullivan, Michael Palin, Bryan Blackburn, Terry Jones, and Laurie Rowley.

Other jokes could be playfully risqué, as found on seaside postcards, for example: Man (sotto voce): Tickle your botty with a feather tonight?

This wasn't surprising, because in the early years of the show many sketches were written by members of the Python troupe themselves (John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones) and featured eccentric people being comically violent.

This left the field for more traditional comedy open to Corbett and Barker, who freely indulged in puns, wordplay, misunderstandings, and ridiculous situations.

Likewise, Corbett always had a discursive solo monologue in each show, when he sat in a chair, facing the camera, attempting to tell a simple joke, but constantly distracting himself into relating other humorous incidents.

An example of Ronnie Corbett's humour is this short excerpt from a monologue: I was lying in bed with my wife last Sunday morning when she called me by a special pet name she has for me, a loving and endearing term that only she uses.

The very first serial of The Two Ronnies was written by Barker, and began as a pastiche of costume dramas about a governess called Henrietta Beckett, played by Madeline Smith.

Piggy Malone (Barker) and Charley Farley (Corbett) are private detectives who investigate a mystery about a murdered family, featuring Sue Lloyd as Blanche Brimstone.

Piggy and Charley's second serial begins when a frogman delivers a note, and the duo are sent in search of the formula for the Clumsy Drug, alongside Cyd Hayman as Madame Eloise Coqoutte.

Set in Victorian times, it is a Jack the Ripper parody in which a mysterious figure goes around blowing raspberries at members of the upper classes.

Piggy and Charley return as Devon's yokels are murdered and dumped in London, with support from Kate O'Mara as the gypsy temptress, Lucy Lee.

Diana Dors guest-starred as the Commander of the State Police in this spoof piece of dystopian fiction set in 2012 in which women rule England.

Men are housekeepers and wear women's clothes, and law and order is managed by female guards in boots and hot pants.

The last serial to include Piggy Malone and Charley Farley, in which an all-girl orchestra is sold into white slavery by a demented Chinaman.

Elizabeth Larner plays Mrs Bumstead, who notices a mysterious blind man appearing on the cruise ship.

Other frequent performers include April Walker, John Rutland, Michael Redfern, Jenny Logan, Alec Bregonzi, Carol Hawkins, Dilys Watling, Joyce Windsor, Julia McKenzie, Barbara New, Ian Gray, Johnnie Wade, Patricia Brake (who starred with Barker in the sitcom Porridge, which aired at the same time as the series), Josephine Tewson, Noel Dyson and Vicki Michelle.

Some of the finales had Barker and Corbett imitating other performers, like Charles Aznavour, Nana Mouskouri, Dolly Parton, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, and Hinge and Bracket.

In the middle of the show, there would also be a cabaret musician or group appearing as a special guest, including New World, Tina Charles, Georgie Fame and Alan Price, Samantha Jones, Dana, Elkie Brooks, Manhattan Transfer, Pan's People, Michel Legrand, Barbara Dickson, the Nolan Sisters, Elton John, Marti Webb, Clodagh Rogers, Elaine Paige, and Phil Collins, the last of whom also took part in a few sketches.

The program's earliest episodes also featured specialty acts, usually in pantomime, by international vaudevillians like Chaz Chase and Jo, Jac and Joni.

[11] In 1986, a multi-part compilation series titled Twenty Years of the Two Ronnies was aired, which featured the pair picking some of their classic sketches.

This was unknown to the audience and even the production team – the only person Barker told was Corbett, and they and their wives all went for a meal straight after the recording, keeping it a very low-key affair.

One of the nominations are 'The Twelve Ronnies', and a camera pans across a group of men dressed up to look like Corbett and Barker as they utter their famous 'it's goodbye from me' line in Chanel 9's nonsense language.

They did a second ad in 1981, for the "BL Double Bonus" campaign, which featured Corbett playing a tax inspector inquiring as to why Barker is running four cars.

Ronnie Corbett, producers James Gilbert, Terry Hughes and Michael Hurll, as well as writers Ian Davidson, Peter Vincent, David Renwick and Barry Cryer, all spoke about the making of the series.