Naked Video

Naked Video is a BBC Scotland sketch show that was aired on BBC Two from 12 May 1986 to 18 November 1991. The show was created by Colin Gilbert who had previously created A Kick Up the Eighties and Naked Radio (the latter being a radio sketch show that was aired on BBC Radio Scotland, began its ten-year run on 22 January 1981, covered all aspects of Scottish society and featured a lot of topical satire material rather than parody). The series originally starred Ron Bain, Gregor Fisher, Andy Gray, Elaine C. Smith, Tony Roper, Helen Lederer and Jonathan Watson, but they were later joined by Kate Donnelly and Louise Beattie. The series' producer was Colin Gilbert and its script editor was Philip Differ. Naked Radio proved a popular part of the local schedule, and in 1985, the cast mounted the series on stage at the year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Gilbert realised the series had potential for television and Naked Video was created. It proved popular at a time when alternative comedy was at its peak. The Naked Radio series ended in 1991, when it was cancelled along with Naked Video. The show also spawned a radio spin-off: the football-themed Only an Excuse?, which later also made the transition to television. In 2000, the cast reunited for a theatre show and radio broadcast, and in 2005, Gerard Kelly (1959-2010) presented a documentary for the Radio Roots season on BBC Radio Scotland, looking at how the series "sprouted a generation of TV writing and performing talent".