Kenneth Williams

Michael Sheen's impersonations – ranked!

The actor is currently wowing viewers as Chris Tarrant in Quiz, but he has a long line of uncanny impressions in his back catalogue

Toby Moses

15, Apr, 2020 @12:59 PM

Carry On films weren’t all bad; they celebrated the working class in its heyday | Fiona Sturges

For all their many flaws, the films carry a positive message, too, says arts writer Fiona Sturges

Fiona Sturges

04, Jul, 2019 @5:00 AM

Get your hands off my double entendres! Is the smutty pun now under attack?

It is Britain’s favourite type of humour, the go-to gag for everyone from Carry On stars to Bake Off hosts. But are fnarr fnarr jokes just another example of male sexual entitlement?

Ryan Gilbey

07, May, 2018 @12:28 PM

Desert Island Discs: 75 defining moments from 75 years of castaways

The show’s first guest was marooned three quarters of a century ago this month. Here are the moments that made Desert Island Discs a radio classic

Stephen Moss

06, Jan, 2017 @3:56 PM

Books to give you hope: Prick Up Your Ears by John Lahr

Despite Joe Orton’s tragic end, this expert telling of his defiant struggle from obscure beginnings to scandalous success remains inspiring

WB Gooderham

22, Aug, 2016 @8:00 AM

British Library buys Kenneth Williams diaries

Library pays £220,000 for actor’s journals, which show waspish wit and barbs directed at Carry On peers and Doctor Zhivago

Mark Brown Arts correspondent

03, Dec, 2015 @2:09 PM

Readers recommend: minimalist songs | Peter Kimpton

Stripped back, pared down, sparse or pure? Suggest music that in sound or lyrics expresses clarity or simplicity distilled down to its fighting weight, says Peter Kimpton

Peter Kimpton

02, Jul, 2015 @7:00 PM

National Service review – a cultural history of postwar British call-up

Richard Vinen shows how conscription emphasised the mirage of a nation's importance on the world stage, writes Ian Thomson

Ian Thomson

24, Aug, 2014 @9:00 AM

Why artists should Carry On Screaming Fenella Fielding's name

Jonathan Jones: Martin Firrell’s video artwork, metaFenella, sees the 86-year-old actor imparting her wisdom. Why has it taken so long for the art world to celebrate this subversive Carry On star?

Jonathan Jones

17, Mar, 2014 @4:58 PM

Carry On Dick liveblog: watch with us from 12:25pm

Stuart Heritage wallowed in the pig sty and roosts in the hen house with the Carry On ... team's take on the Dick Turpin legend. Here's what happened.

Stuart Heritage

11, Nov, 2013 @2:07 PM

Will Hattie Jacques be the last to get the BBC biopic treatment?

Nostalgic retellings of the lives of Tony Hancock, Kenneth Williams, and Eric & Ernie have been ratings winners, but fictionalised accounts can land the Beeb in hot water

Sarah Dempster

15, Jan, 2011 @12:05 AM

Kenneth Williams: secret loves behind the life of a tormented man

A new biography drawing on diaries that were locked away for years reveals the lonely star's unknown passion and a complex struggle with his sexual identity

Vanessa Thorpe, arts and media correspondent

09, Oct, 2010 @11:08 PM