Whose Line Is It Anyway? (radio series)

Whose Line Is It Anyway? (abbreviated to Whose Line? or WLIIA) is a short-form improvisational comedy radio programme. A television series of the same name was based on it in 1988. Following the conclusion of the British run in 1998, ABC began airing a version for the United States audience.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Genre	Improvisational comedy
Running time	30 minutes
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
Home station	BBC Radio 4
TV adaptations	Whose Line Is It Anyway? (UK TV series)
Hosted by	Clive Anderson
Starring	Regular Panellists John Sessions Stephen Fry
Created by	Dan Patterson Mark Leveson
Original release	2 January 1988 (1988-01-02) – 6 February 1988 (1988-02-06)
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	6 (List of episodes)

The show consisted of a panel of four performers who create characters, scenes and songs on the spot, in the style of short-form improvisation games, many taken from theatresports. Topics for the games were based on predetermined prompts from the host.

History

Whose Line Is It Anyway? was created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson in 1988 as a radio show on BBC Radio 4. This early incarnation of the show is notable as being the origin of the show's tradition of having the performers read the credits in an amusing style; as it was a radio show, it was necessary for somebody to read the credits, and it was decided that it might as well be done as part of the programme proper, rather than being done by a traditional BBC Radio announcer. This approach to reading credits was pioneered by the earlier BBC radio show I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again.

The title of the show itself is a comedic riposte to another radio show that also moved to television, What's My Line, merged with the title of a 1972 teleplay (and eventual theatrical play) Whose Life Is It Anyway?.

The radio series consisted of six episodes, with Clive Anderson as host, with John Sessions and Stephen Fry as regulars.[1]

Episodes

No.	Date	Performer 1	Performer 2	Performer 3	Performer 4	Games Performed
1	2 January 1988	John Sessions	Stephen Fry	Dawn French	Lenny Henry	Authors, Wrong Theme Tune, Every Other Line, Favourite Characters, Improvising a Rap, Change of Company, Worst People
2	9 January 1988	John Sessions	Stephen Fry	Hugh Laurie	Enn Reitel	Authors, Genre Option, Wrong Theme Tune, Every Other Line, Party Pieces, Improvising a Rap, Worst People
3	16 January 1988	John Sessions	Stephen Fry	Nonny Williams	Jimmy Mulville	Authors, Genre Option, Wrong Theme Tune, Every Other Line, Improvising a Rap, Interviews, Worst People
4	23 January 1988	John Sessions	Stephen Fry	Kate Robbins	Griff Rhys Jones	Authors, Genre Option, Improvising a Rap, Party Pieces, Great Debate, Bad Applicants
5	30 January 1988	John Sessions	Stephen Fry	Jimmy Mulville	John Bird	Authors, Genre Option, Every Other Line, Advertisements, Great Debate, Commiserations
6	6 February 1988	John Sessions	Stephen Fry	Jon Glover	Rory Bremner	Authors, Genre Option, Advertisements, Couples, Great Debate, Improvising a Rap, Bad Chat-Up Lines

References

1. Lavalie, John (14 May 2005). "Whose Line is It Anyway? [Radio]". epguides.com. Retrieved 28 January 2008.