| The Cannon and Ball Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sketch comedy |
| Starring | |
| Voices of | Robin Houston |
| Theme music composer | Nigel Hess |
| Opening theme | "Together We'll Be OK" |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 9 |
| No. of episodes | 64 (inc. 9 specials) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30–60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production companies | LWT (1979-88) Yorkshire Television (1988 Christmas Special) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 28 July 1979 – 24 December 1988 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Cannon and Ball Show was a successful comedy variety show on ITV featuring the double act comprising Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball.[1]
The pair were booked to perform on seven episodes of Bruce Forsyth's Big Night, but not all of their segments were screened, as producers were trying to shore up ratings and decided to give Forsyth more air time instead.[2] During this time, LWT's then director of programmes Michael Grade watched the dropped clips and decided to give the pair their own television series.[3]
Cannon & Ball's first regular television series was filmed by LWT and lasted nine years, until December 1988.[4]
After the series ended, the pair went on to Cannon and Ball's Casino, a Saturday-night game show for Yorkshire Television in 1990, and Plaza Patrol, also for Yorkshire Television.