Bob Monkhouse: The Million Joke Man

Over the course of a career in comedy and entertainment spanning six decades, beloved stand-up comedian, cartoonist, skilled joke writer, prolific game show host and industrious entertainer Bob Monkhouse meticulously catalogued every single one of his jokes.

Found in sixteen beautifully handwritten, illustrated volumes, from gags on every subject you could think of, observations and witty one-liners, Bob's joke books are an encyclopaedia of comedy material. And now, for the very first time on television, they've been revealed to the public, with Bob Monkhouse's family allowing total and unrestricted access to his personal archive.

The brand new and exclusive three-part series, presented by Bob's close friend and former colleague Paul O'Grady, takes a retrospective, deeply personal journey through the extraordinary life of the man who wrote, then told over a million jokes.

Throughout the series Paul will unearth unseen archives of scripts and personal and professional letters of Bob's in an attempt to find out the secret behind the entertainer's success.

In the first episode Paul looks back at Bob's early career, from writing jokes for stand-up comedian Max Miller while still a teen, to hosting The Golden Shot, one of television's highest rating entertainment shows.

In episode two Paul delves into Bob's career during the 1970's and 1980's where he established himself as not only the unrivalled host of TV's biggest game shows but also the hardest working comedy performer in Britain.

Finally, Paul charts Bob's reinvention as the elder statesman of British comedy from 1994 to his death in 2003 where, towards the end of his life, was performing some of the most outstanding comedy of his career. Plenty of famous faces, family and friends all pay homage to Bob, including Jon Culshaw, Les Dennis, Gaby Roslin, Russ Abbot, Warwick Davis, Ken Bruce, Joe Pasquale, Tim Vine, Debra Stephenson, Steve Punt, Russ Abbot and many more.

From the books, to his fellow professionals, to a fascinating array of unseen footage, audiences will get a real insight into the astonishing talent of Bob Monkhouse - the million joke man.

Bob Monkhouse: The Million Joke Man starts Wednesday June 3 at 9pm, exclusive to Gold