The League of Gentlemen

The League of Gentlemen is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the lives of bizarre characters, most of whom are played by three of the show's four writers – Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith – who, along with Jeremy Dyson, formed the League of Gentlemen comedy troupe in 1995. The series originally aired for three series from 1999 until 2002, and was followed by a film The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse and a stage production The League of Gentlemen Are Behind You!, both in 2005. The BBC announced in August 2017 that three new episodes would be produced to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the group's first appearance on BBC Radio 4. Those aired on BBC2 on 18–20 December 2017. The series was filmed mainly in Hadfield, Derbyshire; other locations include Bacup Lancashire, Glossop, Gamesley, and Hope Valley in Derbyshire; Marsden, Todmorden and Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire; and Mottram in Greater Manchester. History Three of the four members of the League of Gentlemen (Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss and Reece Shearsmith) met at Bretton Hall Theatre School. They met their final member – Jeremy Dyson – later in their comedy career. He does not act as such in the franchise but does have a few small/ cameo roles throughout the series. The stage show began in late 1994, and it was not long before the team took as their name the title of a 1960 Jack Hawkins film, The League of Gentlemen. In 1997, they were awarded the Perrier award for comedy at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and their radio series On the Town with The League of Gentlemen, debuted on BBC Radio 4. On the Town was set in the fictional town of Spent. They won a Sony Award for this six-episode run. In 1999 the show moved to television and quickly acquired a cult following; three series were produced, the first airing in 1999, the second in 2000 and the third in 2002. A Christmas special was broadcast in December 2000, after the airing of the second series. For television, Spent was renamed Royston Vasey – the given name of comedian Roy Chubby Brown, who appears in the series, notably as the Mayor of Royston Vasey in series 2. Its influence can be seen on later series, particularly Little Britain (the first series of which was directed by Steve Bendelack and script-edited by Gatiss).