Count Arthur Strong wins 2009 Sony Radio Award
One time Variety star Count Arthur Strong has won the prestigious GOLD Sony Radio Academy Award for Comedy 2009 for his Radio 4 show Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show! Managed by Komedia Entertainment and produced by Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe, Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show! is recorded at the award-winning Brighton and Bath Komedia venues, in front of a live studio audience.
The award, presented last night at a gala evening presided over by Radio 2’s Chris Evans at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, was given in recognition to the show “traditional format made contemporary and edgy by strong writing and great performances.” The judges concluded that each episode “simply makes you laugh out loud.”
Comedian Steve Delaney created Count Arthur Strong in the ’80s as a drama student. He revived the character in the late nineties for the Edinburgh Fringe and then promptly retired from all other performing roles with the realisation that Arthur was his destiny. Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show! hit the airways of BBC Radio 4 in late December 2005 to huge critical acclaim – a fourth series has just been aired and a fifth is due to be recorded at both Komedia Brighton and Komedia Bath in the Autumn.
The weekly show focuses on a typically confused and muddled ‘day in the life’ of the Count – be it solving a mystery concerning a missing cauliflower or a book signing at a local butcher’s shop. An expert in everything from the world of entertainment to the origins of the species, everyday life with Arthur is an enlightening and entertaining experience. Arthur is joined in the series by his radio reparatory company which includes Brighton performers Alastair Kerr and Dave Mounfield.
Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show! has become a cornerstone of BBC Radio 4 and 7 comedy output since the first shows were piloted at Komedia Brighton in 2001. The show has many famous plaudits with Steve Coogan, Jennifer Saunders and Martin Clunes all being huge fans. He is particularly appreciated within the music industry, with Elbow recently stating they have written a song based on the character and The Who admitting they listen to the comedy series on the tour bus. The writers of Hancock’s revered radio successes and creators Steptoe and Son, Galton and Simpson also recently joined the fan club citing Count Arthur Strong as the best current comedy on TV or radio.