The Story of Light Entertainment

Before the television age, the music halls and vaudeville theatres may have placed singers and comedians at the top of the bill, but it was the magicians, ventriloquists, tumblers, jugglers, acrobats and dance acts that had audiences enthralled. Initially, the small screen embraced this kind of entertainment, with stars such as magician David Nixon commanding large audiences, but by the mid-1980s, almost all of these skills had disappeared from our screens. The 21st century, however, has seen a variety revival, albeit in a modernised format, and a new generation of talent shows and magicians such as David Blaine have given the genre a new lift. Featuring interviews with Paul Daniels , Simon Cowell , Bruce Forsyth and Jimmy Tarbuck.