The Benny Hill Show

A comedy show which ran on Thames Television for twenty years, saw Benny Hill in the guise of many comic characters, in short sketches often involving slapstick and innuendo. Each episode ended with a 'Keystone Cops' style high speed chase, typically involving Hill and scantily clad women. Indeed, it was the portrayal of women as objects, being leered at by men in the show, that became a real cause of controversy by the 1980s. With growing criticism about it being old fashioned and sexist, Thames cancelled The Benny Hill Show in 1989, despite continued high ratings.