# The Shuttleworths

The Shuttleworths is a British radio comedy that aired as five series between 1993 and 2010, with a sixth in 2022, and numerous specials on BBC Radio 4. It features singer/songwriter from Sheffield, John Shuttleworth, his family, and his neighbours, and is written and performed by comedian Graham Fellows.

## Format

The show revolves around John Shuttleworth and his family. Each episode is fifteen minutes long and is narrated by John Shuttleworth himself. The episodes are recorded on a cassette tape by John, featuring John's commentary addressed directly to the listener and eavesdropping on his own daily life. Characters include his wife Mary, their two teenagers Darren and Karen, neighbour and agent Ken Worthington, and Mary's friend Joan Chitty, all voiced by Graham Fellows. Events are interspersed with his own bizarre bouncy keyboard ditties on such varied matters as Austin Ambassadors, garden centres, and toast, all performed (usually badly) on his Yamaha Portasound electronic keyboard.
Fellows improvised, recorded and edited each programme using a multitrack recording. The earlier series were recorded in Fellows' garden shed on a four-track cassette, and one series was recorded in a hotel bedroom, while recent and current programmes from the series are now made in his own digital recording studio.

## Related series
### Shuttleworth's ShowTime

It was a six part series broadcast during November and December 1994 on Night time BBC Radio One. The series was produced by Paul Schlesinger and Jane Berthaud. It included guest stars such as poet Hovis Presley, comedian Mark Thomas, and singer Bonnie Tyler amongst regular characters of Ken Worthington, Mary Shuttleworth and the Shuttleworth children voiced by Fellows himself. This series was never released commercially on CD, but a single 60 minute cassette tape "Best of Shuttleworth's ShowTime" was briefly available.

### Radio Shuttleworth

From 1998, John's "serving the Sheffield region - and a little bit further even" was broadcast as two series of Radio Shuttleworth. The programmes followed a similar format to The Shuttleworths, but their new 30-minute length allowed celebrity guest slots (Impress an Impresario, Make Mary Merry, Annoy a Prospective Employer) and opportunities to interview celebrities on the show. The show was a Radio 4 continuation of the 1994 Radio 1 series Shuttleworth's Showtime, and some guests and segments (including Make Mary Merry) had previously appeared on the Radio 1 incarnation.

### John Shuttleworth's Open Mind

John attempted to investigate five unsolved phenomena that fascinate the nation. Each programme was thirty minutes long. This was effectively a third series of Radio Shuttleworth.

### John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music

John Shuttleworth invited musical guests to his home to sing one of his songs and one of their own, if they were lucky. Each programme was thirty minutes long.

## Episode lists
### The Shuttleworths

| Series | Episode | Title | First broadcast |
| 1 | 1 | Cotton Buddies | 11 October 1993 |
| 1 | 2 | Mini-Break in Giggleswick | 12 October 1993 |
| 1 | 3 | How... | 13 October 1993 |
| 1 | 4 | The Pillock Of The Community | 14 October 1993 |
| 1 | 5 | One Foot In The Gravy | 26 March 1994 |
| 1 | 6 | John Goes to London | 2 April 1994 |
| Special | 1 | Xmas Eve With The Shuttleworths | 20 December 1993 |
| Special | 2 | New Year With The Shuttleworths | 31 December 1993 |
| Special | 3 | Europigeon | 28 April 1994 |
| 2 | 1 | Wireless Wanderings (1) | 28 June 1995 |
| 2 | 2 | Wireless Wanderings (2) | 5 July 1995 |
| 2 | 3 | The Birthday Bench | 12 July 1995 |
| 2 | 4 | John Dries Up | 19 July 1995 |
| 2 | 5 | Shuttleworth Diplomacy | 26 July 1995 |
| Special | 4 | John Shuttleworth's Open House #1 | 26 September 1996 |
| Special | 5 | A Christmas Carol | 25 December 1996 |
| 3 | 1 | Chic Ken | 8 October 1997 |
| 3 | 2 | Ping Pong Pangs | 15 October 1997 |
| 3 | 3 | Radio Shuttleworth | 22 October 1997 |
| 3 | 4 | Caravan Capers | 29 October 1997 |
| 3 | 5 | John Le Shuttle | 5 November 1997 |
| 3 | 6 | Midsummer Madras | 12 November 1997 |
| Special | 6 | John Shuttleworth's Open House #2 | 31 December 1997 |
| Special | 7 | The Leg End of Robin Hood | 26 December 2000 |
| Special | 8 | Plonker's Baby | 24 December 2002 |
| 4 | 1 | Cough in the Loft | 13 February 2003 |
| 4 | 2 | Chrome Alone | 20 February 2003 |
| 4 | 3 | A Moving Story | 27 February 2003 |
| 4 | 4 | Scare in the Community | 6 March 2003 |
| 4 | 5 | Every Cloud Has a Silver Wedding | 13 March 2003 |
| 4 | 6 | Hello, Hello, Hello | 20 March 2003 |
| 5 | 1 | Tale of a Toaster | 12 May 2010 |
| 5 | 2 | Smells Like White Spirit | 19 May 2010 |
| 5 | 3 | A Gig With Billy Joel | 26 May 2010 |
| 5 | 4 | How's Your Nan | 2 June 2010 |
| 5 | 5 | Picnic at Toadmouth Rock | 9 June 2010 |
| 5 | 6 | Wishee Washee Day | 16 June 2010 (originally scheduled for 2 June but postponed due to Cumbria shootings) |
| Special | 9 | Visiting Time | 23 December 2018 |
| Special | 10 | Your Very Good Elf | 22 December 2019 |
| 6 | 1 | Rusty's Party | 1 December 2022 |
| 6 | 2 | All's Well That Begins Badly | 8 December 2022 |

### Radio Shuttleworth

| Series | Episode | Special guests | First broadcast |
| 1 | 1 | Leo Sayer, John Hegley | 3 November 1998 |
| 1 | 2 | Wendy Craig, Lorraine Bowen, The League Against Tedium | 10 November 1998 |
| 1 | 3 | Patrick Moore, Seán Cullen, Jenny Eclair | 17 November 1998 |
| 1 | 4 | Vanessa Feltz, Boothby Graffoe | 24 November 1998 |
| 1 | 5 | John Kettley, John Moloney, Sean Lock | 1 December 1998 |
| 2 | 1 | Barbara Dickson, Bill Bailey, Hattie Hayridge | 24 February 2000 |
| 2 | 2 | Richard Whiteley, John Otway, Jo Enright | 2 March 2000 |
| 2 | 3 | Tony Hart, Lorraine Bowen, Stephen Frost | 9 March 2000 |
| 2 | 4 | Peter Purves, Phil Nichol, Milton Jones | 16 March 2000 |
| 2 | 5 | Katrina Leskanich, Robert Wyatt | 23 March 2000 |
| 2 | 6 | Matthew Kelly, Mitch Benn, Kevin Gildea | 30 March 2000 |

### John Shuttleworth's Open Mind

| Series | Episode | Title | First broadcast |
| 1 | 1 | UFOs | 30 March 2006 |
| 1 | 2 | Ghosts | 6 April 2006 |
| 1 | 3 | Vampires | 13 April 2006 |
| 1 | 4 | Fairies | 20 April 2006 |
| 1 | 5 | The Bermuda Triangle | 27 April 2006 |

### John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music

| Series | Episode | Title | First broadcast |
| 1 | 1 | Chas & Dave | 13 July 2014 |
| 1 | 2 | Heaven 17 | 20 July 2014 |
| 1 | 3 | Toyah Willcox | 27 July 2014 |
| 1 | 4 | Lee John | 3 August 2014 |
| 2 | 1 | Chris Difford | 20 November 2016 |
| 2 | 2 | Clare Grogan | 27 November 2016 |
| 2 | 3 | Nick Heyward | 4 December 2016 |
| 2 | 4 | Mari Wilson | 11 December 2016 |