Peter Brough - TV Work

TV Work

Because of the success of his radio show, he made his debut on television in 1956 in the BBC sitcom Here's Archie which co-starred Irene Handl and Ronald Chesney. The show was written by the latter and Ronald Wolfe, who would later team up on classic British sitcoms The Rag Trade and On the Buses.

Two years later, Peter was on ITV in Educating Archie, utilising the same team as before, although Marty Feldman took some of the writing credit as well. The TV appearances exposed his limitations as a ventriloquist, as his lips were frequently seen to move. In later years a critic remarked aptly, "Ventriloquism on the radio - I could have done that."

By 1961, Peter decided to retire Archie following the death of his father, also a ventriloquist, and he then took over the family's textile and menswear business. His TV appearances were sporadic from then on. He died in 1999.

In November 2005, the original Archie Andrews doll was sold at auction in Taunton for £34,000.