History CreatorBreakdown / Radio

** One episode of ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' radio series was written while he was very annoyed about the number of shoe shops in Oxford Street and the impossibility of finding a pair he liked in any of them. The episode is largely about the economic concept of the Shoe Event Horizon, beyond which it becomes impossible for any aspiring businessman to open a shop that sells anything other than ill-fitting shoes, causing the collapse of a planet's entire economy. A much shorter version of the rant appeared in the novel ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse''; the CorruptCorporateExecutive Hig Hurtenflurst, who represents a thinly-disguised version of the British Shoe Corporation, does not.

* ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' creator and principal scriptwriter Creator/SpikeMilligan completely flipped under the strain of writing, virtually solo, the fourth-wall-breaking radio comedy that was so far ahead of its time it dominated the shape of British comedy for the following thirty years. Under the additional strain of discovering a spendthrift wife had blown all his cash and was now suing for divorce, Milligan's wartime trauma and recurring PTSD flipped over into outright psychosis. Convinced his best friend was cheating him, he went round to Creator/PeterSellers with a loaded pistol, vowing to shoot him. Following the subsequent struggle, Milligan was carted off to the loony bin by the police. Other British comedy luminaries such as Creator/EricSykes and Creator/DicklEmery took over writing and performing the Goon Show, until he was better. Peter Sellers is said to have born no grudge but was deeply affected by the attempted murder.

* ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' creator and principal scriptwriter Creator/SpikeMilligan completely flipped under the strain of writing, virtually solo, the fourth-wall-breaking radio comedy that was so far ahead of its time it dominated the shape of British comedy for the following thirty years. Under the additional strain of discovering a spendthrift wife had blown all his cash and was now suing for divorce, Milligan's wartime trauma and recurring PTSD flipped over into outright psychosis. Convinced his best friend was cheating him, he went round to Creator/PeterSellers with a loaded pistol, vowing to shoot him. Following the subsequent struggle, Milligan was carted off to the loony bin by the police. Other British comedy luminaries such as Creator/EricSykes and Dick Emery took over writing and performing the Goon Show, until he was better. Peter Sellers is said to have born no grudge but was deeply affected by the attempted murder.

* ''[[Radio/TheGoons The Goon Show]]'' creator and principal scriptwriter Creator/SpikeMilligan completely flipped under the strain of writing, virtually solo, the fourth-wall-breaking radio comedy that was so far ahead of its time it dominated the shape of British comedy for the following thirty years. Under the additional strain of discovering a spendthrift wife had blown all his cash and was now suing for divorce, Milligan's wartime trauma and recurring PTSD flipped over into outright psychosis. Convinced his best friend was cheating him, he went round to Creator/PeterSellers with a loaded pistol, vowing to shoot him. Following the subsequent struggle, Milligan was carted off to the loony bin by the police. Other British comedy luminaries such as Creator/EricSykes and Dick Emery took over writing and performing the Goon Show, until he was better. Peter Sellers is said to have born no grudge but was deeply affected by the attempted murder.

* ''Radio/GoonShow'' creator and principal scriptwriter Creator/SpikeMilligan completely flipped under the strain of writing, virtually solo, the fourth-wall-breaking radio comedy that was so far ahead of its time it dominated the shape of British comedy for the following thirty years. Under the additional strain of discovering a spendthrift wife had blown all his cash and was now suing for divorce, Milligan's wartime trauma and recurring PTSD flipped over into outright psychosis. Convinced his best friend was cheating him, he went round to Creator/PeterSellers with a loaded pistol, vowing to shoot him. Following the subsequent struggle, Milligan was carted off to the loony bin by the police. Other British comedy luminaries such as Creator/EricSykes and Dick Emery took over writing and performing the Goon Show, until he was better. Peter Sellers is said to have born no grudge but was deeply affected by the attempted murder.

* BBC Radio One DJ Radio/TonyBlackburn, a man both loved and mocked for his innate cheesiness, reacted badly when his wife walked out on him in the early 1970's. He famously locked his producer out of the studio and repeatedly played Bobby Goldsboro's ''Honey'' over and again to a bemused British listenership, saying nothing and sitting there in deep personal gloom until his prime-time show was taken off the air. This was famously parodied by Harry Enfield and ''TheFastShow''[='=]s Paul Whitehouse, in their creation of over-the-top disc jockeys "Smashey and Nicey".

* Another BBC radio presenter who had frequent crises on air was Radio Two's very early morning presenter Radio/SarahKennedy. She became so renowned for her gaffes and other eccentricities that people used to get up deliberately early in the hope they'd catch a Kennedy classic. On one occasion, her severely slurred voice, constant confused repetition, and a rambling nonsequeterial speech trailing into nothing, suggested to listeners that something was severely amiss. She was taken off air and a stand-in presenter was hastily brought in. This was put down to a combination of sleep deprivation and prescription medication, but some unkind people suggested other more liquid medication was at work. Indeed, Sir Radio/TerryWogan, who presented the following show, once quipped that "Sarah's been pouring the old gin over her cornflakes again". Sarah was also guilty of ill-judged racially-based jokes of a sort that would have gone unremarked in the Britain of thirty or forty years ago, but which were definitely politically incorrect in the late 2000's. She no longer works for the BBC.

* ''Radio/GoonShow'' creator and principal scriptwriter Creator/SpikeMilligan completely flipped under the strain of writing, virtually solo, the fourth-wall-breaking radio comedy that was so far ahead of its time it dominated the shape of British comedy for the following thirty years. Under the additional strain of discovering a spendthrift wife had blown all his cash and was now suing for divorce, Milligan's wartime trauma and recurring PTSD flipped over into outright psychosis. Convinced his best friend was cheating him, he went round to Creator/PeterSellers with a loaded pistol, vowing to shoot him. Following the subsequent struggle, Milligan was carted off to the loony bin by the police. Other British comedy luminaries such as Creator/EricSykes and Creator/DickEmery took over writing and performing the Goon Show, until he was better. Peter Sellers is said to have born no grudge but was deeply affected by the attempted murder.

* BBC Radio One DJ Radio/TonyBlackburn, a man both loved and mocked for his innate cheesiness, reacted badly when his wife walked out on him in the early 1970's. He famously locked his producer out of the studio and repeatedly played Bobby Goldsboro's ''Honey'' over and again to a bemused British listenership, saying nothing and sitting there in deep personal gloom until his prime-time show was taken off the air. This was famously parodied by HarryEnfield and ''TheFastShow''[='=]s Paul Whitehouse, in their creation of over-the-top disc jockeys "Smashey and Nicey".

* BBC Radio One DJ Radio/TonyBlackburn, a man both loved and mocked for his innate cheesiness, reacted badly when his wife walked out on him in the early 1970's. He famously locked his producer out of the studio and repeatedly played BobbyGoldsboro's ''Honey'' over and again to a bemused British listenership, saying nothing and sitting there in deep personal gloom until his prime-time show was taken off the air. This was famously parodied by HarryEnfield and ''TheFastShow''[='=]s Paul Whitehouse, in their creation of over-the-top disc jockeys "Smashey and Nicey".

* BBC Radio One DJ Radio/TonyBlackburn, a man both loved and mocked for his innate cheesiness, reacted badly when his wife walked out on him in the early 1970's. He famously locked his producer out of the studio and repeatedly played {{Bobby Goldsboro}}'s ''Honey'' over and again to a bemused British listenership, saying nothing and sitting there in deep personal gloom until his prime-time show was taken off the air. This was famously parodied by {{Harry Enfield}} and {{The Fast Show}}'s Paul Whitehouse, in their creation of over-the-top disc jockeys "Smashey and Nicey".
* Another BBC radio presenter who had frequent crises on air was Radio Two's very early morning presenter {{Radio/Sarah Kennedy}}. She became so renowned for her gaffes and other eccentricities that people used to get up deliberately early in the hope they'd catch a Kennedy classic. On one occasion, her severely slurred voice, constant confused repetition, and a rambling nonsequeterial speech trailing into nothing, suggested to listeners that something was severely amiss. She was taken off air and a stand-in presenter was hastily brought in. This was put down to a combination of sleep deprivation and prescription medication, but some unkind people suggested other more liquid medication was at work. Indeed, Sir {{Terry Wogan}}, who presented the following show, once quipped that "Sarah's been pouring the old gin over her cornflakes again". Sarah was also guilty of ill-judged racially-based jokes of a sort that would have gone unremarked in the Britain of thirty or forty years ago, but which were definitely politically incorrect in the late 2000's. She no longer works for the BBC.

* BBC Radio One DJ Radio/TonyBlackburn, a man both loved and mocked for his innate cheesiness, reacted badly when his wife walked out on him in the early 1970's. He famously locked his producer out of the studio and repeatedly played {{Bobby Goldsboro}}'s ''Honey'' over and again to a bemused British listenership, saying nothing and sitting there in deep personal gloom until his prime-time show was taken off the air. This was famously parodied by {{The Fast Show}}'s {{Harry Enfield}} and Charlie Higson, in their creation of over-the-top disc jockeys "Smashey and Nicey".

* Another BBC radio presenter who had frequent crises on air was Radio Two's very early morning presenter Radio/Sarah Kennedy. She became so renowned for her gaffes and other eccentricities that people used to get up deliberately early in the hope they'd catch a Kennedy classic. On one occasion, her severely slurred voice, constant confused repetition, and a rambling nonsequeterial speech trailing into nothing, suggested to listeners that something was severely amiss. She was taken off air and a stand-in presenter was hastily brought in. This was put down to a combination of sleep deprivation and prescription medication, but some unkind people suggested other more liquid medication was at work. Indeed, Sir {{Terry Wogan}}, who presented the following show, once quipped that "Sarah's been pouring the old gin over her cornflakes again". Sarah was also guilty of ill-judged racially-based jokes of a sort that would have gone unremarked in the Britain of thirty or forty years ago, but which were definitely politically incorrect in the late 2000's. She no longer works for the BBC.

* Another BBC radio presenter who had frequent crises on air was Radio Two's very early morning presenter [[Radio/Sarah Kennedy]]. She became so renowned for her gaffes and other eccentricities that people used to get up deliberately early in the hope they'd catch a Kennedy classic. On one occassion, her severely slurred voice, constant confused repetition, and a rambling nonsequeterial speech trailing into nothing, suggested to listeners that something was severely amiss. She was taken off air and a stand-in presenter was hastily brought in. This was put down to a combination of sleep deprivation and prescription medication, but some unkind people suggested other more liquid medication was at work. Indeed, Sir {{Terry Wogan}}, who presented the following show, once quipped that "Sarah's been pouring the old gin over her cornflakes again". Sarah was also guilty of ill-judged racially-based jokes of a sort that would have gone unremarked in the Britain of thirty or forty years ago, but which were definitely politically incorrect in the late 2000's. She no longer works for the BBC.

* Another BBC radio presenter who had frequent crises on air was Radio Two's very early morning presenter {{Sarah Kennedy}}. She became so renowned for her gaffes and other eccentricities that people used to get up deliberately early in the hope they'd catch a Kennedy classic. On one occassion, her severely slurred voice, constant confused repetition, and a rambling nonsequeterial speech trailing into nothing, suggested to listeners that something was severely amiss. She was taken off air and a stand-in presenter was hastily brought in. This was put down to a combination of sleep deprivation and prescription medication, but some unkind people suggested other more liquid medication was at work. Indeed, Sir {{Terry Wogan}}, who presented the following show, once quipped that "Sarah's been pouring the old gin over her cornflakes again". Sarah was also guilty of ill-judged racially-based jokes of a sort that would have gone unremarked in the Britain of thirty or forty years ago, but which were definitely politically incorrect in the late 2000's. She no longer works for the BBC.

* BBC Radio One DJ {{Tony Blackburn}}, a man both loved and mocked for his innate cheesiness, reacted badly when his wife walked out on him in the early 1970's. He famously locked his producer out of the studio and repeatedly played {{Bobby Goldsboro}}'s ''Honey'' over and again to a bemused British listenership, saying nothing and sitting there in deep personal gloom until his prime-time show was taken off the air. This was famously parodied by {{The Fast Show}}'s {{Harry Enfield}} and Charlie Higson, in their creation of over-the-top disc jockeys "Smashey and Nicey".

* ''GoonShow'' creator and principal scriptwriter SpikeMilligan completely flipped under the strain of writing, virtually solo, the fourth-wall-breaking radio comedy that was so far ahead of its time it dominated the shape of British comedy for the following thirty years. Under the additional strain of discovering a spendthrift wife had blown all his cash and was now suing for divorce, Milligan's wartime trauma and recurring PTSD flipped over into outright psychosis. Convinced his best friend was cheating him, he went round to PeterSellers with a loaded pistol, vowing to shoot him. Following the subsequent struggle, Milligan was carted off to the loony bin by the police. Other British comedy luminaries such as EricSykes and DickEmery took over writing and performing the Goon Show, until he was better. Peter Sellers is said to have born no grudge but was deeply affected by the attempted murder.

* DouglasAdams had these a lot; one episode of ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' radio series was written while he was very annoyed about the number of shoe shops in Oxford Street and the impossibility of finding a pair he liked in any of them. The episode is largely about the economic concept of the Shoe Event Horizon, beyond which it becomes impossible for any aspiring businessman to open a shop that sells anything other than ill-fitting shoes, causing the collapse of a planet's entire economy. A much shorter version of the rant appeared in the novel ''H2G2/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse''; the CorruptCorporateExecutive Hig Hurtenflurst, who represents a thinly disguised version of the British Shoe Corporation, does not.

* Some people believe HowardStern was at his funniest during the breakdown of his marriage and his eventual divorce.
** As their marriage was breaking down, Stern used to make on-air comments he knew would infuriate his wife Allison; she would call the show to complain, and they would have very real arguments on the air.

* Another BBC radio presenter who had frequent crises on air was Radio Two's very early morning presenter {{Sarah Kennedy}}. She became so renowned for her gaffes and other eccentricities that people used to get up deliberately early in the hope they'd catch a Kennedy classic. On one occassion, her severely slurred voice, constant confused repetition, and a rambling nonsequeterial speech trailing into nothing, suggested to listeners that something was severely amiss. She was taken off air and a stand-in presenter was hastily brought in. This was put down to a combination of sleep deprivation and prescription medication, but some unkind people suggested other more liquid medication was at work. Indeed, Sir {{Terry Wogan}}, who presented the following show, once quipped that "Sarah's been pouring the old gin over her cornflakes again". Sarah was also guilty of ill-judged racially-based jokes of a sort that would have gone unremarked in the Britain of thirty or forty years ago, but which were definitely politically incorrect in the late 2000's. She n longer works for the BBC.