Where would you stop with the editing/censoring before it ruined the flow and dialogue? Without posting potentially sensitive/offensive stuff here, there are loads more instances of pejoratives and situations where I raised an eyebrow during a recent rewatch - stuff the actors and writers probably cringe themselves to death over now. But to start making cuts and edits would disrupt the absolute comedy gold around it. Difficult. Mayer Watching it at the time, all I could see were the bits that didn’t quite come out right. Now, even though lots of it doesn’t work, it’s got so much in it. So many ideas in it. There’s something about the verve of doing things when you have no idea what you’re doing. You’re making mistakes in public but you also invent things. Punk wouldn’t be punk if it wasn’t rough around the edges. If you tried to tidy up The Young Ones, you’d ruin it.

The Young Ones - The Complete Collection: 40th Anniversary

Ryan I can be anywhere and people will bring it up. Just today, I was walking down the street and someone told me they knew me. People smile when they talk about The Young Ones.Mayer Mainly me and Rik chose the bands. The Damned and Motörhead were really sweet. The naughtiest person we had on – and you probably wouldn’t even notice it was her – was Andi Oliver, when she was in Rip Rig & Panic. Extensive photo gallery featuring the original music score and unpublished images from the production team It’s freezing with snow outside in this episode, so Vyv is burning everything in the house to keep everyone warm. Unaware of this at first, Neil tries to nail plates to the table, believing that a phantom is taking them, and when Mike tries to help he nails his own legs to the table as well. We then see 2 beheaded ghosts arguing with each other as Mike is tended to by his friends. The Young Ones has a little bit in common with Fawlty Towers, in the sense that it only had 12 episodes, yet it still had a massive impact and is remembered as one of the all-time classics. But that’s where any similarities end. It’s safe to say it was completely unlike anything that had been on TV before, propelling its stars and the genre of alternative comedy into the mainstream. Sure, there had been some crazy comedy shows prior to it, which no doubt had some degree of influence upon its creators, but this really pushed the boundaries and took things to another level.

The Young Ones: The Complete Collection - 40th Anniversary

Well, that's why I'd want two versions. One uncut, one with the more problematic material excised. But I mean, this isn't a thought-out proposal I'm making here. I just think some of the series uses language that you would never, ever get in a comedy programme in 2022. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, it’s a product of its time and in terms of the racist policeman skit, it’s done for a reason. I wouldn’t advocate cutting Blazing Saddles for the same reasons, but I wouldn’t show it to my kids either. That’s a bit of a shame, because I really loved the Young Ones when I was a kid. I don’t think it’s worth the risk that they would go off and use some of the unacceptable language in the playground.Comedy double acts Dawn French& Jennifer Saunders, Gareth Hale& Norman Pace, Stephen Fry& Hugh Laurie, Mel Smith& Griff Rhys Jones and Stephen Frost& Mark Arden. The Young Ones - The Complete Collection: 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray set. Credit: BBC Studios