Laughter in the Air

Chris Hallam remembers writer, television presenter and comedian Barry Took

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Though he had a long and varied career, Barry Took was never more famous than when he was the host of Points of View.

Took presented the short programme which aired viewers' opinions on the latest BBC programmes between 1979 and 1986, when he was in his 50s.

The format was simple. Took would introduce the handwritten or typed letters which might, for example, be complaining about the quality of writing on the maritime drama Triangle or asking about when Bergerac was coming back, which would be read out by a couple of well-spoken voice artists, before Took replied, usually with a degree of brevity and wit.

During his time, the show grew from five to 10 minutes, moved to an earlier time slot and was given its own title sequence, including an instrumental version of the Beatles' When I'm Sixty-Four (which includes the line: "Send me a postcard, drop me a line, Stating point of view") as the new signature tune. At the same time, Took was overseeing jokes about Margaret Thatcher and Neil Kinnock as chairman of BBC Radio 4's long-running The News Quiz between 1979 and 1981 and again from 1986 to 1995.

Barry Took had been born to a middle-class family in Muswell Hill, north London in 1928. In his youth, his father had been a one of the first Scouts as well as a first-class amateur footballer and cricketer, before settling into life as the manager of a grocery business. Barry's mother, meanwhile, seemed to favour his older brother, leading to a complicated relationship with the young Barry.

Barry himself experienced a variety of motoring mishaps as a child, crashing two parked vans before the age of five after mischievously climbing into them and releasing the handbrake. He was knocked unconscious after being hit by a car on another occasion soon afterwards.