Shaggy Dog Story (TV)

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Shaggy Dog Story was a charity programme for Children in Need, put together by the BBC in 1999 as a sequel to the previous year's Future Generations video (featuring chilcren's programmes), and the great success of 1997's Perfect Day charity single.

Shaggy Dog Story was dedicated to the BBC's comedy output. It featured various comedians and comic actors (some in character, others as themselves) telling a long-winded shaggy dog story about a cricket captain who ends up recruiting a horse for his team, with each one sharing a line or phrase. It was begun with Ronnie Corbett in his trademark armchair, who is most famously known for telling such stories on The Two Ronnies. It was first shown on December 27, 1999. The participants, in order of appearance, were:

• Ronnie Corbett (as himself)
• Paul Whitehouse (as The 13th Duke of Wybourne from The Fast Show)
• June Whitfield (as herself)
• Stephen Fry (as himself)
• Richard Wilson (as Victor Meldrew from One Foot in the Grave)
• Harry Enfield (as Tim Nice-But-Dim from Harry Enfield's Television Programme)
• Ronnie Barker (as Albert Arkwright from Open All Hours)
• Charlie Higson (as Bob Fleming from The Fast Show)
• Spike Milligan (as himself)
• Neil Morrissey (as Tony Smart from Men Behaving Badly)
• Reece Shearsmith (as Edward Tattsyrup from The League of Gentlemen)
• Steve Pemberton (as Tubbs Tattsyrup from The League of Gentlemen)
• Geoffrey Palmer (as himself or Lionel Hardcastle from As Time Goes By)
• Caroline Aherne (as Denise Best from The Royle Family)
• Craig Cash (as Dave Best from The Royle Family)
• Jennifer Saunders (as herself)
• Dawn French (as herself)
• Phil Cornwell (as Michael Caine from Stella Street)
• John Sessions (as Mrs Eileen Huggett from Stella Street)
• the cast of Big Train (as horse jockeys)
• Mark Gatiss (as Hilary Briss from The League of Gentlemen (comedy))
• Victoria Wood (as Bren from dinnerladies)
• Ardal O'Hanlon (as Thermoman from My Hero)
• Mark Williams (as Patrick Nice from The Fast Show)
• the cast of Goodness Gracious Me (as the Coopers/Kapoors and the Robinsons/Rabindranaths)
• Peter Sallis (as Norman Clegg from Last of the Summer Wine)
• Angus Deayton (as himself)
• John Thomson (as Louis Balfour from The Fast Show)
• Paul Kaye (as Bob Slay from Perfect World)
• Belinda Lang (as Bill Porter from 2 point 4 Children)
• Gary Olsen (as Ben Porter from 2 point 4 Children)
• Emma Chambers (as Alice Tinker from The Vicar of Dibley)
• Craig Charles (as Dave Lister from Red Dwarf)
• Chris Barrie (as Arnold Rimmer from Red Dwarf)
• Jack Dee (as himself)
• Alan Davies (as himself)
• John Cleese (voiceover)

A second, shorter story, entitled "Mammals vs. Insects", was also broadcast on 4 January 2000. This story revolved around a football match between the two teams of creatures and featured many of the participants from the other story.