The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d

{{Short description|1956 British TV comedy series}}

{{About|the British television series|the Australian radio series|The Idiot Weekly}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}

{{infobox television

| runtime = 30 minutes

| image = The_Idiot_Weekly,_Price_2d_film_frame_(1956).jpg

| writer = {{flatlist|

• Dave Freeman
• John Junkin
• Spike Milligan
• Terry Nation
• Eric Sykes

}}

| starring = {{plainlist|

• Peter Sellers
• Spike Milligan
• Eric Sykes
• Valentine Dyall
• Kenneth Connor
• Graham Stark
• June Whitfield
• Patti Lewis
• Max Geldray

}}

| country = United Kingdom

| network = Associated-Rediffusion

| first_aired = {{start date|1956|2|24|df=y}}

| last_aired = {{end date|1956|3|30|df=y}}

| num_episodes = 6

}}

The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d was a 1956 British television series produced and directed by Richard Lester.{{Cite web |title=The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150513807 |access-date=4 August 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}} Although written mainly by Spike Milligan, there were many contributions from members of Associated London Scripts, the writers' co-operative, including Dave Freeman, John Junkin and Terry Nation. Eric Sykes was credited as the script editor. It was made by Associated-Rediffusion during 1956 and was broadcast only in the London area.

It was the first real attempt to translate the humour of The Goon Show to television. It combined elements of a sitcom and sketch comedy with Peter Sellers as the editor of a fictional tatty Victorian newspaper, The Idiot Weekly. The headlines of the paper were used as links to comedy sketches.{{Cite web|url=https://televisionheaven.co.uk/reviews/the-idiot-weekly-priced-2d|title=The Idiot Weekly (Priced 2d)|first=Laurence|last=Marcus|website=Television Heaven}}

It was followed in the same year by A Show Called Fred and Son of Fred.{{Cite web|url=https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1950s/idiot-weekly-price-2d/|title=Idiot Weekly, Price 2d, The – Nostalgia Central|date=21 September 2014|website=nostalgiacentral.com}} The title was revived by Milligan for his 1958 Australian radio series The Idiot Weekly.