The Real McCoy (TV series)
The Real McCoy was a BBC Television comedy show that ran from 1991 to 1996, featuring an array of black and Asian comedy stars performing material with various comedy sketches and musical guests such as the musical group Soul II Soul.
UK comedy stars that featured in the series included: the comedy acts Robbie Gee, Curtis and Ishmael, Judith Jacob, Collette Johnson, Llewella Gideon, Meera Syal, Perry Benson, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Leo Chester, Kulvinder Ghir, Rudi Lickwood, Eddie Nestor, Marcus Powell, Junior Simpson and Curtis Walker and Felix Dexter.
The producer of the first two series, Charlie Hanson, was the co-founder of the Black Theatre Co-operative and had produced No Problem! and Desmond's before creating The Real McCoy. He was working with Curtis and Ishmael on the 291 Club at the Hackney Empire and suggested making a television version, but instead, the BBC opted for a totally new sketch series, launching The Real McCoy.
In spite of its popularity it has yet to be released on DVD. It was made available for download on the short-lived BBC Store. The series was made available on the BBC iPlayer from July 2020.
