Monotonal cod philosopher Pete and deferential sidekick Dud deliver an archetypal dialogue in the reptile house at the zoo. This is one of the so-called “Dagenham dialogues”, featuring “Pete and Dud”, popularised on the show Not Only…But Also, first aired in 1965.

Coming out of the heady iconoclastic success of the satirical stage revue, Beyond the Fringe, Dudley Moore embarked on what was originally intended to be a solo project, Not Only Dudley Moore, But Also His Guests. However, having invited Peter Cook to appear with him in the pilot, the success of their double act quickly led to Cook joining the show permanently.

The dialogues between the flat-capped comedy creations from Dagenham presented Peter Cook with the opportunity to ad-lib and creatively explore the myriad comic possibilities of his character. His ability to sustain long periods of straight-faced comic ramblings that oftentimes bring Moore to the brink of corpsing hilarity, adds a wonderful comic tension to the dialogues. Ever alert to Moore’s struggle to stay in character, Cook enjoys ramping up the comic surreality in order to crack Dud up.

The duo’s relationship was always a bit edgy, but their partnership fell apart during the marathon tour of their two-man show Behind the Fridge, in the early seventies, and they never worked together on a regular basis again, save for some albums and shows featuring the less-than-edifying “Derek and Clive” characters. A flawed bromance they may have been but it’s preferable to remember the good times, and at times those good times were comedically sublime.