ITMA was a 1940s BBC radio comedy programme. ITMA stood for "It's That Man Again", which originally referred to Adolf Hitler but later to Tommy Handley, a popular comedian. Other contributors included Ted Kavanaugh, a master of voices, and Hattie Jacques, who played a greedy girl, Sophie Tuckshop. This programme featured dozens of characters, such as Mrs. Mopp, and Colonel Chinstrap (played by Jack Train). (Some years later, Train reprised the role of Colonel Chinstrap for a couple of guest appearances on The Goon Show). Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century Decades: 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s - 1940s - 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s Years: 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 Events and trends Technology First nuclear bomb First cruise missile, the V1 flying bomb and the first ballistic missile, the... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was formed in 1927 by means of a royal charter from the Crown. ... Radio comedy, or comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve sitcom elements, sketches or any other form of comedy found on other mediums. ... Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889–April 30, 1945) was the Führer und Reichskanzler (leader and chancellor) of Germany from 1933 to his death. ... Tommy (Thomas Reginald) Handley (1892 -1949) was a British comedian mainly known for the BBC radio program ITMA (Its That Man Again). He was born at Toxteth Park, (Liverpool) on 17 January 1892 and died on 9 January 1949 from a brain hemorrhage. ... Josephine Edwina Jacques (February 7, 1922 - October 6, 1980), better known by the stage name Hattie Jacques, was a comedy actress. ... The Goon Show was a hugely popular and extremely influential British radio comedy programme, which was originally produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1951 to 1960 on the BBC Home Service. ...

ITMA ran for over 300 episodes. When Handley died the show was cancelled because he was considered irreplaceable as its star.

External links

• British Comedy and Drama Website - ITMA (http://www.britishcomedy.org.uk/comedy/itma.html)
• BBC article about ITMA (http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/localhistory/journey/stars/tommy_handley/itma.shtml)
• Whirligig-TV article about ITMA (http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/radio/itma.htm)

In fact Ted Kavanagh was the script writer, and did not appear in the show at all. Jack Train was the main multi-voice player.