For approximately nineteen years of my life there had been no good reason for anyone to wake up, get out of bed, put on their clothes or turn on their TVs before songs of praise on a Sunday. That was until February 1998, which saw the arrival of This Morning With Richard Not Judy. It would even make the last ten minutes of Robot Wars worth watching. The follow up to Fist of Fun graced our screens almost two years after the hit series and like its predecessor was commissioned for a follow-up second series. With a late-night Friday repeat (when the BBC didn't play havoc with the schedules), Lee and Herring borrowed the successful daytime TV format from Madely and Finnigan and made it their own. Having to get up at 5am and wear such brightly coloured shirts and sit in a garishly designed set can't have been easy, but Rich and Stew brought laughter and sunshine to the screens of Britain.

They would ease you through your hangover with brilliant parodies, sketches and banter with the help of some of their friends; amongst them are the actor Kevin Eldon, Richard Thomas, Emma Kennedy as Nostradamus riding David Collins in a Bernie Clifton stylee, Paul Putner, Jo Unwin and Carlton Dixon. Trevor and Natalie were the nubile slaves who would wheel in the topical trolley every week and undergo a barrage of attacks from Rich and Stew. The decision to televise the show live on the BBC was a brave one on behalf of performers and production crew alike but allowed Rich and Stew to thrive. During the thirty second countdown to the start of the show they would shout every known curse word under the sun and then switch to Richard and Judy mode welcoming their viewers to the show, waiting for the titles to start before leaping onto the famous sofas.

Again taking a sketch show format, TMWRNJ had a more structured and familiar format which allowed running themes to carry through the series, leading to the demise of "the moon on a stick" and instead championing of new catch-phrases along the lines of "… Look at his little face Stu, it's almost as if he understands…." and "… Of course they're all … by the time I've finished with them…"

Tmwrnj said goodbye to Peter as well as other firm favourites but they were superseded by a number of new ideas which included the Unusual Priest, Jesus and his disciples (which provoked complaints from one particular viewer) and Richard Herring's World of Milk. Another was the lettuce family which were one of the last victims in "When Insects Attack" from series one. The lettuce family was some form of situation comedy with all the usual plots and canned laughter but with the added complication that the leaves could only squeak and act out their emotions (subtitles for which are on the Lee and Herring website). Surely a drunken idea, this concept meant that no Lee and Herring fan would be able to approach eating a salad in a state of calm ever again. Others included The Unusual Priest, Extra Final Scenes, Histor's Eye, The History of Alternative Comedy, The Curious Orange, the Organ Gang and the 0891 phone-ins to name but a few. Why not try seeing if you can remember any others?

The "real" Rod Hull proved such a loss that there was a series of shorts "Out And About With Rod Hull" written which had to be dropped at the last minute due to the real real Rod Hull's untimely death. But there was to be one final tear-jerking appearance by the green jelly freak at the end of the final episode, after the grand finale and the final credits. A fitting tribute to a special character. No-one in the audience had any idea that the show hadn't quite ended until Rich and Stew signalled to everyone to quieten down and concentrate on the monitors. There was a stunned silence whilst everyone watched the final Rod Hull sketch ever and then dissolved into rupturous applause and laughter.

In every episode one lucky audience member would be crowned King (or Queen) of the show. This was an honour bestowed on few to be envied by thousands. He (or she) would get to chose a gift from the trolley which featured mainly Golden and/or Cinnamon Grahams and cheap lager. Each week Lee and Herring fans were encouraged to write in and take part in pointless competitions in order to claim the title. The list even includes one particularly lucky shepherds pie.

Following the success of both series Lee and Herring fans all over the country could only presume that this was the start of something beautiful. In those days before T4 had really kicked off, telly on a Sunday was pitiful and there seemed no good reason for a third series not to be commissioned. But alas, Jane Root found a reason and Lee and Herring fans still haven't quite recovered and continue to ask the question, "why aren't Lee and Herring on the telly anymore?" It was the poor scheduling on the BBC which meant that fans of the show were unsure when the show was going to be on and therefore had an effect on the viewing figures. There's little hope of Lee and Herring returning together to our screens as "Rich" and "Stew" and the very thought of Fist Of Fun or TMWRNJ being released on video is a distant fantasy.

Many thanks to SOTCAA and Rob S for the use of their images