The Men from the Ministry returns

THE WHITEHALL WITS ARE BACK AGAIN!
The pilot programme of "The Men from the Ministry" was recorded for Springbok Radio in August 1968. The show lasted for nearly two decades and 900 half-hours, and died with the closure of Springbok Radio at the end of 1985
The cast of The Men from the Ministry (left - right) Tommy Read, Maureen Adair, John Simpson, Tom Meehan, Roger Service, Frank Graham	The story behind the most successful comedy series in South African radio started in 1967 when Tom Meehan came across a copy of one of the original scripts in the office of a London agent. The creator and writer was a BBC producer, Edward Taylor. He made them available for production in South Africa and when the originals ran out after two years, permission was granted for home-grown scripts to be written in Durban. Now the antics of the Whitehall wits are set to thrill and amuse the original fans and a new generation of listeners. “The Men from the Ministry” returns to the airwaves on October 2 and can be heard each week on Saturday nights at 8.15 pm on Radio South Africa (Stereo 104-107). The old firm is once again in residence: Tom Meehan has created a fresh batch of scripts and will be at the microphone with stalwarts John Simpson, Maureen Adair (who plays all the female parts), Roger Service, Frank Graham, Tom Read and Brian Squires.
The revival season will be produced for Radio South Africa by Don Ridgway and the programmes will be recorded for invited audiences in Ml at the SABC in Durban. There is limited seating for the recording sessions of "The Men from the Ministry", with two programmes being recorded at 17h30 on Tuesday evenings each week. Enquiries can be directed to Bev Pulé or Beryl Watson. The Technical Team Father, dear Father! The above is an abridged version of the press release issued by Barry Jones, and was made available for publication by Bev Pulé of the SABC, Durban.
Reproduced from an article in SABC Natal Broadcast Staff Magazine “Sanibonani” Oct/Nov 1993 Footnote: Sadly "Men" ended is long run on South African radio in the late 1990's.