Ronnie Corbett has blasted modern day comedians' jokes as “gross” and overly reliant on toilet humour.
The 80-year-old TV star, and one part of The Two Ronnies, said he and his late partner, Ronnie Barker, had success and longevity “without offending”.
In an interview with the Radio Times, Corbett said: “Comedy today is grosser, we did Donald McGill, seaside-postcard stuff – middle of the road.
“We knew what mums, dads, and children would understand and enjoy without resentment. I don’t see the requirement to upset people. You’re there to entertain and please. We’d never do anything tasteless.
“There’s enough to make fun of without offending. Our comedy was light-hearted amusement that seemingly tripped naturally off the tongue.”
Corbett, whose programmes - such as The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town - still bring in millions of viewers today, laid into controversial comedian Frankie Boyle stating: “Being outrageous is his territory. I’d be interested to chat to him to see why he wants to upset people. I don’t understand it.”
Corbett also revealed that he wasn’t impressed with Little Britain’s toilet jokes: “David and Matt are bold, funny, and imaginative, but I thought some of their characters wee’d [Mrs Emery] or were sick [Maggie Blackamoor] too much.”
Showing no sign of slowing down, Corbett is currently making a two-part series for ITV, entitled Ronnie Corbett’s Comedy Britain. The show will see him meet comedians whose work he admires including Matt Lucas, John Cleese, David Mitchell, Miranda Hart and Michael McIntyre.