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The Two Ronnies in Australia: new comedy on Together TV This August 2026
Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett head Down Under in a rarely seen series packed with sketches, songs, puns and their unmistakable comic chemistry. Watch The Two Ronnies in Australia from Wednesday 5 August at 9pm - only on Together TV.
👉 Set a reminder now — check the full August TV guide.
It's goodnight from him — but not quite yet.
Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett return to British television this August as Together TV brings viewers The Two Ronnies in Australia. Made for Australian television in 1986, this six-part series gave audiences Down Under their own version of the much-loved British sketch show - quick-fire jokes, elaborate sketches, musical performances, cheeky innuendo and a joyful love of language.
For long-time fans, it's a chance to see two familiar faces in a series rarely shown in Britain. For anyone discovering them for the first time, it's a warm and wonderfully silly introduction to one of British television's greatest comedy partnerships.
Who were The Two Ronnies?
Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett were already experienced performers when they began working together, but their pairing became one of the defining partnerships of British television comedy.
They first appeared together regularly on David Frost's satirical programme The Frost Report during the 1960s. Their own BBC series, The Two Ronnies, began in April 1971 and ran across 12 series, with its final programme broadcast at Christmas in 1987 - more than 90 episodes and specials in total.
The format was instantly recognisable: Barker and Corbett opened behind their news desk with a string of quick jokes before moving through sketches, individual performances, musical numbers and continuing serials, always returning to the desk for their famous farewell.
The BBC has described their body of work as one of the most impressive comedy catalogues in mainstream entertainment, spanning sketches, gags, musical numbers and Corbett's distinctive monologues.
Why were The Two Ronnies so popular?
Barker and Corbett were very different performers - which is exactly why they worked so well together.
Ronnie Barker was a master of comic characters, voices and verbal confusion, transforming himself into an officious shopkeeper, a blustering authority figure, or a character trapped in an increasingly complicated misunderstanding.
Ronnie Corbett brought warmth, precision and a wonderfully conversational style. His best-known solo routines placed him in an oversized chair, telling a supposedly simple joke while wandering into one comic diversion after another.
Together, they made clever writing feel effortless. Their humour could be broad, sophisticated, cheeky and gloriously ridiculous — sometimes within the same sketch — rewarding viewers who listened closely, since one misunderstood word could send an entire conversation in a completely unexpected direction.
Their popularity was matched by critical recognition: Barker and Corbett jointly won the BAFTA for Light Entertainment Performance in 1972, while The Two Ronnies won the BAFTA for Light Entertainment in 1976.
What is The Two Ronnies in Australia?
By the 1980s, The Two Ronnies had developed a large following in Australia as well as Britain.
Shortly before Ronnie Barker retired from regular television, the pair travelled to Sydney to create a new version of their programme for Australia's Channel Nine. The resulting six-part series was made especially for an Australian audience, adapting the familiar Two Ronnies formula for viewers Down Under.
The series showcases Barker and Corbett's mastery of limericks, puns, tongue-twisters, songs and innuendo. Although the structure will feel reassuringly familiar to British fans, its Australian setting and locally tailored material make it an unusual part of their television story.
That's what makes this run on Together TV particularly special. It's not simply another repeat of the BBC series' most famous moments - it's a chance to see the pair take their hugely successful partnership abroad and perform for a different audience.
👉 Curious to see it for yourself? Watch The Two Ronnies in Australia.
1. It's a rarely seen chapter in their story
British viewers know Four Candles, the news desk and Ronnie Corbett's armchair monologues, but the programmes made for Australia are much less familiar in the UK. The series captures Barker and Corbett at a fascinating point in their careers: internationally successful, completely comfortable together and nearing the end of their original television partnership.
2. The comedy is built around brilliant language
Few comedy performers took as much pleasure in words as Ronnie Barker. The sketches are filled with misheard instructions, double meanings, elaborate rhymes and sentences that become funnier the more tangled they get. The Australian series particularly highlights their love of puns, limericks and tongue-twisters - comedy worth listening to as well as watching.
3. Their partnership feels genuinely warm
The pair weren't competing to be the funniest person in every scene. Barker could disappear into an extravagant character, while Corbett could make the smallest reaction funny - one might deliver the words, but the other's pause, expression or perfectly timed interruption frequently completed the joke. That generosity gives the programme a warmth that still comes through decades later.
4. You may discover sketches you've never seen before
Even devoted fans are likely to find something unfamiliar here. Rather than relying entirely on the handful of sketches regularly repeated in Britain, it offers six episodes of routines created or selected for a different television audience.
5. It's a chance to watch two genuine television greats together
The Two Ronnies weren't merely popular in their own era - their work helped define the shape of the mainstream British sketch show. Their influence can still be seen in comedy built around recurring formats, character sketches, verbal misunderstandings and performers moving effortlessly between broad humour and intricate writing. The Two Ronnies weren't merely popular in their own era - their work helped define the shape of the mainstream British sketch show. Their influence can still be seen in comedy built around recurring formats, character sketches, verbal misunderstandings and performers moving effortlessly between broad humour and intricate writing.
Did you know? Two Ronnies trivia
Ronnie Barker secretly wrote under another name
Barker wasn't only one of the programme's stars - he was also one of its most important writers. For a time, he submitted material under the pseudonym Gerald Wiley, allowing the scripts to be judged without producers being influenced by his fame. "Gerald Wiley" later appeared among the credited writers on BBC listings for The Two Ronnies.
The partnership grew out of The Frost Report
Barker and Corbett's first major television work together came as part of the ensemble on The Frost Report, alongside performers including John Cleese. A BBC retrospective marking 20 years of their partnership traced their first appearance together to the programme in 1966.
They were already celebrating 20 years together in 1986
The same year The Two Ronnies in Australia was made, BBC One broadcast Twenty Years of the Two Ronnies, with Barker and Corbett selecting favourite sketches and musical numbers from their first two decades together - proof of how firmly established their partnership already was by the time they headed to Australia.
Their most famous sketch began with two misunderstood words
The Four Candles sketch - often referred to as Fork Handles - is built around a hardware shop customer whose requests are repeatedly misunderstood. Its appeal sums up Barker's writing perfectly: ordinary words, precise timing and escalating confusion. It was later voted the duo's funniest sketch in a television poll, and Barker's handwritten script sold for £48,500 in 2007.
The spectacles became part of their identity
Both comedians wore glasses, and the programme used two pairs of spectacles as its visual symbol - an image that reflected the partnership itself: immediately recognisable, simple and built around the contrast between the two performers.
The Two Ronnies returned one final time in 2005
Nearly two decades after the original series ended, Barker and Corbett reunited for The Two Ronnies Sketchbook, sharing memories and introducing favourite routines from behind the famous desk - a rare final opportunity to see the pair together before Ronnie Barker's death later that year.
When is The Two Ronnies in Australia on Together TV?
It begins on Wednesday 5 August 2026 at 9pm on Together TV.
Episode schedule (all episodes at 9pm):
Episode 1 — Wednesday 5 August
Episode 2 — Thursday 6 August
Episode 3 — Friday 7 August
Episode 4 — Monday 10 August
Episode 5 — Tuesday 11 August
Episode 6 — Wednesday 12 August
Episodes will also be shown again at selected daytime, evening and weekend times, giving you more opportunities to catch up. The series begins again from Monday 31 August at 9pm, starting with Episode 1 — a perfect entry point if you're new to it.
Programme times can occasionally change, so it's worth checking the Together TV guide for the latest listings.
More Ronnie Barker comedy this August
Enjoy another side of Ronnie Barker in Futtock's End, a largely dialogue-free comedy set at a chaotic country estate. Barker plays General Futtock, whose gathering of eccentric guests quickly descends into mischief, misunderstandings and visual comedy. The cast also includes Michael Hordern, Roger Livesey, Julian Orchard and Kika Markham.
When to watch:
Monday 17 August at 9pm and Friday 28 August at 9pm, with additional daytime showings during August.
How to watch Together TV
Watch The Two Ronnies in Australia on Together TV:
Freeview 83
Sky 170
Virgin 136
Freesat 162
You can also watch Together TV live and catch up any time at togethertv.com.
So settle into your chair and prepare for sketches, songs and more puns than you can shake a fork handle at.
And, in the traditional manner - it's goodnight from us, and it's goodnight from them.
👉 Don't miss it — watch The Two Ronnies in Australia from 5 August.