Live at the Electric ran for three tight series between 2012 and 2014 on BBC Three, occupying the half-hour slot that used to be home to the Beeb’s late-night comedy labs. Each episode placed Russell Kane on a studio set dressed like a derelict music venue, book-ending filmed sketches and musical turns from acts the channel hoped would become the next wave. Totally Tom (Tom Palmer and Tom Stourton) loitered backstage as inept runners, while other recurring faces included Nick Helm bellowing power-ballads, Jacob Edwards’ preening theatre kid Roger Showbusiness and Joe Wilkinson playing a deadpan execution witness. The format let performers road-test hybrid material: sketch troupes WitTank and Lady Garden got broadcast versions of their Edinburgh shows, Hari Kondabolu delivered polished club sets, and Diane Morgan’s Two Episodes of Mash parodied vox-pop clichés with forensic precision.
Production shifted from Television Centre to Elstree for the final run, but budgets stayed threadbare; sets wobbled, edits were visible, and Kane’s suits looked increasingly slept-in. That scruffiness became part of the appeal: the show felt like a party you’d wandered into after the pubs shut. BBC Three cancelled it quietly once the channel moved online-only, and most of the filmed segments disappeared from iPlayer within months. A handful of the acts have since become fixtures—Joe Wilkinson now pops up on panel shows, Nick Helm fronted another BBC comedy-drama, Ellie White joined The Windsors—but the series itself survives mainly in grainy YouTube rips traded by comedy completists.
Production Details
BBC Three / 3 Seasons / 24 Episodes / 2012 - Present
Created by: Russell Kane
Main Cast
Russell Kane as Self - Host
Tom Palmer as Self
Jacob Edwards as Roger Showbusiness
David Reed as Additional Cast (segment "The Van")
Ellie White as Techie
Hari Kondabolu as Self
Humphrey Ker as Mark
Nick Helm as Self
Joe Wilkinson as Witness (segment "Execution")
Isabella Fay as Additional Cast
Jessica Knappett as Additional Cast
Milo McCabe as Additional Cast
