Peter Cook was one of the most inventive and offbeat British comedians of the 20th century.

He is widely considered as the driving force behind the Beyond the Fringe comedy stage show and the subsequent satire boom it sparked.

Nevertheless, it was Cook and his co-stars, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore, who used it as a springboard to showbusiness success. Cook went on to team up with Moore in the massively successful Not Only But Also TV sketch show, as well as Derek and Clive Get the Horn, and several movies.

Cook was also behind Private Eye magazine and the Establishment Club. However, Cook's drink problem and lack of ambition marred a career which should have been far more spectacular. He died in 1995 at the age of 57.

This documentary looks back at his life and time in the spotlight. Among those contributing are Eric Idle, John Cleese, David Frost, Ian Hislop and John Fortune.

Peter Cook: At a Slight Angle to the Universe, Saturday, September 18th, on BBC2 at 9.10pm