Theirs was a comedy double act as well known as Morecambe and Wise or Rod Hull and Emu.

Denis Nordern and Frank Muir ruled the airwaves in the Fifties with their topical sketch series Take It From Here.

They both went on to other projects - Denis to presenting It'll Be Alright On The Night and Frank to Call My Bluff - but they will always be remembered for their radio work.

Now hundreds of those early radio scripts have been donated to the University of Sussex.

When Frank Muir died in 1998 his family was left with a wealth of material.

His son Jamie, who lives in south London, is a television producer and director.

In 1993 he used the Mass Observation Archive at Sussex to research a documentary about post-war Britain.

He said: "I was very impressed with the archive as a resource. It's a tremendous idea. And I found the academics from Sussex very helpful and willing to share their ideas. The whole experience really helped me put together the programme.

"When Dad died, Mum said, 'What are we going to do with those scripts?'.

"I remembered the Mass Observation Archive and I also remembered a lecturer called Andy Medhurst did a media studies course there.

"I thought the scripts were of historic interest so I contacted him and he was extremely welcoming to the idea. Sussex seemed like a natural home for them."

"Dad would be absolutely chuffed. He left school when he was 14 and had enormous respect for academic life. He would secretly be delighted that his scripts were going to be studied."