They made it shorter and faster, to appeal to an audience used to new fast-paced pop videos on MTV.
And it was packed full of new characters like Ted and Ralph, Swiss Tony and Monkfish.
An average show could squeeze 27 sketches into 30 minutes, compared to nine or ten in other shows. It had a huge influence on their other comedy shows.
“I think most of our characters were quite warm and quite engaging and we didn’t sneer at them or mock them,” says Paul.
The exception was Ken and Kenneth (Paul Whitehouse and Mark Williams).
Two tailors in a formal menswear shop who bombard their customers with sexually explicit innuendo and their catchphrase “Ooh, suit you sir”.
They’re among 70 characters revived in the stage show, which has been touring since 2024. And their catchphrase is the one most often shouted at Whitehouse in the street.
“People love the show and it’s a celebration of that,” he says.
According to those who come along, the show often reminds them of important times in their lives, when they watched with parents and other family.
Seeing it on stage reminds them of the closeness they had while watching first time around.
The show unites six of the Fast Show cast – Arabella Weir, Mark Williams, Simon Day and John Thomson – along with Paul and Charlie.
Caroline Aherne, who died in 2016 at the age of 52, is celebrated in a montage of her best known sketches including Poulo Fisch, the indeterminately-accented weather presenter who declares everything “scorchio”.
“She didn’t like doing live work and she was very busy on her own stuff so ironically, she has more of a presence on this tour than any previous one,” says Charlie.
“She was an extraordinary individual who brought so much to The Fast Show, so it’s our way of letting everyone say goodbye to her.”