As BBC Four marks the 50th anniversary of the classic film comedy ‘Blazing Saddles’, Alan Yentob looks back on his experiences working with the great Mel Brooks, recently presented with an Honorary Oscar in recognition of a boundary-breaking career that shocked audiences, but always left them laughing too. Here Alan reflects on what it was like being a producer encountering the comic genius who created ‘The Producers’ and how his and Mel’s working relationship quickly developed into something that one newspaper critic once described as nothing less than a love story.