''Pardon My Genie'' (1972–73) was a children's comedy series produced by British ITV contractor

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

, and written by

Bob Block Bob Block (20 July 1921 – 17 April 2011) was a British radio and television comedy scriptwriter. Career His earliest work was for radio, best known for co-writing the domestic sitcom ''Life with the Lyons'' for Ben Lyon, as well as working wi ...

, who later created ''

Rentaghost ''Rentaghost'' is a British children's television comedy show, originally broadcast by the BBC between 6 January 1976 and 6 November 1984. The show's plot centred on the antics of a number of ghosts who worked for a firm called Rentaghost, which ...

''. The premise was that a magic

genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mytho ...

(

Hugh Paddick Hugh William Paddick (22 August 1915 – 9 November 2000) was an English actor. He starred in the 1960s BBC radio show ''Round the Horne'', performing in sketches such as "Charles and Fiona" (as Charles) and "Julian and Sandy" (as Julian). He and ...

in the first series, Arthur White in the second series) appeared in present-day Britain, summoned by a young apprentice named Hal Adden, a pun that goes some way towards characterising the series. Various comical misunderstandings arise, primarily aimed at youngsters. Arthur White replaced Paddick for the second run of 13 episodes. Throughout both series, Hal was played by Ellis Jones, with

Roy Barraclough Roy Senior Barraclough (12 July 1935 – 1 June 2017) was an English comic actor. He was best known for his role as Alec Gilroy, the devious, mournful landlord of the Rovers Return in the long-running British TV soap '' Coronation Street'', a ...

as his long-suffering boss, Mr. Cobbledick. In achieving "magic" effects, it contains examples of early "blue-screen" technology. The first series of 13 episodes was released on DVD on 22 September 2009. The second series of 13 episodes was released on 1 July 2013.

External links

* * 1970s British children's television series 1972 British television series debuts 1973 British television series endings British supernatural television shows ITV children's television shows Television shows produced by Thames Television English-language television shows {{UK-tv-prog-stub