''Then Churchill Said to Me'' is a television comedy series starring Frankie Howerd and Nicholas Courtney. Made in 1982, the series was not screened until 1993.

Outline

The comedy is set in

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

's secret underground wartime bunker. Howerd plays a soldier named Private Potts who, according to the DVD's cover, "acts as a

batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

to a group of officers". Like the character of Lurcio in the popular '' Up Pompeii!'', he is hell-bent on avoiding work and gets into various scrapes as a result. The premise of the show was similar in content to the previous Howerd vehicles (see also ''

Whoops Baghdad ''Whoops Baghdad'' is a BBC television comedy programme first broadcast from 25 January to 1 March 1973. It stars Frankie Howerd, and was similar to his earlier programme ''Up Pompeii!'', with the setting moved from Ancient Rome to mediaeval Ba ...

'') but in a more contemporary setting. In one episode Private Potts is revealed to be a doppelganger of a high-ranking general, also portrayed by Howerd, echoing storylines from these series and their big screen adaptations.

Cast

* Frankie Howerd as Private Percy Potts, a

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

in the underground Allied Army Headquarters, who spends most of the war avoiding work. * Nicholas Courtney as Lt. Col. Robin Witherton, Potts commanding officer who is having a (not so) secret affair with his secretary, Petty Officer Bottomly. *

Joanna Dunham Joanna Elizabeth Dunham (6 May 1936 – 25 November 2014) was an English actress, best noted for her work on stage and television. She also appeared in several major films. Career Dunham was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, the daughter of Peter Bro ...

as Petty Officer Joan Bottomley, Witherton's secretary, described by Potts as a "Po-faced madam" who is mean to everyone except Witherton. *

Shaun Curry Shaun Curry (5 June 1937 - 7 July 2009) was a British actor, best known for his appearances on television. His credits include: ''Z-Cars'', '' The Saint'', ''Warship'', '' The Sweeney'', '' The New Avengers'', '' Secret Army'', ''Poldark'', '' ...

as Sgt. Maj. McRuckus, Potts superior officer who hates Potts as much as Potts hates him, described by Potts as a "big pig". * James Chase as Batman MacKensey / Private Macclesfield * Michael Attwell as Pvt. Norman Pain * Peggy Ann Clifford as Tealady * Linda Cunningham as Sally Perks

Episode list

Transmission and commercial release

The series was made in 1982 but was not shown at the time due to the outbreak of the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. The programme was deemed unsuitable for transmission owing to its setting. It was first broadcast by the satellite channel UK Gold in 1993, and was finally broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

in 2000. All six episodes were released by the BBC on VHS in 1994 and subsequently on DVD, on its own in July 2006 and as part of a Frankie Howerd box-set in October, which also included ''Up Pompeii!'' (which never got its own individual DVD release) and a previously released compilation of Howerd's best moments including clips and interview material.

External links

* *
Episode guide on ComedySeries.info
BBC television comedy 1990s British comedy television series 1993 British television series debuts 1993 British television series endings Winston Churchill English-language television shows {{UK-comedy-tv-prog-stub