Radio series
Development
The radio series broke with the variety tradition which was then dominant in British radio comedy, highlighting a new genre: the sitcom orSetting
Hancock's character had various addresses, but by the third radio series he had arrived at 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam. Sometimes this was portrayed as aRadio series cast
* Tony Hancock as Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, principal character. * The comedy actor Sidney James (as he was then billed) played Sid (full name Sidney Balmoral James), a criminally-inclined confidant of Hancock, who usually succeeded in conning him each week. * Bill Kerr appeared as Hancock's Australian lodger (full name William Montmorency Beaumont Kerr), a character who became noticeably dim-witted in the later shows. Often refers to Hancock as "Tub". * Kenneth Williams, taking his first job in comedy, provided the funny voices for nearly all of the minor characters in the show each week. Williams left after the first recording session for the sixth series. * Moira Lister appeared in the first series, before being replaced by Andrée Melly for the next two; both women played love interest for Hancock's character, in essentially 'straight' roles. * In the fourth and fifth series Hattie Jacques provided comedy in the female role as the harridan Griselda Pugh, who was Hancock's secretary and Sid's occasional girlfriend. By this time, Hancock's difficulties with women had become part of the characterisation. Episodes of the radio series were included in 20 underground radio stations of the BBC's Wartime Broadcasting Service (WTBS), designed to provide information and morale-boosting broadcasts for 100 days after a nuclear attack.Radio series episodes
Most of the radio episodes were recorded between one day and three weeks in advance of broadcast, except for Series 6 which was mostly recorded during a three-week period in June 1959 in order to avoid clashing with the recording of Series 5 of the television show. Galton and Simpson never gave titles to any of their Hancock scripts, for radio or television; this was usually left to the girl who filed the scripts at their office, who gave them names that were a reminder of what the script was about. So when Roger Wilmut came to write his book ''Tony Hancock – Artiste'' (first published 1978) he took the liberty of inventing titles where necessary and these titles, a combination of the file names and Wilmut's own, have become the accepted ones ever since, with the approval of Galton and Simpson and the BBC. The regular cast members generally played "themselves", in that the characters were called by the actor's real name (although the English actress Andrée Melly – sister of George – played a French character). However, there were exceptions: * Kenneth Williams played a series of unnamed characters referred to in the scripts—but not on air—as "Snide". He also played the very occasional roles of Edwardian Fred (a criminal associate of Sid's) and Hancock's Vicar, as well as various other characters (e.g. a judge). In the episode "The Emigrant" he is allowed to break theSeries 1 (1954–1955)
* 16 episodes, 2 November 1954 – 15 February 1955 * Regular cast: Tony Hancock, Bill Kerr, Moira Lister, Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Alan Simpson (uncredited). Three of this cast (Kerr, Lister and James) were born in South Africa. * Guest Stars: Gerald Campion (episode 1), Dora Bryan (episode 10), Paul Carpenter (episode 10), Brian Johnston (episode 12), Raymond Baxter (episode 12), Peter Sellers (episode 15). # The First Night Party # The Diamond Ring † # The Idol # The Boxing Champion # The Hancock Festival † # The New Car # The Department Store Santa † # Christmas at Aldershot † # The Christmas Eve Party † # Cinderella Hancock # A Trip To France # The Monte Carlo Rally # A House on the Cliff # The Sheikh # The Marriage Bureau # The End of the Series Episodes 2, 5, 7, 8 and 9 no longer exist. On 30 September 2022 it was announced that Richard Harrison of the Radio Circle had found the original recording of The Marriage Bureau, and Keith Wickham, also of the Radio Circle, had restored the edition. The episode aired on BBC Radio 4 for the first time since 1955 on 18 October 2022. This episode was particularly significant given it featured the only Hancock guest appearance by Peter Sellers. In April 2014 the BBC started to re-record the lost episodes under the banner ''The Missing Hancocks'', produced by Neil Pearson and Ed Morrish. The scripts for this five-episode run were selected by Galton and Simpson and recorded in their presence, with Kevin McNally taking the part of Tony Hancock. From the original first series they chose "The Hancock Festival", which aired in November 2014, the sixtieth anniversary of its first airing. The project would eventually re-record all the missing episodes. "The Marriage Bureau", which was still missing at the time, was re-recorded in September 2015 and broadcast on 7 December 2015. "The Department Store Santa" was re-recorded on 3 September 2017 and broadcast in December 2018, opening the fourth series of ''The Missing Hancocks''. On 24 September 2017 "Christmas at Aldershot" was re-recorded for broadcast on Christmas Day 2019 along with "The Christmas Eve Party" which was broadcast on 21 December 2021. "The Diamond Ring" was re-recorded on 11 January 2019 and broadcast (in keeping with its Guy Fawkes theme) on 5 November 2019. One no longer extant episode (5) features the only ''Hancock'' guest appearance bySeries 2 (1955)
* 12 episodes, 17 April – 2 July 1955 * Regular cast: Harry Secombe (Episodes 1–4), Tony Hancock (Episodes 4–12), Bill Kerr, Sid James, Andrée Melly, Kenneth Williams, Alan Simpson (uncredited) # A Holiday in France † # The Crown Jewels † # The Racehorse † # A Visit To Swansea # The Holiday Camp # The Chef That Died of Shame # Prime Minister Hancock † # The Rail Strike # The Television Set # The Three Sons † # The Marrow Contest # The Matador † † Episodes 1, 2, 3, 7, 10 and 12 (half the series, including the first three of Harry Secombe's guest appearances) no longer exist. Shortly before the series was due to be recorded Hancock walked out on a theatre performance suffering from "nervous exhaustion" and flew to Rome. Harry Secombe was brought in at short notice to replace Hancock. Secombe starred in the first three episodes and made a guest appearance in the fourth, by which time Hancock had returned to complete the series as scheduled. The fourth episode, "A Visit To Swansea", featured Tony being forced to go and thank Harry who'd returned to Wales, and was littered with references to how good Secombe had been. Had Hancock not returned when he did, then Galton and Simpson planned to replace him permanently with Secombe and rename the series ''Secombe's Half Hour''. In April 2014, the BBC re-recorded "The Matador", chosen by Galton and Simpson, for the first series of ''The Missing Hancocks''. On 2 December 2016, the BBC re-recorded "A Holiday in France", followed by "The Race Horse" and "The Crown Jewels" with Andy Secombe as his late father Harry. On 13 January 2019, "Prime Minister Hancock" was re-recorded for broadcast on 18 December that year. Also re-recorded was "A Visit To Swansea" which was then missing, as none of the Secombe episodes had been kept; however, on 11 October 2023. radio enthusiast Richard Harrison announced he had found an off-air copy of "A Visit To Swansea", missing only the first two minutes prior to Hancock's entrance.Series 3 (1955–1956)
* 20 episodes, 19 October 1955 – 29 February 1956 * Regular cast: Tony Hancock, Bill Kerr, Sid James, Andrée Melly, Kenneth Williams, Alan Simpson (uncredited). * Guest Stars: Graham Stark (episode 10), Dora Bryan (episode 11), John Arlott (episode 20), Godfrey Evans (episode 20), Colin Cowdrey (episode 20), Frank Tyson (episode 20). # The Pet Dog # The Jewel Robbery # The Bequest # The New Neighbour † # The Winter Holiday † # The Blackboard Jungle # The Red Planet † # The Diet # A Visit To Russia † # The Trial of Father Christmas † # Cinderella Hancock (a new production of the 10th of the 1st series) † # The New Year Resolutions † # Hancock's Hair # The Student Prince # The Breakfast Cereal † # How Hancock Won The War # The Newspaper † # The Greyhound Track # The Conjurer # The Test Match Episodes 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 and 17 no longer exist. A short extract from episode 12 survives; this plus the only known copies of episodes 8 and 16 are lower-quality off-air recordings. "The Blackboard Jungle" was recovered in 2002 from off-air home recordings made by listener Vic Rogers, along with the original version of "The New Secretary" from series 4. In April 2014 the BBC re-recorded "The New Neighbour", "The Breakfast Cereal" and "The Newspaper", selected by and recorded in the presence of Galton and Simpson, for the first series of ''The Missing Hancocks''. The episodes were broadcast on Radio 4 in October and November 2014. On 21 July 2015 the BBC re-recorded "The Red Planet" and "How Hancock Won The War" (which, though not missing, is the poorest-quality surviving recording) for broadcast in November as part of the second series. "A Visit To Russia" and "The Trial of Father Christmas" were re-recorded in September 2015 for broadcast in December. On 3 September 2017 the BBC re-recorded "The Winter Holiday" for broadcast in the fourth series. Episode 11 of the third series was supposed to be a new episode called "The Counterfeiter", about Bill Kerr being forced to get a job, but the script went unused and a new version of "Cinderella Hancock" was recorded in its place. On 11 January 2019, the cast of ''The Missing Hancocks'' recorded the episode for the first time at the BBC Radio Theatre. It was broadcast on 1 January 2020. "The New Year Resolutions" was re-recorded on 13 January 2019 for broadcast on 31 December 2020.Series 4 (1956–1957)
* 20 episodes, 14 October 1956 – 24 February 1957 * Regular cast: Tony Hancock, Sid James, Hattie Jacques (debut in Episode 5), Bill Kerr, Kenneth Williams. # Back From Holiday # The Bolshoi Ballet # Sid James's Dad # The Income Tax Demand # The New Secretary # Michelangelo 'Ancock # Anna and the King of Siam # Cyrano De Hancock # The Stolen Petrol # The Espresso Bar # Hancock's Happy Christmas # The Diary # The 13th of the Series # Almost A Gentleman # The Old School Reunion # The Wild Man of the Woods # Agricultural 'Ancock # Hancock in the Police # The Emigrant # The Last of the McHancocks - with James Robertson Justice All episodes exist, though episode 3 only survives as a lower-quality off-air recording.Series 5 (1958)
* 20 episodes, 21 January – 3 June 1958 * Regular cast: Tony Hancock, Sid James, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr, Kenneth Williams. # The New Radio Series - includes reference to series 3 of the TV series which had just finished. # The Scandal Magazine - with John Vere # The Male Suffragettes # The Insurance Policy # The Publicity Photograph # The Unexploded Bomb # Hancock's School # Around the World in Eighty Days # The Americans Hit Town # The Election Candidate # Hancock's Car # The East Cheam Drama Festival # The Foreign Legion # Sunday Afternoon at Home # The Grappling Game # The Junkman # Hancock's War # The Prize Money # The Threatening Letters # The Sleepless Night All episodes still exist. ''Welcome to London'' was broadcast live on 3 August 1958 on the BBC Light Programme from the London Coliseum to commemorate the Cardiff British Empire and Commonwealth Games. It features a nine-minute sketch with Hancock, James and Kerr. A recording of the whole 90-minute programme was discovered in the collection of Bob Monkhouse after his death. The Hancock sketch has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra.Christmas Special
"Bill and Father Christmas" * Cast: Tony Hancock, Sid James, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr, Warren MitchellSpecial remake series for BBC Transcription Services (1958)
* 4 episodes, recorded 23–30 November 1958 * Regular cast: Tony Hancock, Sid James, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr, Kenneth Williams. # The 13th of the Month (remake of 'The 13th of the series', 13th of 4th series) The script was re-written so that the plot did not hinge on it being the 13th of a series as broadcast. # The New Secretary (remake of 5th of 4th series) Hattie Jacques's arrival is presented in flashback, so the show can be placed anywhere in a series. # The Ballet Visit (remake of 'The Bolshoi Ballet' 2nd of 4th series) Ballet company changed to The Covent Garden Ballet, to avoid topical reference to 1956 visit to London by the Bolshoi Ballet. # The Election Candidate (remake of 10th of 5th series) Hancock now stands for the local Independent party instead of the East Cheam Liberal party as he did in the original. These episodes are remakes for overseas sales, rewritten to remove any topical or UK-specific references. All episodes still exist, for many years the TS version of "The New Secretary" was the only version known to exist until an off-air audio recording of the original version was found in 2002.Series 6 (1959)
* 14 episodes, 29 September – 29 December 1959 * Regular cast: Tony Hancock, Sid James, Bill Kerr (except episode 13), Kenneth Williams (episodes 1 and 2 only) * Regular guest stars: Patricia Hayes (episodes 1, 2, 4 and 12); Warren Mitchell (episodes 3, 5, 8, 9 and 11); Hugh Morton (episodes 3, 5, 7, 10, 13); Wilfred Babbage (episodes 4, 6, 7, 10, 13); * Other guest stars: Noel Dryden (episode 1); Anne Lancaster (episode 4, 14); Liz Fraser (episode 4); Raymond Glendenning (episode 5); Lillian Grasson (episode 6); Fraser Kerr (episodes 6, 11); Lee Crutchley (episode 6); Harry Towb (episode 7); Mavis Villiers (episode 9); Errol McKinnon (episode 9); Jack Watson (episode 10, 14); Fenella Fielding (episode 11); Joan Frank (episode 12); Frank Partington (episode 13); impressionist Peter Goodwright (episode 14); Jerry Stovin (episode 14); Ronald Wilson (episode 14); # The Smugglers # The Childhood Sweetheart # The Last Bus Home # The Picnic # The Gourmet # The Elopement # Fred's Pie Stall # The Waxwork # Sid's Mystery Tours # The Fete # The Poetry Society # Hancock in Hospital (a.k.a. Visiting Day) # The Christmas Club # The Impersonator (a.k.a. The Impressionist) All episodes still exist.Television series
TheTelevision series cast
* Sid James was a regular in series 1–6. (He does not appear in episodes 1 and 2 of series 2.) * Kenneth Williams appeared in every episode of series 2, playing a variety of characters. * Hattie Jacques appeared throughout series 2, in all episodes except the first, playing a variety of characters. * Patricia Hayes appeared very occasionally in series 4–6 as Mrs Cravatte, Hancock's cleaner. Among the other well-known actors who appeared in the series were Hugh Lloyd, Dick Emery, Warren Mitchell, John Le Mesurier and Richard Wattis. Also appearing were Pat Coombs,Television series episodes
Series 1 (1956)
6 episodes, broadcast live, every 2 weeks, 6 July – 14 September 1956. No recordings exist.Series 2 (1957)
6 episodes, broadcast live, every 2 weeks, 1 April – 10 June 1957. Only "The Alpine Holiday" still exists.Series 3 (1957)
11 regular episodes and one 43 minute Christmas special, broadcast live, 30 September – 23 December 1957. Episodes 5, 9, 10, 11 still exist and Episode 12 exists as a telerecording.Series 4 (1958–1959)
13 episodes; episodes 1–4 pre-recorded as telerecordings, 5–13 live, broadcast 26 December 1958 – 27 March 1959 (skipping 27 February). Episodes 1, 3, 4, 11 and 12 exist as telerecordings. Episodes 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 exist as off-air audio recordings of variable quality. Episode 13 remains missing.Series 5 (1959)
10 episodes, pre-recorded on videotape, broadcast 25 September – 27 November 1959. The entire series exists on telerecordings.Series 6 (1960)
10 episodes, pre-recorded on videotape, broadcast 19 February – 6 May 1960. The entire series exists as telerecordings. A trailer made for Australian transmission of this series also exists.Series 7 (1961)
6 episodes, pre-recorded on videotape, broadcast 26 May – 30 June 1961. Shortened to 25 minutes per episode and retitled ''Hancock''. This is the only series Sid James does not appear in. The entire series exists on telerecordings. One script for ''Hancock's Half Hour''/''Hancock'' was not used: "The Diplomat" (but it was instead published in Richard Webbers' book ''50 years of Hancock's Half Hour'' in 2004).Chronological listing of Hancock's radio and television broadcasts, 1954–1961
* ''Hancock's Half Hour'', radio Series 1: 2 November 1954 – 15 February 1955 * ''Hancock's Half Hour'', radio Series 2: 17 April – 2 July 1955 * ''Hancock's Half Hour'', radio Series 3: 10 October 1955 – 29 February 1956 * '' The Tony Hancock Show'', Series 1 ( Associated-Rediffusion for ITV): 4 April – 1 June 1956 * ''Hancock's Half Hour'', television Series 1: 7 July – 14 September 1956 * ''Hancock's Half Hour'', radio Series 4: 14 October 1956 – 24 February 1957 * ''The Tony Hancock Show'', Series 2: 16 November 1956 – 25 January 1957 * ''Hancock's Half Hour'', television Series 2: 1 April – 10 June 1957 * ''Hancock's Half Hour'', television Series 3: 9 September – 23 December 1957 * ''Hancock's Half Hour'', radio Series 5: 1 January – 3 June 1958 * ''Hancock's Half Hour'', television Series 4: 26 December 1958 – 27 March 1959 * ''Hancock's Half Hour'', television Series 5: 25 September – 27 November 1959 * ''Hancock's Half Hour'', radio Series 6: 29 September – 29 December 1959 * ''Hancock's Half Hour'', television Series 6: 19 February – 6 May 1960 * ''Hancock'', television Series 7: 26 May – 30 June 1961 Information on series dates taken from the book ''Tony Hancock: Artiste'' (1978) by Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen (subsequent reprints in 1983 and 1986 contain additional details). Information on lost radio episodes taken from the CD box sets (BBC Worldwide, 2000–2003).Commercial releases
Four episodes of the TV series were re-recorded before studio audiences, in the style of radio programmes, and released on LP format, two by Pye on the 1961 album ''Hancock'' ("The Blood Donor" and "The Radio Ham") and two by Decca on the 1965 album ''It's Hancock'' ("The Missing Page" and "The Reunion Party"), which was reissued as ''The World of Tony Hancock'' in 1975. The re-recordings entailed the rewriting of a number of visual gags; for instance, at the end of the TV version of "The Radio Ham", Hancock smashes his radio equipment, whereas in the LP version he holds an on-air auction for it. These recordings have been reissued several times on LP, cassette and CD, and have also appeared on comedy compilation CDs. BBC Records released an LP titled ''Hancock'' featuring the original TV soundtracks of two episodes, "The Lift" and "Twelve Angry Men". The episode "The Lift" was taken from the separate magnetic soundtrack of the telerecording, with the opening non-dialogue sequence omitted and one extra line of dialogue added: "Watch that door button... Oh my God!" as recorded by Hugh Lloyd on 24/08/76 and edited in. "Twelve Angry Men" was from the optical soundtrack of the telerecording, with theme and incidental music omitted, a few lines of dialogue edited out and pauses shortened. The LP credits the theme music to Angela Morley, even though the music was omitted, and the episodes were recorded when she was still called Wally Stott. There have been six LPs released of substantially complete radio episodes. The first was by Pye Records in 1960 entitled ''This is Hancock'' containing "The Wild Man of The Woods" and "Sunday Afternoon At Home". The other five were by BBC Records, released as ''Hancock's Half Hour'': "The Poetry Society" and "Sid's Mystery Tours", released in 1980; "The Americans Hit Town" and "The Unexploded Bomb" in 1981; "The Scandal Magazine" and "The Last of the McHancocks" in 1982; "The Sleepless Night" and "Fred's Pie Stall" in 1983; and finally "Hancocks War" and "The Christmas Club" in 1984. These five LPs were also released on audio cassette at the same time. Also, a number of comedy-themed LPs, EPs and 7-inch singles have been released over the years which have featured short extracts from various radio episodes. The radio series of ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was first released on cassette by the BBC as part of their Radio Collection series of audio cassettes in the late 1980s. The first three volumes were re-issues of the five LPs from the 1980s plus the LP of television soundtracks from 1976. Because only 10 volumes were made with four episodes each, and because a number of episodes were later returned from homemade off-air recordings by listeners, a release of the radio series was never completed on cassette. In 2000, the episodes still remaining from Series 1 of the radio series were released as a box set on CD. Series 2–6 followed throughout the next three years. The series has also been given three compilation CDs. The television series of ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was first released on VHS/Betamax in 1985 under BBC Enterprises (now Worldwide) in an incomplete form. AScripts
(Sources:) *"The Best of Tony Hancock." (by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson) (Robson Books) ::Scripts from the television series. *"Hancock" (by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson) (Corgi Transworld Publishers 1962) ::4 TV scripts from Hancock's Half Hour. *"Hancock's Half Hour" (by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson) :*(Woburn Press 1974, 0-7130-0087-2) :::Introduction by Peter Black. :::5 scripts (including "The Blood Donor") :*(BBC) ::Radio scripts compiled by Chris Bumstead. :*(Futura, 0-8600-7246-0)References
External links