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''Hi-de-Hi!'' is a
British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. British sitcoms have predominantly been recorded on studio sets, while some include an element of location filming. Live audiences and multi-camera ...
created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and produced for the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. The programme initially began with a pilot on 1 January 1980 and aired for nine series between 26 February 1981 and 30 January 1988, and starred
Paul Shane Paul Shane (19 June 1940 – 16 May 2013) was a British actor and comedian. He was known for his television work, in particular for playing Ted Bovis in the 1980s BBC sitcom ''Hi-de-Hi!''. Early life Shane was born on 19 June 1940 as George ...
,
Su Pollard Susan Georgina "Su" Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is a British actress, singer, songwriter and author whose career has spanned over 50 years. Pollard is most known for her role in the sitcom '' Hi-de-Hi!'' She also appeared in the sitcoms '' Y ...
, Jeffrey Holland, Ruth Madoc and
Simon Cadell Simon John Cadell (19 July 1950 – 6 March 1996) was a classically trained English actor, best known for his portrayal of Jeffrey Fairbrother in the first five series of the BBC situation comedy '' Hi-de-Hi!''. Early life Born in London, he w ...
. Inspired by Perry's time serving as a Redcoat at
Butlin's Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1 ...
, the series takes place within the fictional Maplins
holiday camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation, primarily in the United Kingdom, that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term ...
in Essex towards the end of the traditional British holiday period of the 1950s. The episodes themselves focus on the lives of the camp's entertainers and staff, who frequently greet campers with the titular phrase "Hi-de-Hi!", and consist mostly of struggling actors, comedians, wannabe stars, and has-been entertainers. The programme proved popular from its launch, gaining large audiences during its broadcast; its popularity helped it to win a
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
as Best Comedy Series in 1984. In a 2008 poll on Channel 4, ''Hi-de-Hi!'' was voted the 35th most popular comedy
catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
. By 2015, the series began receiving repeats, initially with the BBC alongside other sitcom classics by Croft and Perry, and subsequently moved onto being repeated on
Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
.


Synopsis

''Hi-de-Hi!'' is set within a
holiday camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation, primarily in the United Kingdom, that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term ...
situated in the fictional seaside town of Crimpton-on-Sea,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, covering the summer holiday seasons of 1959 and 1960. Owned by Maplins, run by the enigmatic owner Joe Maplin, the camp operates in a similar manner to real-life holiday camps, including providing entertainment and activities through its staff of Yellowcoats – a parody of the real-life Redcoats, Bluecoats, and Greencoats. The Yellowcoats are led by Ted Bovis, the camp host, and consist of three different groups of entertainers: the young, who see the job as a lucky break into showbusiness; the middle-aged, who are realistic about their prospects but still cling to the hope that they can still achieve fame; and the veterans, the oldest members of staff who see their job as a step down from former stardom glories. Many of the stories focus on the relationships between the characters, the constant issues that arise from Ted's attempts to scam the camp's holidaymakers, and other issues sometimes brought on by Maplin himself. The sitcom notably focused on a common theme in stories surrounding the erosion of class boundaries during the post-war period and attitudes of staff towards each other – a recurring element in stories is chalet maid Peggy Ollerenshaw's desire to be a Yellowcoat and the dislike Yellowcoat Sports Organiser Gladys Pugh has towards this idea.


Cast

*
Paul Shane Paul Shane (19 June 1940 – 16 May 2013) was a British actor and comedian. He was known for his television work, in particular for playing Ted Bovis in the 1980s BBC sitcom ''Hi-de-Hi!''. Early life Shane was born on 19 June 1940 as George ...
as Edward "Ted" Bovis – The Camp's Entertainment Host, and a former entertainer. Tasked with greeting and entertaining campers, but also secretly runs scams and rackets to make money on the side. After the show concluded in 1988, Shane would be one of several cast members to work on later sitcoms by Croft. * Ruth Madoc as Gladys Pugh – The Camp's radio announcer and sports organiser. The writers devised her to be the romantic foils for the entertainment managers throughout the series, while being snobbish around the Yellowcoats and Peggy. * Jeffrey Holland as Spike Dixon – The camp's chief comic for the 1959 and 1960 season, acting as Ted's conscience during times when his scheming could lead to trouble. Holland would join with Shane on working on further sitcoms made by Croft following ''Hi-de-Hi!'' *
Su Pollard Susan Georgina "Su" Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is a British actress, singer, songwriter and author whose career has spanned over 50 years. Pollard is most known for her role in the sitcom '' Hi-de-Hi!'' She also appeared in the sitcoms '' Y ...
as Peggy Ollerenshaw – A chalet maid at Maplins, with dreams of becoming a Yellowcoat and achieving stardom. This dream became a recurring element in some of the stories for ''Hi-de-Hi''. Like Shane, she would continue to work on further sitcoms by Croft after the programme concluded. *
Simon Cadell Simon John Cadell (19 July 1950 – 6 March 1996) was a classically trained English actor, best known for his portrayal of Jeffrey Fairbrother in the first five series of the BBC situation comedy '' Hi-de-Hi!''. Early life Born in London, he w ...
as Professor Jeffrey Fairbrother (Series 1–5) – The camp's entertainment manager for the 1959 season; a former archaeology professor from
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, who takes the job to escape academia and meet "real people". However, he struggles to adapt and is wooden when making speeches or presenting to campers. Cadell left the sitcom after the fifth series to focus on other projects. * Felix Bowness as Fred Quilley – The camp's riding instructor for horse rides, and a former race jockey. Bowness would join in with Croft's later sitcoms following ''Hi-de-Hi'', but would have less prominence as a recurring guest star. * Diane Holland as Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves – An upper-class dance instructor, part of a husband-and-wife pair of former ballroom champions. Yvonne sees herself as a cut above the rest of the campers - and even her husband Barry. * Barry Howard as Barry Stuart-Hargreaves (Series 1–7) – Yvonne's husband and dance partner. Like Yvonne, he presents an upper-class demeanour; however, she is quick to remind him of his lowlier root, as well as his real name, "Bert Pratt". Although popular with viewers for his deadpan attitude while in character, Howard had to leave the show due to personal problems. *
Leslie Dwyer Leslie Gilbert Dwyer (28 August 1906 – 26 December 1986) was an English film and television actor. Career He was born in Catford, the son of the popular music hall comedian Johnny Dwyer, and acted from the age of ten and appeared in his firs ...
as Mr William Partridge (Series 1–6) – A children's entertainer, working as "Whimsical Willie" the
Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Mr Punch and one other ...
man at Maplins, who has a drinking problem and a dislike of children. Formerly a music hall performer, his career was cut short by
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and he has remained bitter ever since. Dwyer was forced to drop out midway through the production of the sixth series due to his declining health, and the writers worked to write his character out of the sitcom in response, where he faked his death to run away with a barmaid. * Nikki Kelly as Sylvia Garnsey – A female Yellowcoat staff member, with a flirtatious behaviour with the camp's entertainment managers. The writers devised Kelly's character to be a constant foil towards that of Madoc's character, with the sitcom exploring their relationship over the two holiday seasons. * David Griffin as Clive Dempster (Series 6–9) – The camp's entertainment manager for the 1960 season; an upper-class former wartime hero. Although sharing a similar background to his predecessor, Dempster had a slightly shifty nature with money, and was not above getting involved with Ted's schemes. Griffin was brought in to replace Cadell following his departure. *
Ben Aris Benjamin Patrick Aris (16 March 1937 – 4 September 2003) was an English actor who was best known for his parts in '' Hi-de-Hi!'' and '' To the Manor Born'', and was also very active on stage. He was often cast as an eccentric, upper-class ...
as Julian Dalrymple-Sykes (Series 5, Series 8–9) – A dance instructor and a former lover of Yvonne, brought in to replace Barry after his departure. Aris initially made a guest appearance in the fifth series, and was considered the best choice to replace Howard after his departure. *
Kenneth Connor Kenneth Connor (6 June 1918 – 28 November 1993) was a British stage, film and broadcasting actor, who rose to national prominence with his appearances in the ''Carry On'' films. Early life Connor was born in Highbury, Islington, London, t ...
as Sammy Morris (Series 7, Series 8–9) – A shady children's entertainer, brought into replace Partidge during the 1960 season. Connor was brought in to replace Dwyer following his departure, initially having a guest appearance in the seventh series, before joining the cast for the final two series of the sitcom. * David Webb as Stanley Mathews, and Tony Webb as Bruce Mathews – Identical twin brother Yellowcoats. Both David and Tony maintained minor roles to begin with, but with given more involvement by the third series. In the credits, both brothers are referred to as "The Webb Twins". * Chris Andrews as Gary Bolton – A male Yellowcoat staff member. Originally portrayed by Terence Creasy in the pilot, the character was unnamed to begin with and played a minor role, before writers gave Andrews more prominence by the start of the third series. * Rikki Howard as Betty Whistler (Series 1–5) – A female Yellowcoat staff member for the 1959 holiday season, with a strong dislike of Gladys' overbearing nature towards herself and some of the other female staff. Howard left the sitcom after the fifth series for unknown reasons. * Susan Beagley as Tracey Bentwood (Series 3–5) – A female Yellowcoat staff member for the 1959 holiday season, who, like Betty, clashes with Gladys' personality on the camp. Like Rikki Howard, Beagley left the sitcom for unknown reasons after the fifth series. *
Linda Regan Linda Regan (born 5 November 1949), born Linda Mary Drinkwater, is a British actress and author, who has appeare ...
as April Wingate (Series 6–9) – A female Yellowcoat staff member for the 1960 holiday season, with a somewhat childish personality. Writers devised the character to be a love interest for Spike, with a number of stories looking in to the development of their relationship with each other. * Laura Jackson as Dawn Freshwater (Series 6–9) – A female Yellowcoat staff member for the 1960 holiday season. Jackson's character was devised by the writers to be similar to that of previous Yellowcoat women, but with a secret attraction to Dempster during the final holiday season for the camp. * Penny Irving as Mary (Series 1) – A female Yellowcoat staff member for the 1959 holiday season, she only appears in series 1. * Gail Harrison as Val (Series 2) – A female Yellowcoat staff member for the 1959 holiday season, she only appears in series 2. * Gavin Richards as Harold Fox (Series 5–7) – The General Manager of Maplin's, known as the "Smiling Viper." *
Ewan Hooper Ewan Eynon Hooper (23 October 1935 – 6 April 2023) was a Scottish actor who was a graduate from, and later an associate member of RADA. Life and career Hooper was the motivating force in the foundation of the Greenwich Theatre, which opened ...
as Alec Foster (Series 8–9) – Maplin's Camp Controller, abusing his power at every turn until Sammy Morris gets him recalled to Head Office.


Production


Filming

''Hi-de-Hi!'' relied on BBC studios for interior scenes for the entertainment staff building and interior chalet rooms, but much of the exterior scenes for Maplins were shot at Warners' former holiday camp that operated within the town of
Dovercourt Dovercourt is a seaside town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Harwich, in the Tendring district, in the county of Essex, England. It is older than its smaller but better-known neighbour, the port of Harwich. The name is common B ...
near
Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...
, Essex; the site is now a housing estate after the camp was closed in 1990. During the pilot episode and the first two series, filming at the camp was done in early spring before the main holiday period for the public during the summer months – the temperature at the time led to complaints by cast members; Jeffrey Holland in particular had to be treated for
hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...
owing to scenes that saw him thrown into the camp's pool. Other locations around Essex were used during the show's filming, including around the town of
Manningtree Manningtree is a town and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England, which lies on the River Stour. It is part of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Smallest town claim Manningtree has traditionall ...
; and a couple of episodes were filmed at Weybourne railway station on the
North Norfolk Railway The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage railway, heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt, Norfolk, Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned ...
(also used in ''
Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...
'').


Episodes

A pilot episode for the sitcom was first broadcast on 1 January 1980. ''Hi-de-Hi!'' was later greenlighted to additional episodes, running for 60 episodes over nine series, between 26 February 1981 and 30 January 1988. Unusually, the third and fourth series were actually run back-to-back by the BBC; all subsequent reruns separated the episodes.


The stage show

''Hi-de-Hi'' was made into a
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
, called ''Hi-de-Hi – The Holiday Musical'', in the early years of the show. Labelled as a "summer pantomime" by its critics, the production featured most of the TV cast plus several new characters. It did not follow the television storylines, but it was a success nonetheless. It did a summer season in
Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
in 1983, a Christmas season in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1983 and a summer season in
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
in 1984. It was short-lived, however, when some of the cast complained that filming the TV series and doing the summer show limited their offers of acting jobs elsewhere. At the height of its audience ratings, the BBC had plans to make it into a feature film, but this did not come to fruition. In August 2009, a ''Hi-de-Hi!'' stage show toured in Torquay. In March 2010 the show was revived for a six-month national tour produced by Bruce James Productions Limited and written by Paul Carpenter and Ian Gower, adapting scenes and storylines from episodes of the television series including ''A Night Not To Remember'' and ''Maplin Intercontinental''. The audience were treated as campers during scenes involving camp entertainment which included musical numbers and audience participation. The production starred two members of the original cast, Barry Howard, reprising his role of Barry Stuart-Hargreaves, and Nikki Kelly, originally Sylvia, taking the role of Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves. The tour also starred Peter Amory as Jeffrey Fairbrother, Abigail Finley as Peggy Ollerenshaw, Rebecca Bainbridge as Gladys Pugh, Damian Williams as Ted Bovis, Ben Roddy as Spike Dixon, Richard Colson as William Partridge, Andrew Fettes as Fred Quilley, Kate Burrell as Sylvia Garnsey, Lauren Harrison as Betty Whistler and Carrie Laurence as Tracey Bentwood. Several performances of the tour had to be cancelled due to low ticket sales despite positive reviews. Following the end of the tour an amended version of the script was made available for amateur performances. The script lacks many of the camp entertainment scenes, including the musical numbers, whilst adding a subplot featuring Ted's ex-wife from the episode ''Trouble and Strife''. The original tour set and costumes are available for hire from Bruce Jones Productions Limited. Amateur productions include those by the Teignmouth Players Amateur Dramatic Society at the Carlton Theatre,
Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14 ...
, The Western College Players at the Drum Theatre, Plymouth, (both in July 2011), and The Halifax Thespians at the Halifax Playhouse in March 2012. In May 2019, the Brookside Theatre, Romford staged a production. It was staged by The Crowborough Players in May 2013. A stage play for amateur production by Paul Carpenter and Ian Gower was originally available from Samuel French Ltd of London but now licensed in the UK by Concord Theatricals.


Theme music and merchandise

''Hi-de-Hi!'' had a
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
style theme tune called "Holiday Rock". Sung by Ken Barrie, who would later provide the voice of
Postman Pat ''Postman Pat'' is a British stop motion animated television series, animated children's television series first produced by Woodland Animations. The series follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a Mail carrier, postman who works for the Royal ...
, on the series opening titles, the song was later released as a single with the main vocal part sung by Paul Shane and the Yellowcoats (it featured several members of the cast on backing vocals).Hi-De-Hi (Holiday Rock)
Discogs
It became a UK Top 40 hit in May 1981. ''Hi-de-Hi!'' was one of the first BBC shows to capitalise on the merchandise market, with products such as board games, albums, books, toys and T-shirts available to buy.


After ''Hi-de-Hi!''

Several principal cast members were reunited in another period piece by the same writers called '' You Rang, M'Lord?'', which piloted in 1988, and ran for four series to 1993, and again in '' Oh, Doctor Beeching!'' by David Croft and Richard Spendlove from 1995 for two series.


Home releases

Series One and Series Two, including the pilot, were released in a boxed set by Universal Playback on 3 March 2003, followed by a boxed set of Series Three and Series Four on 5 April 2004. The Series 5 and Series 6 was released in a boxed set on 23 October 2006. Universal Playback encountered problems when releasing the first four series on DVD because they did not hold the rights to the soundtrack. As a result, some of the episodes were edited. Series Seven was released on 5 May 2008. Series Eight and Series Nine were released in a double pack on 22 September 2008. A complete boxed set containing all 9 series has also been released.


References


Bibliography

*
Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.
, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
British TV Comedy Guide for ''Hi-de-Hi!''


External links

* * (archived BBC Comedy page) * * *

at British Comedy and Drama
The officially recognised website for fans of Hi-de-Hi! and You Rang, M'Lord? (archived via Wayback Machine)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hi-de-Hi 1980s British sitcoms 1980 British television series debuts 1988 British television series endings 1980s British workplace comedy television series BBC television sitcoms Television series created by David Croft (TV producer) British English-language television shows Television series created by Jimmy Perry Television series set in 1959 Television series set in 1960 Television shows set in Essex