Brett's Old Time Radio Show Episode 548, Hancock's Half Hour, The Christmas Club

Good evening and a huge welcome back to the show, I hope you’ve had a great day and you’re ready to kick back and relax with another episode of Brett’s old time radio show.

Hello, I’m Brett your host for this evening and welcome to my home in beautiful Lyme Bay where it’s lovely December night. I hope it’s just as nice where you are.

You'll find all of my links at www.linktr.ee/brettsoldtimeradioshow

A huge thankyou for joining me once again for our regular late night visit to those dusty studio archives of Old Time radio shows right here at my home in the united kingdom.

Don’t forget I have an instagram page and youtube channel both called brett’s old time radio show and I’d love it if you could follow me.

Feel free to send me some feedback on this and the other shows if you get a moment,

brett@tourdate.co.uk

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Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr and Kenneth Williams. The final television series, renamed simply Hancock, starred Hancock alone.

Hancock played an exaggerated and much poorer version of his own character and lifestyle, Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, a down-at-heel comedian living at the dilapidated 23 Railway Cuttings in East Cheam. The series was influential in the development of the situation comedy, with its move away from radio variety towards a focus on character development. The radio version was produced by Dennis Main Wilson for most of its run. After Main Wilson departed for his television career, his role was taken by Tom Ronald. The television series was produced by Duncan Wood. The distinctive tuba-based theme tune was composed by Angela Morley.

Ten scripts (nine TV, one radio) were written but never recorded for a variety of reasons. The unused radio script for The Counterfeiter was finally recorded in 2019 with Kevin R. McNally as Tony Hancock.

 

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 the fourth wall and refer to himself as "that bloke with the funny voice".
Hattie Jacques played Griselda Pugh, Hancock's secretary, with the exception of the episode "The East Cheam Drama Festival" where she played herself.
Alan Simpson played an unnamed man in early episodes who listened patiently to Hancock's long-winded stories. His lines would frequently be restricted to simply "Yes", "Really?", "Mm-hmm", or "I see".
These performers are present in the series as indicated below.

Series 1 (1954–1955)
16 episodes, 2 November 1954 – 15 February 1955[3]
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 by Spike Milligan.

Series 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. Only a short extract from episode 12 survives; this plus episodes 8 and 16 only survive in poor sound quality. "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" 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 still exist, though episode 3 only survives in poor sound quality.

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.[5] 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.[6]

Christmas Special
"Bill and Father Christmas"

Cast: Tony Hancock, Sid James, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr, Warren Mitchell

 

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