• Home
  • TV
    • Overview
    • On Air
    • Schedule
    • Full List
    • News
    • Features
    • Preview Clips
    • In Development
    • Top 50
  • Radio
    • Overview
    • On Air
    • Schedule
    • Full List
    • News
    • Features
    • In Development
    • Top 20
  • Film
    • Overview
    • On TV
    • Full List
    • News
    • Features
    • Trailers & Clips
    • In Development
    • Top 20
  • Online
    • Overview
    • Sketches
    • Short Films
    • Web Series
    • News
    • Features
    • Stream Stand-up
    • BCG Podcasts »
  • Live
    • Overview
    • News
    • Features
    • List Of Tours
    • Festivals
    • Edinburgh Fringe
    • External Press
  • People
    • Find A Person
    • News
    • Features
  • Shop
    • Overview & Search
    • New Releases
    • Coming Soon
    • Recommended
    • Wishlist
    • News
    • Features
  • Podcasts
    • Shows
    • Latest Episodes
  • News
    • Latest
    • Archive
    • Press Clippings
  • Forums
    • Overview
    • Active Threads
    • Search
  • BCG Pro
    • Overview
    • Inside Track
    • Opportunities
    • Networking
    • Profile Editor
    • Skills Academy
    • BlackBook
    • Production Registry
    • Commissioning Insights
  • More
  • BCG Daily
  • Newsletters
  • Sign in
  • Join

British Comedy GuideBritish Comedy Guide

  • BCG Daily
  • Newsletters
  • Sign in
  • Join

British Comedy GuideBritish Comedy Guide

  • TV
  • Radio
    • Overview
    • On Air
    • Schedule
    • Full List
    • News
    • Features
    • In Development
    • Top 20
  • Film
    • Overview
    • On TV
    • Full List
    • News
    • Features
    • Trailers & Clips
    • In Development
    • Top 20
  • Online
    • Overview
    • Sketches
    • Short Films
    • Web Series
    • News
    • Features
    • Stream Stand-up
    • BCG Podcasts »
  • Live
    • Overview
    • News
    • Features
    • List Of Tours
    • Festivals
    • Edinburgh Fringe
    • External Press
  • People
    • Find A Person
    • News
    • Features
  • Shop
    • Overview & Search
    • New Releases
    • Coming Soon
    • Recommended
    • Wishlist
    • News
    • Features
  • Pro
    • Overview
    • Inside Track
    • Opportunities
    • Networking
    • Profile Editor
    • Skills Academy
    • BlackBook
    • Production Registry
    • Commissioning Insights
  • More
    • Podcasts
    • News
    • Forums
    • Even more »
  • British Comedy Guide
  • TV
    • Overview
    • On Air
    • Schedule
    • Full List
    • News
    • Features
    • Preview Clips
    • In Development
    • Top 50
  • Radio
    • Overview
    • On Air
    • Schedule
    • Full List
    • News
    • Features
    • In Development
    • Top 20
  • Film
    • Overview
    • On TV
    • Full List
    • News
    • Features
    • Trailers & Clips
    • In Development
    • Top 20
  • Online
    • Overview
    • Sketches
    • Short Films
    • Web Series
    • News
    • Features
    • Stream Stand-up
    • BCG Podcasts »
  • Live
    • Overview
    • News
    • Features
    • List Of Tours
    • Festivals
    • Edinburgh Fringe
    • External Press
  • People
    • Find A Person
    • News
    • Features
  • >
    • Shop
    • Podcasts
    • News
    • Forums
    • BCG Pro
    • Even More »
  • Overview
  • On Air
  • Schedule
  • Full List
  • News
  • Features
  • Preview Clips
  • In Development
  • Top 50
  1. BCG
  2. Guide
  3. Comedy Playhouse

Comedy Playhouse

Comedy Playhouse.

The first and most celebrated of all pilot and comedy trial seasons, Comedy Playhouse was originally devised to find new programmes for Ray Galton and Alan Simpson following the end of Hancock's Half Hour.

Famous comedies that started life in the Comedy Playhouse strand include Steptoe And Son, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas And Gaiters, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served?, Last Of The Summer Wine and Happy Ever After.


BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Clicquot Et Fils (1961)

Premiere Comedy Playhouse episode, starring Eric Sykes as a French undertaker in 1926, who conjures up a dark plan to increase business.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Lunch In The Park (1961)

After ten years lunching on the same park bench, office workers Geoffrey and Ethel are in for a shock.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Private Lives Of Edward Whiteley (1961)

Period sitcom playlet about serial bigamist Edward Whiteley.

Guide

Steptoe And Son. Image shows from L to R: Albert Steptoe (Wilfrid Brambell), Harold Steptoe (Harry H. Corbett). Copyright: BBC.TV

Steptoe And Son (1962)

Albert Steptoe and his son Harold run a rag and bone business. Harold wants to move on in the world and leave home but his plans are always thwarted.

Guide

The Channel Swimmer. Clive, the swimmer (Michael Brennan). Copyright: BBC.TV

The Channel Swimmer (1962)

Clive is about to swim the Channel but is unaware that his manager is planning to make money out of him.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Reunion (1962)

A group of old friends find that their reunion has unfortunate consequences for all concerned.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Sealed With A Loving Kiss (1962)

When two people agree to meet after a long romance by letter, they find themselves caught in the web of lies they have spun for each other.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Status Symbol (1962)

Cyril Bradley tries to persuade his customer, Wilfred Swann, to park his Rolls Royce outside his garage in order to attract customers.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Telephone Call (1962)

If you are worried about the world situation pick up your telephone and do something about it? Lionel Baxter does... and regrets it.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Visiting Day (1962)

There's always one patient in hospital who looks forward to their operation more than a visit from relatives.

Guide

Meet The Wife. Image shows from L to R: Thora Blacklock (Thora Hird), Freddie Blacklock (Freddie Frinton). Copyright: BBC.TV

Meet The Wife (1963)

Domestic sitcom following working-class northern couple Freddie and Thora Blacklock, a plumber and proud housewife.

Guide

The Walrus And The Carpenter. Image shows from L to R: Luther Flannery (Hugh Griffith), Gascoigne Quilt (Felix Aylmer). Copyright: BBC.TV

The Walrus And The Carpenter (1963)

Gascoigne Quilt & Luther Flannery meet in a graveyard. The two old men have little in common but Luther's sense of adventure leads them into scrapes.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

And Here, All The Way From... (1963)

Comedy Playhouse pilot from Galton and Simpson, starring Eric Barker as a man brought from Borneo to his brother's This Is Your Life appearance.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Bachelor Girls (1963)

Sitcom pilot about two young ladies sharing a flat in a fashionable area.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

A Clerical Error (1963)

Comedy Playhouse one-off starring John Le Mesurier as a conman who impersonates a clergyman upon release from prison.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Comrades In Arms (1963)

Comedy pilot starring Graham Stark and Fenella Fielding. A window-cleaner gets more than he bargained for when he accidentally witnesses an affair.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Chars (1963)

Sitcom pilot about a couple of cleaning ladies working at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, starring Doris and Elsie Waters.

Guide

Fools Rush In. Image shows from L to R: Wilfred (Gordon Rollings), Major Humphrey Carlton D.S.O. Rtd. (Deryck Guyler), Barney (Patrick Newell). Copyright: BBC.TV

Fools Rush In (1963)

Major Humphrey Carlton has retired from the Army and finds that arranging his own domestic affairs is more meddlesome than he ever expected.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Have You Read This Notice? (1963)

Frankie Howerd-starring comedy by Galton & Simpson about a man plagued by his conscience as he passes through airport customs with an expensive watch.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Handyman (1963)

Comedy pilot starring Alfred Marks as a highly-skilled worker stuck in a temporary job as handyman at an exclusive health clinic.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Impasse (1963)

Famous Galton & Simpson Comedy Playhouse episode starring Bernard Cribbins and Leslie Phillips as drivers refusing to give way on a single-track road.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Nicked At The Bottle (1963)

Comedy pilot written by Marty Feldman, starring George Cole as London's most crooked lawyer, Mossy Marcus, advising a client from a family of thieves.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

On The Knocker (1963)

Harry Driver & Jack Rosenthal pilot in the Comedy Playhouse series, starring Ronald Fraser as a door-to-door salesman with a unique approach to sales.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Our Man In Moscow (1963)

Sitcom pilot by Galton & Simpson, starring Robert Morley and Frank Thornton as the British Ambassador to Russia and his secretary.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

A Picture Of Innocence (1963)

Comedy about Prestonian Arthur Berry, a man whose love for fine art is shared only by the insurance man, but neither his friends nor family.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Plan (1963)

Pilot starring Peter Cushing as Albert Fawkes, a man so sick of the significance of his surname he sets out to blow up Parliament with ex-IRA help.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Shamrot (1963)

Sitcom pilot by Johnny Speight starring Dermot Kelly as angry Londoner Dermot. Despite having never visited Ireland, he adores it and loathes Britain.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Underworld Knights (1963)

Comedy Playhouse pilot written by Trevor Peacock, starring Ron Moody as crime writer Vogler.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Good Luck Sir, You've Got A Lucky Face (1964)

Marty Feldman-penned pilot, starring Graham Stark and Derek Francis as a sly match-seller who meets his match in an extortionate landlord.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Hen House (1964)

Sitcom pilot starring Beryl Reid, Barbara Windsor and Dermot Kelly, about the amorous but strict elderly owner of Khartoum House Girls' Hostel.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Mascot (1964)

Comedy Playhouse pilot. The new chairman of Northtown FC intends to change the club's image. Club mascot Arnold Birtwistle does not intend to let him.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Mate Market (1964)

Sitcom pilot starring Lance Percival as a Mayfair socialite who runs a marriage bureau.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Siege Of Sydney's Street (1964)

Roy Kinnear stars as Sydney Lord, a man with a highly attuned social conscience, determined to fight bureaucratic dictatorship wherever it may be.

Guide

Till Death Us Do Part. Image shows from L to R: Mike Rawlins (Anthony Booth), Rita Rawlins (Una Stubbs), Alf Garnett (Warren Mitchell), Else Garnett (Dandy Nichols). Copyright: BBC.TV

Till Death Us Do Part (1965)

Opinionated Alf Garnett reels off a string of misinformed, bigoted, reactionary opinions each week, to the chagrin of his family.

Guide

The Vital Spark. Image shows from L to R: Para Handy (Roddy McMillan), Dan McPhail (John Grieve), Dougie (Walter Carr), Sunny Jim (Alex McAvoy). Copyright: BBC.TV

The Vital Spark (1965)

Captain Para Handy steers his famous puffer, the Vital Spark, up and down the Clyde, together with his motley crew.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Barnaby Spoot And The Exploding Whoopee Cushion (1965)

Comedy Playhouse special from Feldman and Took, in which joke inventor Barnaby Spoot plots ultimate revenge upon a joke shop that always rejects him.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Betsy Mae (1965)

Sitcom pilot about a childrens' novelist who holds distinctly stern, non-PC views about the young.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Happy Family (1965)

Sitcom pilot starring Ted Ray as the sole male in a family home full of women. Written by Sid Green and Dick Hills.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Here I Come Whoever I Am (1965)

Bittersweet comedy pilot starring Bernard Cribbins as a shy and lonely 32-year old looking for love.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Hudd (1965)

Improbable stories from the chaotic world of a man called Hudd.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Memoirs Of A Chaise Longue (1965)

Spoof of feature film The Yellow Rolls Royce. Barry Took and Marty Feldman tell three stories from the long life of a chaise longue.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Mother Came Too (1965)

Sitcom pilot starring Peggy Mount as the formidable and overbearing mother of Graham Stark.

Guide

Murray And Me. Image shows from L to R: Murray (Chic Murray), Tommy Penn (Alan Baulch). Copyright: BBC.TV

Murray And Me (1965)

Murray believes he can train his mind for practical purposes and he endeavours to teach his skills to young Tommy, a young boy he is looking after.

Guide

Sam The Samaritan. Copyright: BBC.TV

Sam The Samaritan (1965)

1910 - when three long term friends and fellow stokers are let ashore, a bet over downing a pot of ale causes the friendship to be broken.

Guide

The Time And Motion Man. Image shows from L to R: Lilian French (Pauline Delany), Rainbow (Richard Moore), Kingsley Binns (Leslie Phillips). Copyright: BBC.TV

The Time And Motion Man (1965)

Kingsley Binns is a man who can't switch off from his job and that involves him trying to make everybody he meets more efficient.

Guide

Beggar My Neighbour. Image shows from L to R: Gerald Garvey (Peter Jones), Rose Garvey (June Whitfield). Copyright: BBC.TV

Beggar My Neighbour (1966)

Comedy of familial relations. Gerald is a poor snob, whilst his next door neighbours - his wife's sister and her husband - are well-off working class.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Reluctant Romeo (1966)

Sitcom starring Leslie Crowther as the engaged and unwillingly irresistible-to-women advertising executive Tom Jones.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Room At The Bottom (1966)

First sitcom from Bob Larbey and John Esmonde, set in the maintenance room basement of a large company's head office tower block.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Whitehall Worrier (1966)

The corridors of power have never been the safest of places, but for one minister there are an unusual amount of booby traps.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The End Of The Tunnel (1966)

Comedy Playhouse pilot by Richard Waring. George Cole stars as affluent City businessman Charles, who's left suddenly single when his wife walks out.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Judgement Day For Elijah Jones (1966)

Marty Feldman-penned sitcom pilot starring Clive Dunn and Bernard Cribbins as a pair of sandwich-board men convinced the apocalypse is nigh.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

A Little Learning (1966)

Comedy Playhouse pilot starring Jack Hulbert and Cicely Courtneidge.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Seven Year Hitch (1966)

Sitcom pilot from the writer of The Larkins, starring Harry H Secombe and Joan Sims as the pompous owner of a poor dance school and his wife.

Guide

All Gas And Gaiters. Image shows from L to R: Henry - The Archdeacon (Robertson Hare), The Rt. Rev. Dr. Cuthbert Hever - The Bishop (William Mervyn), The Rev. Mervyn Noote - The Chaplain (Derek Nimmo). Copyright: BBC.TV

All Gas And Gaiters (1966)

The fictional St. Ogg's Cathedral is the setting for a good natured look at life among the clergy.

Guide

Not In Front Of The Children. Jennifer Corner (Wendy Craig). Copyright: BBC.TV

Not In Front Of The Children (1967)

The domestic bliss of "oldly-weds" Jennifer and Henry Corner and their three young children.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Old Campaigner (1967)

Sitcom following womaniser James Franklin-Jones (Terry-Thomas), an international salesman who uses his business trips to search for beautiful women.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Heirs On A Shoestring (1967)

Comedy pilot starring Jimmy Edwards and Clive Dunn as nephew and elderly uncle. James believes he stands to inherit a lot, but then a new heir arrives.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Hughie (1967)

Sitcom pilot starring Hugh Lloyd as a man who's grown so accustomed to prison life that, after a 10 year stretch, he's desperate to get back inside.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Loitering With Intent (1967)

Comedy Playhouse pilot starring David Tomlinson as socially conscious 'green' cause lover Charles Pinfold, whose values are put sorely to the test.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Spanner In The Works (1967)

Comedy Playhouse pilot starring Norman Rossington and Jimmy Jewel as the boss of a small engineering company and the workers' union shop-steward.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

To Lucifer - A Son (1967)

Sitcom pilot starring John Le Mesurier as Lucifer, long weary of the underworld, and Jimmy Tarbuck as Nick, his ambitious son.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Uncle Fred Flits By (1967)

PG Wodehouse adaptation starring Wilfred Hyde White as the eponymous Uncle Fred, the Earl of Ickenham.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

B-And-B (1968)

The arrival of a pretty au pair has an explosive effect on a successful TV family's life.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Me Mammy (1968)

Sitcom starring Milo O'Shea as Bunjy Kennefick, living the bachelor life as a top London business executive, and his very traditional Irish mother.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Thicker Than Water (1968)

Sitcom about a widowed fishmonger whose life is dominated by his three unmarried adult daughters, and husband-hunting next-door neighbour.

Guide

Wild, Wild Women. Copyright: BBC.TV

Wild, Wild Women (1968)

Period variation on The Rag Trade, starring Barbara Windsor as the leader of female workers at a milliner's in 1902.

Guide

Wink To Me Only. Copyright: BBC.TV

Wink To Me Only (1968)

Sitcom about a married couple who are each others' polar opposite, but a perfect match together and solve a series of problems in bizarre ways.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Gold Watch Club (1968)

A Comedy Playhouse presentation about Edward Wilkins, whose vision of retirement turns out to be rather different than the reality.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

State Of The Union (1968)

Sitcom pilot and first acting role for comedian Les Dawson, playing trade union secretary Les.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Stiff Upper Lip (1968)

Cold War comedy pilot by Barry Took, based on novelist Lawrence Durrell's tales of diplomatic mishaps at British embassies across the globe.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Thank You Sir, Thank You Madam (1968)

Comedy about a leading Cockney busker who sets up a rival group after an argument with the other three members of his existing quartet.

Guide

The Liver Birds. Image shows from L to R: Beryl Hennessey (Polly James), Sandra Hutchinson (Nerys Hughes). Copyright: BBC.TV

The Liver Birds (1969)

Sitcom exploring the lives and loves of two young, single females sharing a flat together in Liverpool.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

As Good Cooks Go (1969)

A travelling cook turns a run down transport cafe into a fashionable restaurant.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Joint Account (1969)

A Comedy Playhouse presentation starring Keith Barron in a tale of domestic disharmony with a radical solution.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Loves Of Larch Hill (1969)

Sitcom about an eccentric family who live in a quiet, conservative community - much to the annoyance of their neighbours.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Making Of Peregrine (1969)

Dick Emery sitcom pilot written by Marty Feldman and Barry Took. Stanley Mold attempts to make a man out of drippy son Peregrin.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Tooth And Claw (1969)

Comedy from Marty Feldman and Barry Took, starring Feldman and Warren Mitchell as a pair of rival Jewish multi-millionaires.

Guide

The Valley Express. Image shows from L to R: Stan (David Baxter), Jenny (Nerys Hughes). Copyright: BBC.TV

The Valley Express (1969)

Reg and Stan are local reporters in Wales who make up stories and sell them to Fleet Street. They are in for a shock when they are taken seriously.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

That's Your Funeral (1970)

Basil Bulstrode is pompous, grouchy and stubborn - he's also an undertaker who loves his work.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Better Than A Man (1970)

Sitcom pilot starring Sheila Hancock as a self-made woman who overcomes sexism to become the managing director of the company her father works for.

Guide

Don't Ring Us... We'll Ring You. Image shows from L to R: Jimmy Duffy (Norman Rossington), Joe Ridsdale (Sandy Powell), Ernie Babcock (John Junkin). Copyright: BBC.TV

Don't Ring Us... We'll Ring You (1970)

A Comedy Playhouse revolving around the Northern working men's clubs and two agents who find a rich, new boy has hit town.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Haven Of Rest (1970)

Sitcom pilot in the Comedy Playhouse strand, set in a retirement home.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Jugg Brothers (1970)

A Comedy Playhouse written by and starring Bob Grant and Stephen Lewis as brothers who work in a block of flats as caretakers.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Keep 'Em Rolling (1970)

Period comedy starring Derek Nimmo in the early days of photography.

Guide

Meter Maids. Polly (Barbara Windsor). Copyright: BBC.TV

Meter Maids (1970)

Sitcom pilot starring Barbara Windsor, Joan Sanderson and Pat Coombs as female traffic wardens.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Mind Your Own Business (1970)

Pilot about a family of Cockney struggling window cleaners with one white and one black son.

Guide

An Officer And A Gentleman. Image shows from L to R: Major Gissing (James Grout), Sid Coil (Ken Wynne). Copyright: BBC.TV

An Officer And A Gentleman (1970)

A Comedy Playhouse starring James Grout as a military man finding it hard to embrace civilian life without the help of his faithful Army batman.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Old Contemptible (1970)

Keith Waterhouse sitcom pilot about a First World War survivor attempting to instil a sense of old-fashioned values to modern world.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Who's Your Friend? (1970)

Sitcom pilot starring Bernard Cribbins as a professional male escort, also with Frank Thornton and Maggie Fitzgibbon.

Guide

Now Take My Wife. Image shows from L to R: Jenny Love (Liz Edmiston), Harry Love (Donald Houston), Claire Love (Sheila Hancock). Copyright: BBC.TV

Now Take My Wife (1971)

A married couple struggle with the age-old problem of coping with the adolescent behaviour of their teenage daughter.

Guide

Under And Over. Copyright: BBC.TV

Under And Over (1971)

Three Irish labourers spend their lives digging away on the Waterloo tunnel.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Equal Partners (1971)

Comedy Playhouse sitcom pilot starring Nicky Henson.

Guide

It's Awfully Bad For Your Eyes, Darling.... Copyright: BBC.TV

It's Awfully Bad For Your Eyes, Darling... (1971)

London flatshare sitcom based around a group of girls from well-off backgrounds.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Importance Of Being Hairy (1971)

Satirical comedy pilot set at the new, left-wing University of Wessex.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Uncle Tulip (1971)

The first ethnic minority sitcom on British television. This pilot follows Uncle Tulip, a middle-aged Kenyan Sikh looking after his niece and nephew.

Guide

Are You Being Served?. Image shows from L to R: Mrs. Betty Slocombe (Mollie Sugden), Miss Shirley Brahms (Wendy Richard), Mr. Dick Lucas (Trevor Bannister), Mr. Cuthbert Rumbold (Nicholas Smith), Mr. Mash (Larry Martyn), Mr. Ernest Grainger (Arthur Brough), Mr. Wilberforce Humphries (John Inman), Captain Stephen Peacock (Frank Thornton). Copyright: BBC.TV

Are You Being Served? (1972)

Sitcom set in London department store Grace Bros., where the Ladies' Intimate Apparel and Men's Ready To Wear departments are forced to share a floor.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

And Whose Side Are You On? (1972)

Comedy Playhouse pilot set in Nazi-occupied France.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Born Every Minute (1972)

Sitcom pilot starring James Beck and Ronald Fraser as a pair of con men working together but rivals for a girl.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Dirtiest Soldier In The World (1972)

Pilot based on George Macdonald Fraser's book The General Dances At Dawn, about a Highlands battalion and Private McAuslan.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Idle At Work (1972)

Sitcom pilot written by Graham Chapman and Bernard McKenna, starring Ronnie Barker as George Idle.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Weren't You Marcia Honeywell? (1972)

Comedy Playhouse pilot starring Betty Marsden and Hugh Paddick as a once-famous romantic singing duo, Marcia Honeywell and Bernard Hooper.

Guide

Elementary, My Dear Watson. Dr Watson (William Rushton). Copyright: BBC.TV

Elementary, My Dear Watson (1973)

Sherlock Holmes finds Edwardian solutions to problems in 1973.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Gordon Peters Show (1973)

Sitcom starring stand-up comic Gordon Peters as a bewildered loner who's at constant odds with the world around him.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Home From Home (1973)

When Bill's wife leaves him to become a traffic warden - she makes him her most frequent victim.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Marry The Girls (1973)

Luke Elms must marry off his five daughters before they bankrupt him.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Rescue (1973)

Comedy Playhouse pilot about a man who tries to commit suicide and the problems he causes his rescuer.

Guide

Happy Ever After. Image shows from L to R: June Fletcher (June Whitfield), Terry Fletcher (Terry Scott). Copyright: BBC.TV

Happy Ever After (1974)

Now that all the children have left, Terry and June Fletcher can look forward to doing all the things they have planned - until Aunt Lucy arrives.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

No Strings (1974)

Carla Lane-penned sitcom about Derek and his new, quirky flatmate Leonora, and their burgeoning relationship.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Dobson Doughnut (1974)

Comedy Playhouse pilot starring Milo O'Shea as Henry Medway, newly retired and an aspiring round-the-world yachtsman.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Franklyn And Johnnie (1974)

Pilot starring Ronnie Barker and Geoffrey Bayldon as life-long rivals given the opportunity to bury the hatchet at the one mutual friend's funeral.

Guide

A Girl's Best Friend. Image shows from L to R: Lynn Dalton (Carolyn Courage), Audrey Dalton (Zena Walker). Copyright: BBC.TV

A Girl's Best Friend (1974)

A 1974 sitcom pilot about a mother who shares her daughter's boyfriends. Broadcast as part of the Comedy Playhouse series.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

It's Only Me - Whoever I Am (1974)

Roy Clarke sitcom pilot starring David Jason as Quentin, a young man from Rochdale struggling to becoming his own person under his mother's gaze.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Last Man On Earth (1974)

Post-apocalyptic Galton & Simpson sitcom pilot about a man and his mother who find everyone else in the world has vanished.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Pygmalion Smith (1974)

A Comedy Playhouse pilot, written by Roy Clarke and starring Leonard Rossiter.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Reverent Wooing Of Archibald (1974)

Sitcom pilot based on the stories of PG Wodehouse. Archibald Mulliner is a feckless young chap but determined to woo Aurelia Cammerleigh.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Sitting Pretty (1974)

Sitcom pilot from the writers of All Gas And Gaiters. As an existing tenant, Jo Ransley (Una Stubbs) enjoys quite a protected status.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Howerd's History Of England (1974)

Period sketch show starring Frankie Howerd and Patrick Newell. A Comedy Playhouse pilot.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

French Relish (1974)

Simon Pollock is about to invade France with Major Pollock's Relish.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

The Rough With The Smooth (1971)

The misadventures of two bachelor flat mates working on a terrible radio serial. One's an east Londoner, the other an old Etonian.

Guide

Mr Big. Image shows from L to R: Eddie (Peter Jones), Dolly (Prunella Scales), Ginger (Ian Lavender), Norma (Carol Hawkins). Copyright: BBC.TV

Mr Big (1974)

Eddie finds that if he's planning a bank job or robbing the local post office it is probably not a good idea to involve the rest of his family.

Guide

Last Of The Summer Wine. Image shows from L to R: Walter C. 'Foggy' Dewhurst (Brian Wilde), William 'Compo' Simmonite (Bill Owen), Norman Clegg (Peter Sallis). Copyright: BBC.TV

Last Of The Summer Wine (1973)

Gentle sitcom following a group of pensioners living in Yorkshire. This show was Britain's longest-running TV sitcom.

Guide

Mountain Goats. Jimmy Miller (Jimmy Chisholm). Copyright: BBC.TV

Mountain Goats (2014)

Studio audience sitcom about a ragtag family of Mountain Rescue volunteers.

Guide

Monks. Image shows from L to R: Brother Bernard (Justin Edwards), Brother Francis (Mark Heap), Brother Gary Woodcroft (Seann Walsh), Father Abbot (James Fleet), Brother Dominic (Fergus Craig). Copyright: BBC.TV

Monks (2014)

Studio audience sitcom pilot about a group of monks who definitely do not live together in peace and harmony.

Guide

Over To Bill. Image shows from L to R: Jez (Neil Morrissey), Bill Onion (Hugh Dennis). Copyright: Baby Cow Productions / Three Feet Productions.TV

Over To Bill (2014)

Sitcom pilot starring Hugh Dennis as a weatherman who gets fired and then finds getting back on TV is much harder than he expected.

Guide

Comedy Playhouse: Where It All Began. Copyright: BBC.TV

Comedy Playhouse: Where It All Began (2014)

A documentary looking back at the original BBC Comedy Playhouse pilot strand, featuring contributions from some of those involved.

Guide

Stop/Start. Image shows from L to R: Evan (John Thomson), Rob (Jack Docherty). Copyright: BBC.TV

Stop/Start (2016)

Sitcom about three marriages in various states of disrepair, written by and starring Jack Docherty.

Guide

Hospital People. Ivan Brackenbury (Tom Binns). Copyright: Roughcut Television.TV

Hospital People (2016)

Mockumentary in which Tom Binns plays various characters who are working in a hospital.

Guide

Broken Biscuits. Image shows from L to R: Brenda (Alison Steadman), Roger (Alun Armstrong). Copyright: Jellylegs.TV

Broken Biscuits (2016)

Comedy following five disparate groups of people, friends, partners and parents, observing their everyday lives as their little stories unfold.

Guide

Tim Vine Travels Through Time. Tim (Tim Vine). Copyright: Baby Cow Productions.TV

Tim Vine Travels Through Time (2017)

Comedy in which antique dealer Tim Vine travels through time on various errands, meeting historical figures in the process.

Guide

Mister Winner. Lesley Winner (Spencer Jones).TV

Mister Winner (2017)

Sitcom starring Spencer Jones as an eternally-optimistic klutz.

Guide

Static. Rob (Rob Beckett). Copyright: Zeppotron.TV

Static (2017)

Studio audience sitcom about a man who jacks in a job in London to move back in with his parents.

Guide

Bumps. Anita (Amanda Redman). Copyright: Kudos Productions.TV

Bumps (2020)

A cross-generational comedy starring Amanda Redman in a whole new spin on family dynamics.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Current Affairs (1968)

Unbroadcast Comedy Playhouse sitcom pilot about staff at an electrical power station.

Guide

BBC One. Copyright: BBC.TV

Bird Alone (1974)

Sitcom pilot starring Liz Smith and Yootha Joyce, recorded for the 15th series of Comedy Playhouse on 2nd April 1974 but never broadcast.

Guide

Share this page

Advertisement

Help fund more content

Donate and support British Comedy Guide

Latest news & features

Lost Voice Guy's Ability to return Radio

Lost Voice Guy's Ability to return

Lucy Beaumont's mumoir Shop

Lucy Beaumont's mumoir

Brittas Empire cast to reunite Online

Brittas Empire cast to reunite

Back to top
Comedy.co.uk Awards Awards

Comedy.co.uk Awards

First Gig, Worst Gig: Eric Rushton Live

First Gig, Worst Gig: Eric Rushton

Back is back: preview TV

Back is back: preview

British Comedy Quiz #137 Quiz

British Comedy Quiz #137

British Comedy Guide

  • About BCG
  • Privacy & Rules
  • Support BCG
  • Join / Log in
  • Advertising
  • Contact
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
© British Comedy Guide
"Just eaten a Yorkie. That's the last time I'll get invited to Crufts." - Tony Cowards