Hancock's Half Hour
- TV sitcom
- BBC One
- 1956 - 1961
- 63 episodes (7 series)
Tony Hancock stars in Galton & Simpson's comic masterpiece, with his delusions of grandeur and acquaintances at the root of his every downfall. Also features Sid James, Kenneth Williams, James Bulloch, Johnny Vyvyan, Alec Bregonzi and more.
Hancock's Half Hour trivia
In the episode There's An Airfield At The Bottom Of My Garden, parts of the set - due to collapse in a later scene - self-destruct too early, leaving Tony Hancock holding up a table and unable to move from the spot. He ad libs manfully and after persistent knocking on the door that he is supposed to open, he shouts: "Come in, it's open". The experience convinced the star that the show should never again be broadcast live.
At 7:30pm on Monday 18th July 1960, just over two months after the end of Series 6, BBC TV broadcast a half-hour highlights compilation entitled The Best Of Hancock.
As Hancock and the series grew ever more popular, studio audiences proved so riotous that producers had to take steps to tone down the volume, a first in British television.