![Lost Sitcoms. Alf Garnett (Simon Day). Copyright: BBC Lost Sitcoms. Alf Garnett (Simon Day). Copyright: BBC](https://cdn.comedy.co.uk/images/library/comedies/300x200_eps/l/lost_sitcoms_alf.jpg)
Lost Sitcoms
- TV sitcom
- BBC Four
- 2016
- 3 episodes (1 series)
Series recreating episodes from legendary comedy series that are now missing believed wiped. Stars Kevin McNally, Robin Sebastian, Jon Culshaw, Katy Wix, Kevin Eldon and more.
Episode menu
Series 1, Episode 2 - Hancock's Half Hour: The New Neighbour
![Lost Sitcoms. Image shows from L to R: John Vere (Kevin Eldon), Kenneth Williams (Robin Sebastian), Tony Hancock (Kevin McNally), Hattie Jacques (Katy Wix), Sid James (Jon Culshaw). Copyright: BBC Lost Sitcoms. Image shows from L to R: John Vere (Kevin Eldon), Kenneth Williams (Robin Sebastian), Tony Hancock (Kevin McNally), Hattie Jacques (Katy Wix), Sid James (Jon Culshaw). Copyright: BBC](https://cdn.comedy.co.uk/images/library/comedies/900x450_eps/l/lost_sitcoms_hancocks_half_hour.jpg)
Broadcast details
- Date
- Thursday 8th September 2016
- Time
- 9pm
- Channel
- BBC Four
- Length
- 30 minutes
Cast & crew
Kevin McNally | Tony Hancock |
Robin Sebastian | Kenneth Williams |
Jon Culshaw | Sid James |
Katy Wix | Hattie Jacques |
Kevin Eldon | John Vere |
Robert Jack | Mario |
Kevin Eldon | Announcer |
Ray Galton | Writer |
Alan Simpson | Writer |
Ben Gosling Fuller | Director |
Neil Pearson | Director |
Owen Bell | Producer |
Steven Canny | Executive Producer |
Tilusha Ghelani | Executive Producer |
Chris Sussman | Executive Producer |
Richard Halladay (as Richard Halladey) | Editor |
Iain McDonald | Production Designer |
Kahleen Crawford | Casting Director |
Caroline Stewart | Casting Director |
Martin Hawkins | Director of Photography |
Katherine Hyland | Costume Designer |
Hannah Ireland | Costume Designer |
Yvonne Simpson | Costume Designer |
Lee Wilmot | Costume Designer |
Julie Dorrat-Keenan | Make-up Designer |
Video
Police Officer Kenneth Williams
Tony Hancock calls for help and is very disappointed when Kenneth Williams turns up.
Featuring: Kevin McNally (Tony Hancock) & Robin Sebastian (Kenneth Williams).
Press
Unlike the recently rebooted Porridge and Are You Being Served?, this rejuvenated BBC sitcom actually has a point to it: it's a loving and spot-on recreation of a missing Hancock radio episode from 1956, in which the Lad Himself (Kevin McNally) and co convince themselves their new neighbour is a serial killer. There's a real potency to it, too - it was originally broadcast only three years after the grisly, real-life discoveries at 10 Rillington Place.
Ali Catterall, The Guardian, 8th September 2016Hancock's Half Hour: a triumphant remake of comedy gold
"So should you watch it? Yes. Yes, you should, and then you should write letters to the BBC demanding that they reassemble this cast and crew post-haste," says Tom Cole.
Tom Cole, Radio Times, 8th September 2016Tony Hancock is the Picasso of moaning
The BBC's Hancock revival is so good it sparked an epiphany. I've not laughed that much at a British sitcom in years. Nothing on TV is actually that funny anymore. It's not that there aren't shows I like and enjoy, it's just that I now realise I wasn't really laughing at them. I was only smiling wistfully. Or going "Ha."
Tim Stanley, The Telegraph, 8th September 2016TV Review: Lost Sitcoms - Hancock's Half Hour
The script - by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, of course - is so good you are not even bothered by the basic scenery - there are literally no walls. In fact it would be just as funny if you closed your eyes and imagined you were listening to the radiio. The only thing you would miss would be McNally's gloriously unforgettable face.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 8th September 2016Lost Sitcoms: Hancock's Half Hour preview
It holds up so well that some lines seem to have been injected just for wry 21st-century nostalgia: Hancock being impressed by the size of the newcomers' TV screen: 'It must be all of eight inches,' he says enviously.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 8th September 2016TV preview: Lost Sitcoms - Hancock's Half Hour, BBC4
Stone me this is good. I was a little bit worried about this TV recreation of a lost Hancock episode because last week's Alf Garnett reboot was so disappointing. But there is no problem here. A combination of excellent casting and excellent writing makes this easily as funny as most contemporary sitcoms.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 7th September 2016'Lost Sitcoms' review: 'Hancock's Half Hour'
Entirely studio-bound with only three sets and no special effects or flashy camera tricks, director Ben Gosling Fuller is free to concentrate on the actors and the vintage material they're performing.
David Lewis, Cult Box, 26th August 2016