Lurcio - the inimitable Frankie Howerd - is a much-put-upon slave in the ancient Roman town of Pompeii.

More often than not, Lurcio finds himself keeping his owner's family members apart, in order to keep them together: a wet, wimpy son; a wife with a rather impressive bosom; a naïve daughter; and Ludicrus Sextus himself, a lecherous and lustful but terribly lazy Senator.

There's also Senna the Soothsayer, constantly forseeing doom and woe in Lurcio's path. Will he ever be allowed to complete the Prologue?