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Hancock's Half Hour (Radio)
Hancock's Half Hour was arguably the point in his career where Tony became a household name. Breaking with the variety tradition that dominated radio comedy, this radio sitcom shelved the traditional mix of sketches, guests, and musical interludes instead deriving its humour from the characters and the situatins they found themselves in.
Each story was self-contained in its half-hour slot, originating the name of the show, and was essentially a single thirty minute sketch. Novel for the time, but not unheard of (A Life of Bliss by Godfrey Harrison, who later wrote for the ATV series, and Life with the Lyons), it was a refreshing change for the listening public. It was a more relaxed and borderline theatrical affair, with slow and measured performances at odds with the more common fast-paced delivery from comperes and performers fighting to pack content in at all costs.
The show featured no concrete settings, altering to the location and characters to fit the comedy required. The various addresses, eventually 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam, have been a council or private rental or Hancock's own owned home. Miss Pugh sometimes co-habits, for example. In an era where home-recording and commercial releases were uncommon, so the listener relied on their own memory for the details, which gave Galton & Simpson leeway in their writing.
Tony Hancock was joined by Sid James, Bill Kerr, Kenneth Williams (in his first comedic role), Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, and Hattie Jacques.
While Galton and Simpson never titled their scripts, a task left to the lady who filed the scripts in their office, Roger Wilmut has given many a title for easy reference. These have become the titles accepted at large, not only by fans but also by the BBC and Galton & Simpson.
Hancock's Half Hour: Season 1
2 Nov 1954
Broadcast between 2nd November 1954 and 15th February 1955, this series comprised 16 episodes of which 10 survive. The series was broadcast on Tuesdays at 21:30 (except episode 15 which went out at 20:00). There were no immediate repeats.
Cast comprised Tony Hancock, Bill Kerr, Moira Lister, Sidney James and Alan Simpson (except no. 6)
Hancock's Half Hour: Season 2
19 Apr 1955
Broadcast between 19th April 1955 and 5th July 1955, this series comprised 12 episodes of which just 5 survive. The series was broadcast on Tuesdays at 21:30 (except episode 2 which aired at 20:00) with a Sunday repeat at 15:00 (except episode 10, which was replaced by a further repeat of episode 7 because of an unfortunate topical reference).
Cast comprised Tony Hancock (except episodes 1 -3), Bill Kerr, Sidney James, Andree Melly, Kenneth Williams and Alan Simpson (except no. 10)
Hancock's Half Hour: Season 3
19 Oct 1955
Broadcast between 19th October 1955 and 29th February 1956, this series comprised 20 episodes of which just 9 survive in the archive plus a further 2 episodes survive as low quality off air recordings. The series was broadcast on Wednesdays at 20:00 with a Sunday repeat at 1700.
Cast comprised Tony Hancock, Bill Kerr, Sidney James, Andree Melly, Kenneth Williams and Alan Simpson.
Hancock's Half Hour: Season 4
14 Oct 1956
Broadcast between 14th October 1956 and 24th February 1957, this series comprised 20 episodes of which 16 survive in the archive. A further 3 episodes survive as good quality off air recordings and the remaining episode also survives in a reasonable quality off air recording. The series was broadcast on Sundays at 16:00 with a Tuesday repeat at 20:00 (except episode 11, which was repeated on 24th December 1956 at 21:30).
Cast comprised Tony Hancock, Bill Kerr, Sidney James, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques ( from episode 5 onwards).
Hancock's Half Hour: Season 5
21 Jan 1958
Broadcast between 21st January 1958 and 3rd June 1958, this series comprised 20 episodes all of which survive in the archive. The series was broadcast on Tuesdays at 20:00 except numbers 10, 12 and 14, which were broadcast at 20:31. All episodes were repeated on Thursdays at 21:00.
Cast comprised Tony Hancock, Bill Kerr, Sidney James, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques.
Hancock's Half Hour: Specials
3 Aug 1958
Between the fifth and sixth series of Hancock's Half Hour, the BBC Broadcast 6 special editions of the show. Details of transmission dates and cast lists are provided below. The last four specials were special remakes for Transcription Services releases. As these releases were tailored for overseas audiences, topical or local references were removed.
For more details about the BBC Transcription Services releases, please see the release guide.
Hancock's Half Hour: Season 6
29 Sept 1959
Broadcast between 29th September 1959 and 29th December 1959, this series comprised 14 episodes all of which survive in the archive. The series was broadcast on Tuesdays at 20:00 and repeated on Sundays at 18:30. Episode 13 was also repeated at 13:10 on Friday 29th December 1959.
Cast comprised Tony Hancock, Sidney James and Bill Kerr (except episode 13). This series was the first to feature a significant number of guest performers, all of which are detailed below.