Hancock's Half Hour

7.3

1956•30m

Production

Hancock's Half Hour is a BBC television comedy series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock with Sid James. The final series, renamed simply Hancock, starred Hancock alone. Comedian Tony Hancock starred in the show, playing an exaggerated and much poorer version of his own character and lifestyle, Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, a down-at-heel comedian living at the dilapidated 23 Railway Cuttings in East Cheam. The series was influential in the development of the situation comedy, with its move away from radio variety towards a focus on character development.

Seasons

6 Episodes • Premiered 1956

Broadcast between 6th July 1956 and 14th September 1956, this series comprised 6 episodes all of which were broadcast live with no recordings of the transmissions being made by the BBC. Consequently, none of these episodes survive. The series was broadcast fortnightly on Fridays at 2130 (except no. 1 at 2045). There were no repeats.

1. The First TV Show

Hancock has a broken leg but Sid insists that the show must go on and so the show is broadcast from Hancock's hospital bed.

2. The Artist

Hancock decides to become an artist and buys up some old canvases to paint over. However, one is a stolen Rembrandt and one of Sid's cronies is forced to buy up all of Hancock's paintings to retrieve it.

3. The Dancer

At last Hancock secures a film role... but only if he can dance. Sid provides lessons for Hancock and enters him into a local dancing Championship Contest, but is forced to become his partner in the competition (in drag)!

4. The Bequest

Uncle Obadiah leaves Hancock a fortune provided that he gets married. Hancock starts to look for his future wife with the help of the Sid James Marriage Bureau.