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Hancock's Half Hour

1956 – 1961 · BBC One
7 seasons · 63 episodes
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Comedy

YOUR PROGRESS

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PLOT

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.

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SEASONS

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Re-branded as simply 'Hancock', this series was broadcast between 26th May 1961 and 30th June 1961. The series comprised 6 episodes all of which survive in the BBC Archive. The series was broadcast weekly on Fridays at 2000 and each episode ran for 25 minutes rather than the half hour running time of episodes in the previous series. There were no repeats during the run.

SERIES CAST

Tony Hancock
Sidney James
Johnny Vyvyan
Hugh Lloyd
Hancock's assistant
Alec Bregonzi
Mario Fabrizi
Ship's bandleader
John Vere
James Bulloch
Created by Ray Galton

DETAILS

Status
Ended
Type
Scripted
First aired
Jul 6, 1956
Original language
EN
Production
BBC
Country
GB

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