All Gas And Gaiters, 1966
From the long running Comedy Playhouse series comes this ecclesiastical sitcom from the BBC. We have combined both the TV and Radio versions into one post.
The show originally aired in May 1966 as part of the long running BBC series: Comedy Playhouse. A full series began airing in early 1967, where it ran for 38 episodes over 5 series coming to an end in 1971.
Between 1971 and 1972 the series was adapted for Radio, like many other comedies of the day (Steptoe, Dads Army). The Radio series featured the original TV cast, with the exception of Derek Nimmo who left after thirteen episodes to be replaced by Jonathan Cecil, and ran for 33 episodes over 2 series.
Summary
Set in the close of the fictional St Ogg’s Cathedral and concerned various intrigues and rivalries among the clergy.
The Bishop is easygoing; his friend the Archdeacon is elderly, tippling, but still appreciative of attractive women; and the Bishop’s chaplain is naïve and accident-prone.
Their wish to live a quiet bachelor life is continually threatened by the overbearing dean, who tries to bring by-the-book rule to the cathedral.
Clips
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Cast
Robertson Hare
William Mervyn
Derek Nimmo
John Barron
Ernest Clark
Jonathan Cecil (Replaces Derek Nimmo in Radio Series)
Details
Channel: BBC1 (TV), BBC Radio 4 (Radio)
Written By: Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps
Original Transmission:
31st January 1967 – 17th June 1971 (TV)
5th January 1971 – 4th December 1972 (Radio)
Extras
The pilot and first three series were filmed in black-and-white. The third series was filmed in colour, but originally broadcast in monochrome.
The fourth and fifth series were made and shown in colour. Only eleven episodes still exist in the archive, owing to the wiping policy of the BBC during this era.