Hugh and I
GenreSitcom
Runtime40x25 minutes
31x30 minutes
WriterJohn T. Chapman
StarringTerry Scott
Hugh Lloyd
Vi Stevens
Wallas Eaton
Mollie Sugden
Cyril Smith
Jack Haig
Patricia Hayes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
NetworkBBC TV
MusicWally Stott
First aired17 July 1962
Last aired17 January 1967
Num series6
Num episodes68 + 2 shorts (39 missing)[1]

Hugh and I is a black-and-white British sitcom that aired from 1962 to 1967.[2] It starred Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd as two friends who shared lodgings with Terry's mother and was followed by a sequel called Hugh and I Spy.[3] The two actors had previously worked together on stage for many years.[4]

Hugh and I was written by John T. Chapman with additional material from John Junkin.[5] Music was by Wally Stott.[6] The first five series were produced by David Croft. 68 episodes were produced over 6 series, as well as two short special episodes as part of the BBC's Christmas Night with the Stars programme in 1963 and 1964 respectively.

Cast

  • Terry Scott as Himself
  • Hugh Lloyd as Himself
  • Vi Stevens as Mrs Ada Scott (series 1 to 5; 45 episodes)
  • Jill Curzon (series 1 and 2, series 4; 26 episodes), Jacqueline Wallis (series 3; 7 episodes) and Wendy Richard (series 5; 4 episodes) as Norma Crispin
  • Mollie Sugden as Ethel Crispin (series 1 to 5; 33 episodes)
  • Patricia Hayes as Griselda Wormold (series 1 to 5; 30 episodes)
  • Jack Haig as Cecil Wormold (series 2 to 5; 24 episodes)
  • Wallas Eaton as Arthur Crispin (series 1 and 2; 18 episodes)
  • Cyril Smith as Arthur Wormold (series 1; 8 episodes)
  • Patsy Smart as Miss Jenks (series 1, series 3 and 4, series 6; 4 episodes)
  • Pat Coombs as Cynthia (series 2, series 4 to 6; 4 episodes)

Plot

Terry Scott is a lovable rogue who wants to achieve wealth without working. The cunning Terry lives with his mother at 33, Lobelia Avenue in Tooting, South London. They have a gullible and dull-witted lodger, Hugh Lloyd, who works at a local aircraft factory. The two often try to make money through one of Scott's get-rich-quick schemes. Their next door neighbours, the Crispins and the Wormolds, also make frequent appearances. Mr Crispin is a thug who thinks violence will solve a problem, Mrs Crispin is a snob and their daughter Norma is constantly being stalked by men. On the other side, the Wormolds are an old couple; Harold is very clumsy. In the last episode of the fifth series, Hugh won £5,000 on the Premium Bonds and the following series showed the two of them undertaking a world cruise. The neighbours and mother had left the show.

Archive Status

Only 29 episodes are thought to survive:[1] (see wiping).

In November 2016, an episode of the sixth series (S6 Ep3 'Beau Jesters') was returned after many years believed lost.[7] In July 2017 the episode 'The Girl on the Poster' was returned by BBC South producer and presenter Richard Latto. In December 2021 two episodes of the fifth series (S5 Ep9 'It's In The Stars' and S5 Ep10 'Huntin' Shootin' and Fishin') were recovered by Kaleidoscope, having been purchased from a private collector on eBay.[8]

On 20 October 2023, the first episode of the third series, 'New Year Resolutions' was discovered and announced at the Film is Fabulous event.[9]

Episodes

All episodes from the first, fifth and sixth series were 30 minutes, while episodes from the other series were 25 minutes long. The surviving 25/30-minute episodes are indicated by their archive status, as are the two Christmas Night With the Stars specials.[10]

Radio

A single episode of Hugh and I was adapted for radio by the BBC and was broadcast on 13 June 1963.

DVD release

21 (of the 28) surviving episodes of the series, were released on DVD by Renown Films on 7 September 2015,[11] currently excluding the most recently rediscovered (S6 Ep 3 'Beau Jesters', S3 Ep 9 'The Girl on the Poster', S5 Ep 9 'It's in the Stars', S5 Ep 10 'Huntin', Shootin' and Fishin & S3 Ep 1 'New Year Resolutions').[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Both IMDb and lostshows.com indicate that there were 69 full episodes, the later source was used for the estimate of the number of surviving shows.
  2. ^ "Hugh and I[14/08/62] (1962)". BFI. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Hugh and I Spy: The Heights of Madness". No. 2307. 29 January 1968. p. 22. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. – via BBC Genome.
  4. ^ Barker, Dennis (15 July 2008). "Obituary: Hugh Lloyd". The Guardian
  5. ^ "Hugh and I[21/08/62] (1962)". BFI. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Wally Stott". BFI. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Lost television episode found 50 years after it was broadcast". Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  8. ^ "recovered". Mausolem
  9. ^ Bennett, Steve (26 October 2023). "Lost episodes of classic Eric Sykes and Terry Scott sitcoms discovers : News 2023 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  10. ^ Indication as to the survival or otherwise of the two Christmas Night With the Stars from the lostshows.com website. Obviously, if the episode is not listed by the lostshows.com website, it can be assumed to have survived.
  11. ^ "Hugh and I Series 1 & 2 The Remaining Episodes on DVD". Renown Films. 17 September 2015.