Very Nearly an Armful - A Tony Hancock Podcast

In this episode, Tim, James, Jon and Martin celebrate the 70th anniversary of Hancock’s Half Hour with a look at the first series episode The New Car. The team consider how lucky we are that many of the first series survive because they were made available to overseas radio stations and how good a foil for Hancock Moira Lister was. The Gang of Four discuss how the episode provides a fascinating insight into 1950s life and how it showcases the brilliant writing of Galton & Simpson so early in the first series. Don’t forget to rate and subscribe to the podcast.  And if you haven’t done so already, why not join the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society – full details of how to join are at www.tonyhancock.org.uk  We have events planned – Steve Punt (subject to commitments) will be one of the guests at our event at Hancock’s local The Red Barn in the Spring and we are planning an event in Solihull in September 2025.   In addition, screenings of Hancock’s TV episodes on the big screen continue at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith; we’d love to welcome you as a member and see you at our events. We’ll be back with a look at the radio episode The Expresso Bar soon.  We hope that you will be able to join us then.

In this special Summer edition of our podcast, we are delighted to welcome John Hewer, star of the upcoming theatre tour of lost television episodes to discuss his upcoming tour and what the audience can expect to see.   Most excitingly, the shows selected have not been seen or heard since first broadcast and it will be amazing to see these shows recreated with a full supporting cast and lovingly created sets which will include a recreation of the living room of 23 Railway Cuttings complete with picture of Queen Victoria and stuffed buzzard (well Eagles are very hard to come by!)  The nationwide tour starts on the 17th September and tickets can be booked via the Hambledon Productions website: Hancock's Half Hour: The Lost TV Episodes - Hambledon Productions  The shows being performed are The Bequest, The Auction and The Russian Prince.   Don’t forget to rate and subscribe to the podcast.  And if you haven’t done so already, why not join the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society – full details of how to join are at www.tonyhancock.org.uk  We have events planned – John Hewer will be one of the guests at our annual dinner in September and we are planning an event at Hancock’s old local, The Red Barn, in May 2025.   In addition, screenings of Hancock’s TV episodes on the big screen continue at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith; we’d love to welcome you as a member and see you at our events. We’ll be back in early November with another series of the podcast looking at more of Tony’s television and radio episodes. We look forward to your company then.

In the final episode of this series Tim, Jon, James and Martin look at the recently found and rebroadcast series two episode A Visit to Swansea, from 1955. The episode features a cameo from Harry Secombe. The podcast team also hear from young member David Twydell at a recent THAS event and producer Dennis Main Wilson, recorded in the 1990s by Dave Miles. They also look at some of the differences between the newly discovered original episode and the 2017 Missing Hancocks re-make, including scripted lines cut from the episode and discuss the  missing first two minutes of the recording.   Don’t forget to rate and subscribe to the podcast. And, if you haven’t done so already, why not join the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society - full details of how to join are at www. tonyhancock.org.uk.  We have more events planned, our annual Reunion Dinner in September and screenings at Riverside; we’d love to welcome you as a member and see you at our events. We’ll be back in the autumn after a Summer break; We look forward to getting our geek on in your ear-things again then.

Tim, Jon, James and Martin have been on the road and this episode was recorded live at the Riverside Studios, Hammersmith.  In it, the team look at the colourised version of The Blood Donor in the company of their special guests Adam McLean and Clayton Hickman, producer, and colourisation lead for the episode.    The gang of four look at the excellent supporting cast in this episode and consider how many memorable lines continue to be repeated to this day!  Adam and Clay discuss in detail the complexities of the colourisation process and how satisfied they are with the final result.  An excellent Q&A session with the audience at the Riverside brings the podcast to a close.  With huge thanks to Adam and Clay and to the Riverside Studios for hosting the event.   Don’t forget to rate and subscribe to the podcast. And, if you haven’t done so already, why not join the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society - full details of how to join are at www. tonyhancock.org.uk.  We’d love to welcome you as a member and see you at our events. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with a review of the long-lost episode A Visit to Swansea (featuring a cameo role by Harry Secombe) from the second radio series.  Hope to see you then.