Hancock's Half Hour

Hancock's Half Hour was a famous BBC radio comedy series of the 1950s starring Tony Hancock. Other regular cast members were Sid James, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr and Kenneth Williams. Moira Lister and Andrée Melly appeared in some early episodes. The scriptwriters were Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and the show's distinctive tuba-based theme tune was by Wally Stott. Some episodes were wiped; the rest have been released on CD box sets from 2000 to 2003. See below for details.

Television Series

Series 1

• 6 episodes, broadcast live, every 2 weeks, July 7 - September 14 1956

No recordings exist.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Series 2

• 6 episodes, broadcast live, every 2 weeks, April 1 - June 10 1957

Episode 1 exists on a telerecording.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Series 3

• 11 regular episodes plus Christmas special, "Hancock's 43 Minutes", broadcast live, September 9 - December 23, 1957

Episodes 5, 9, 10, 11 and "Hancock's 43 Minutes" exist on telerecordings.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Series 4

• 13 episodes; episodes 1 - 4 pre-recorded on telerecordings, 5 - 13 live, broadcast December 26, 1958 - March 27, 1959 (skipping February 27)

Episodes 1, 3, 4, 11 and 12 exist on telerecordings.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Series 5

• 10 episodes, pre-recorded on videotape, broadcast September 25 - November 27, 1959

The entire series exists on telerecordings.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Series 6

• 10 episodes, pre-recorded on videotape, broadcast February 19 - May 6, 1960

The entire series exists on telerecordings.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Series 7

• Shortened to 25 minutes per episode and retitled "Hancock"
• 6 episodes, pre-recorded on videotape, broadcast May 26 - June 30, 1961

The entire series exists on telerecordings.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~