Show Notes
In this podcast, we look at the episode Around the World in Eighty Days from the fifth radio series
The episode, which was lost for many years, is a brilliant parody of Jules Verne’s 1872 novel. The gang of three consider how the show encapsulates the atmosphere of 1950s Britain in the middle of the Cold War, discuss Kenneth Williams’s incredible nine different roles and Hattie Jacques’s six roles, and discuss in detail, how best to spend two and half months in Southend!
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 an event planned for Solihull in September 2025 and more events will be added to the calendar over the coming months. We’d love to welcome you as a member and see you at our events. In addition, screenings of Hancock’s TV episodes on the big screen continue at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith with the next one on the 7th June.
We’ll be back in two weeks with a review of the second radio series episode The Chef That Died of Shame.
More from Very Nearly an Armful - A Tony Hancock Podcast
In this podcast, we look at The Publicity Photograph from the fifth radio series. The sepia-tinted triumvirate consider how this is another episode starting round the breakfast table and discuss Kenneth Williams’s brilliant portrayal of Hillary St. Clair.
In this podcast, we look at The Lawyer, from the third television series. 'Rumpole', 'Kavanagh' and 'Perry Mason’ don their wigs and discuss the brilliant supporting cast with a special call out for Bill Fraser in his role as the police sergeant. enjoy the fluffs from the cast that come with this programme being broadcast live and consider how many different ‘jobs’ Hancock had during these early television series. Finally, the team look at Sid’s brilliant reactions to Hancock’s impassioned plea for his innocence and consider, in detail, how Hancock managed to put his car in the car park so quickly.
In this podcast, we look at The Idol, the third episode of the very first radio series. The three Bobby-soxer’s consider the quality of this early script, which is more like a three-act play, discuss the brilliant support provided by both Moira and Bill and reflect on how Hancock’s previous series Star Bill provided the genesis for this episode.
In this first podcast of our Spring series, we look at Sid’s Mystery Tours from the 6th and final radio series. The three amigos discuss the level of realism in this final radio series, look at the brilliant supporting cast, and the added depth that these additional cast members provide. and consider the number of episodes which commence with a scene around the breakfast table. Finally, the team review the superb tortoise sequence and debate, in detail, how to tell the age of a tortoise.
In this podcast, we are delighted to chat with our special guest Ted Kendall. Ted is a sound restorer and a mastering engineer who worked for BBC Transcription services before going freelance and setting up his own mastering studio. Ted was instrumental in the production of the original box sets of the radio Hancock’s Half Hour and in the four volumes of Hancock’s Half Hour Collectibles. Ted also compiled and restored all of the material in the Goon Show Compendia, the series’ box sets of The Navy Lark and much more, in a career spanning over thirty years.