Hugh and I

Hugh and I
Genre	Sitcom
Written by	John T. Chapman
Starring	Terry Scott Hugh Lloyd Vi Stevens Wallas Eaton Mollie Sugden Cyril Smith Jack Haig Patricia Hayes
Music by	Wally Stott
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	69 + 2 shorts
Production
Running time	40x25 minutes 31x30 minutes
Original release
Network	BBC TV
Release	17 July 1962 (1962-07-17) – 17 January 1967 (1967-01-17)

Hugh and I is a black-and-white British sitcom that aired from 1962 to 1967. 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. The two actors had previously worked together on stage for many years.

Hugh and I was written by John T. Chapman with additional material from John Junkin. Music was by Wally Stott. The first five series were produced by David Croft.

Only 28 episodes are thought to survive: (see wiping).

In November 2016, an episode of the sixth series (S6 Ep3 'Beau Jesters') was returned after many years believed lost.

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.

Cast

• Terry Scott – Himself
• Hugh Lloyd – Himself
• Vi Stevens – Mrs Scott (series 1 to 5)
• Wallas Eaton – Arthur Crispin (series 1 to 5)
• Mollie Sugden – Ethel Crispin (series 1 to 5)
• Jacqueline Wallis, followed by Jill Curzon in series 1, ep 5 – Norma Crispin
• Cyril Smith – Harold Wormold (series 1)
• Jack Haig – Cecil Wormold (series 2 to 5)
• Patricia Hayes – Griselda Wormold (series 1 to 5)

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.

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 an asterisk, as are the two Christmas Night With the Stars specials.

Series One (1962)

1. Fully Incomprehensive* (17 July 1962) Terry thinks there is money to be made from an insurance agency. After visiting a real agency to see what goes on, Terry starts off in business. He fails to sell a policy to both sets of neighbours, but the man he does sell a policy to is injured when Terry's sign falls on him, so is able to make a claim.
2. Brace of Peasants* (24 July 1962) It's their annual holiday and Hugh was looking forwards to Mrs Crabthorne's guest house at Brighton as usual but Terry has booked them grouse hunting in Scotland. Getting up at 5am and wandering around on cold moors quickly loses its appeal, and it doesn't help that there are army manoeuvres there, so they head south to Brighton. Also features Deryck Guyler as a ticket inspector, Fred Emney as Lord Popham (as ep 7), Judith Furse as his wife, Lady Popham, and Frank Williams as an army officer. Also John Junkin
3. Episode Three* (31 July 1962)
4. Episode Four* (7 August 1962)
5. A Fete Worse Than Death* (14 August 1962) The last Church Fete was a disaster so Terry takes charge as usual and decides on a Pageant of History, with the cast portraying all the important events from 1066 onwards. But everything goes wrong including heavy rain on the day. Also features Julian Orchard as Mr Spinks and Charles Lloyd-Pack as the vicar.
6. Episode Six* (21 August 1962)
7. Putting on the Ritz* (28 August 1962) Terry is finally thinking about getting a job and decides to be a rich American's aide. Thanks to his mother, they meet him at the very expensive Ritz restaurant where he and Hugh upset the posh air of the place. They end up with a bill of £47 10s (£47.50), and all Terry has is Hugh's £14 10s, so they end up working for the restaurant to pay the rest off. Also features Fred Emney as a Lord and Jeremy Hawk as the head waiter.
8. Love Thy Neighbour* (4 September 1962) The Crispins buy a car, and as they cannot park it outside their own house, park it outside the Scotts' house. It is very noisy and smoke comes into the living room every time it is started, so Terry decides they should paint a white line at 2am to stop it being parked there. A policeman catches them, and they are fined £5 each. Terry then decides that Hugh should buy a car. It's an old banger, but too late they realise that neither of them can drive.
9. Episode Nine (11 September 1962)

Series Two (1963)

1. Lost Property* (21 May 1963)
2. Trad Fad Lloyd* (28 May 1963)
3. Wedding Bells* (4 June 1963)
4. April in Paris* (11 June 1963)
5. Prison Visitor* (18 June 1963) Terry decides to become a prison visitor to reform convicts. His first try is a hard man (Kenneth J. Warren) who he manages to upset. When that convict escapes a few weeks later, he comes to Terry's house armed with a gun and takes them all hostage. Husband Harold Wormold has vanished from the series and brother-in-law Cecil has taken his place with Haig looking like his "LeClerc" role in 'Allo 'Allo, twenty years later.
6. The 19th Hole* (25 June 1963)
7. A Turn for the Nurse* (2 July 1963)
8. Where There's a Will* (9 July 1963)
9. A Sink of Iniquity* (16 July 1963) Terry tries to mend a fuse at the Crispins' house and puts his foot through the sink. Ethel Crispin suggests they should get "Slocombe's" (Mollie Sugden, who played Ethel, would later play Mrs Slocombe in Are You Being Served?) to put in a new one; but as they charge £10, Terry decides he and Hugh should do it. This leads to the new sink being put on a removals lorry going to Leeds, and Hugh fusing the electricity in a number of houses and making a hole in a water pipe. Also features Deryck Guyler as a police sergeant.
10. Holding the Baby* (23 July 1963)
11. The Root of all Evil* (30 July 1963)
12. A Place in the Sun* (6 August 1963)

Christmas Special (1963)

• Short Special as part of Christmas Night with the Stars (25 December 1963)

Series Three (1964)

1. New Year Resolution (4 January 1964)
2. Pen Friends (11 January 1964)
3. Coal Comfort (22 February 1964)
4. Emergency Ward (7 March 1964)
5. Wheel of Fortune (14 March 1964)
6. Central Cheating (21 March 1964)
7. Escort Duty* (28 March 1964) Terry is so desperate to see a championship fight where seats are twenty five guineas (£26.25p) each that he decides to get a job. He and Hugh join an escort agency and get a job looking after two Italian women. However he ends up at the opera while Hugh who can't stand boxing ends up at the fight.
8. Door To Door (10 April 1964)
9. The Girl on the Poster* (17 April 1964) - This episode was found in July 2017.
10. A Fat Chance of Slimming (24 April 1964)
11. The Day of Reckoning (1 May 1964)
12. In The Dog House (8 May 1964)
13. A Chain Reaction (15 May 1964)

Christmas Special (1964)

• Short Special as part of Christmas Night with the Stars* (25 December 1964)

Series Four (1965)

1. Mum's Suitor (3 January 1965)
2. The Old Folks at Home (10 January 1965)
3. Terry Mason (17 January 1965)
4. The Critics (7 February 1965)
5. The White Man's Grave (14 February 1965)
6. On The Ball (21 February 1965)
7. Going, Going, Gone! (28 February 1965)
8. No Business Like Snow Business (7 March 1965)
9. A Bird in the Nest (14 March 1965)
10. The Chair (21 March 1965)
11. Horses For Courses (28 March 1965)
12. The Suit (4 April 1965)
13. Bun Fight (11 April 1965)

Series Five (1966)

1. Night Life (3 January 1966)
2. Pot Luck (10 January 1966)
3. It Never Rains* (17 January 1966)
4. Goodbye Dolly (24 January 1966)
5. The Gas Man Cometh (31 January 1966)
6. Ministering Angel (7 February 1966)
7. With a Pinch of Salt (14 February 1966)
8. Costume Piece (21 February 1966)
9. It's in the Stars* (28 February 1966) - This episode was found in December 2021.
10. Huntin', Shootin' and Fishin'* (7 March 1966) - This episode was found in December 2021.
11. Tooting Footlights (14 March 1966)
12. The Christening (21 March 1966)
13. The Jackpot (28 March 1966)

Series Six (1966–67)

1. Troubled Waters (29 November 1966)
2. Morocco Bound (6 December 1966)
3. Beau Jesters* (13 December 1966) – This episode was found in November 2016.
4. Arabian Knights (20 December 1966)
5. Hold That Tiger (27 December 1966)
6. Chinese Crackers* (3 January 1967)
7. A Touch of the Rising Sun (10 January 1967)
8. Adios, Amigos (17 January 1967)

Radio

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

DVD release

24 (of the 28) surviving episodes of the series, were released on DVD on 7 September 2015, currently excluding the most recently rediscovered (S6 Ep3 'Beau Jesters', S3 Ep9 'The Girl on the Poster', S5 Ep 9 'It's in the Stars' & S5 Ep 10 'Huntin', Shootin' and Fishin').

References

• Mark Lewisohn, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
• Hugh and I at British TV Comedy

External links

• Hugh and I at IMDb