mostly david ephgrave

This afternoon, I was lucky enough to attend the recording of the last two remaining lost Hancock's Half Hour episodes for the BBC Radio 4 series The Missing Hancocks (my third time in the audience, man & boy), which was once again performed pitch-perfectly by Kevin McNally and the cast and left me feeling suitably inspired and uplifted as I exited Broadcasting House and made my way back to the tube at Oxford Circus. I must admit visiting the BBC always gives me a bit of a lift, as the child inside still can't help but be excited by the many inspirational ghosts that occupy the building, metaphorically speaking (subject to a proper paranormal assessment); I've only been to Broadcasting House once in a work context - to do a radio interview for the Buddy Holly show I was in - and went to Television Centre once in a non-audience-member capacity - for a meeting with a producer with Glyn - but the part of me that longs to be on the other side of the mic there is always ke...

Thursday morning’s a time I look forward to, as the episode of Hancock’s Half Hour that was broadcast that week becomes available to listen to on iPlayer, and consequently becomes the soundtrack to my bath. Today was no different, with this week’s instalment being the frighteningly appropriate ‘The Election Candidate'. In the episode, Tony is convinced to stand for parliament as a celebrity candidate (*cough* Donald Trump *cough*) and while it’s definitely one of the best - though let’s face it, pretty much all programmes that exist have stood the test of time wonderfully - my favourite moment has to be when Hancock is asked who’ll he’ll vote for, before he’s convinced to through his own hat in the ring. “Neither of them,” he replies. “I shall show my contempt by going down to the polling booth, taking my form, crossing both their names out and writing ‘get knotted’ in”. (Some things never change.) The episode was first broadcas...

I had the most glorious, inspiring night tonight, watching a recording of The Missing Hancocks at BBC Broadcasting House.  I was there, thanks to the kindness of Kevin Eldon (AKA Bill Kerr), who snuck me in under his metaphorical jacket. I sent him a text on a whim when I saw they were making another series and he put me and my wife on the guest list. I'm so grateful that he did, as I'm a huge Hancock fan - and often lament to myself that I'd never get the chance to experience the real thing, thanks to being born twenty-four years too late; Damn my parents and their reluctance to procreate.  I can't state enough just how good tonight was. It was inspiring to see such a great cast get their mitts on a fantastic pair of scripts and nail them so perfectly. If it weren't for the half century that's passed, you could be fooled into thinking every member of the original ensemble was performing there before you, though their faces may have changed. It's testament...

One of the main things that kept me sane during my recent Edinburgh run was listening to Hancock's Half Hour.  I've already documented my love of Tony Hancock and Galton & Simpson on this blog; a number of times in fact. The work of those three men was glorious and timeless. Only today, I was listening to an episode when I realised that it first aired sixty-two years ago, yet it still read perfectly and had me laughing throughout. It's so well-written that it doesn't matter if you don't get all of the cultural references, as the structure of the script and the cast's delivery is pitch perfect that it makes you laugh regardless. I doubt I'll ever grow tired of it.  "But how did it keep you sane?", I hear you ask (if only as a device for me to get to the point). Every morning, as I got ready to go do my show, I'd stream an episode on iPlayer or YouTube; using it as a comedic warm-up to put me in a good mood for the day. It was the perfect b...

Yesterday, I listened to the second episode in BBC Radio 4’s current series ‘The Missing Hancocks’, and loved it. I make no secret of the fact that I’m a huge fan of both Galton & Simpson and Tony Hancock. It’s something I’ve discussed here before . Together, they were responsible for some of my favourite comedy of all time. Watching or listening to an episode of Hancock’s Half Hour is a fail-safe for putting me in a good mood. So much so that I’ve started listening to an episode every morning in the bath, to start the day with a positive kick. (Picture it.) When I heard tell of a handful of lost episodes being rerecorded by different actors, I was concerned. How could they make this work? I knew the writing would stand up on its own two feet – Galton & Simpson’s material is faultless – but how could you have a Hancock’s Half Hour without the real Huh…Huh…Huh…Hancock? Not to mention Sid, Bill, Kenneth, Andr é e, Moira, Miss Pugh and the rest. I needn’t have wor...