The first series of Comedy Playhouse, that continued to be a long-running BBC series, broadcast from 15 December 1961 to 16 February 1962. All the episodes were written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Background
The first series, which was in black and white, consisted of ten episodes, each of which had a different cast and storyline. Only the fourth episode, The Offer, made it to its own series becoming Steptoe and Son; all other episodes of this series of Comedy Playhouse are lost.[1] The episodes were broadcast on Friday at 8:45pm, except for The Status Symbol, which was broadcast at 8:40pm.
Episodes
Title
Airdate
Duration
Overview
IMDb link
Clicquot Et Fils
15 December 1961
30mins
Set in 1926 France, Clicquot Et Fils featured Eric Sykes as Pierre Clicquot, an undertaker, who comes up with an idea to get more business. Warren Mitchell starred as Alphonse Lagillarde. Clicqot Et Fils was remade for BBC Radio 4, starring Richard Griffiths as Clicquot and Roger Lloyd-Pack as Alphonse, and this was broadcast on 29 December 1998.
Lunch In The Park was the story of two middle-aged office workers, Geoffrey Tupper (played by Stanley Baxter) and Ethel Waring (Daphne Anderson). Every Tuesday for a decade they have met for lunch on the same park bench, but they were in for a shock this time. This was remade for Paul Merton In Galton & Simpson's... in 1997.
The Offer featured Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett as Albert and Harold Steptoe, a father and son who run a London rag and bone business. Following this pilot, a series was commissioned, and on 14 June 1962, Steptoe and Son was broadcast. It ran for eight series until 1974.
The Status Symbol centred on Wilfred Swann (played by Alfred Marks) and his Rolls-Royce. The car is in the garage of Cyril Bradley (Graham Stark), who instead of fixing it puts it on show on his forecourt.
Visiting Day was set in a hospital, with the patients both looking forward to and dreading visiting day. It starred Bernard Cribbins as Cakebread, Betty Marsden as Mother, Wilfrid Brambell as Father, Hugh Lloyd as the first patient and Molly Weir as Nurse Forbes.
Arnold, played by Ronald Fraser, and Freda, played by Avril Elgar, have been having a relationship by correspondence and when they meet for the first time they discover neither has been totally truthful. Also starring Gladys Henson as Arnold's mother, Vic Wise as the Station porter and Rita Webb as the trolley lady.
