In this episode of Very Nearly an Armful, Tim, James, Jon and Martin discuss the Apollo Theatre Company nationwide tour of their Hancock’s Half Hour show and are delighted to welcome John Hewer and Colin Elmer (who play Tony Hancock and Kenneth Williams respectively) to the podcast.The tour features performances of three lost Hancock’s Half Hour episodes from a selection of The Matador, The New Neighbour, The Winter Holiday and The Red Planet. The team discuss how John and Colin each discovered Hancock, how they approach playing the characters and how Hancock’s Half Hour being so accessible these days is opening Hancock up to a younger generation.  John and Colin are also pleased to introduce the rest of the cast: Alice Osmanski (Andree Melly), Ben Craze (Sid James), Callum Hale (Bill Kerr) and Clive Greenwood (Announcer and foley artist). Full details of the tour are available at www.Apollo theatre company.com Included in the podcast are extracts from original Hancock's Half Hour soundtracks, The Missing Hancocks soundtracks, Hambledon Productions stage performance of The Winter Holiday starring John Hewer as Hancock and The Apollo Theatre Company's performance of Hancock in the Police from their previous tour, starring James Hurn as Hancock. The Gang of Four get sidetracked as usual, this time into the origin on the term ‘coalboxed’, the latest Vivian Stanshall CD release and the upcoming Punch and Judy Man festival in Bognor.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 to celebrate what would have Hancock’s 100th birthday in May 2024 and our annual reunion dinner in September; we’d love to welcome you as a member and see you at our events. We’ll be back in November with a review of the oldest surviving television episode and the only surviving episode to feature Kenneth Williams in his Snide character, The Alpine Holiday. Hope that you’ll be able to join us then.

In this final episode of the current series, Tim, Jon, James and Martin take a look at the brilliant radio episode Hancock’s Car from the golden fifth radio series.The gang consider how all the cast deliver a masterclass in acting and comic timing and how the opening scene of Hancock, Bill and Sid just cleaning the car is a fantastic example of Galton & Simpson’s uncanny ability to create comedy out of nothing.The team look at the differences between the various edits of this programme against the original script, consider how well this episode showcases Hancock’s focus on his social standing and finally the team discuss, in detail, recipes for stuffed marrow.In other discussions, the Gang of Four reveal a couple of fascinating items found at our recent visit to the BBC Archives at Caversham, look at the recording techniques used in Lucille Ball’s programmes and celebrate the 102nd anniversary of the birth of Hancock’s Half Hour regular Peggy Anne Clifford.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 tonyhancock.org.uk  We have events planned at Hancock’s old local The Red Barn in May and our annual Reunion Dinner in September; we’d love to welcome you as a member and see you at our events. We’ll be back after a Summer break; Hope that you’ll be able to join us then.

This episode in the trilogy of three so far this Spring is the third one in the series. In this podcast James, Tim, Jon and Martin look at the brilliant fifth series episode The East Cheam Drama Festival and consider how the episode, being a play within a play, was quite revolutionary at the time.The gang consider how the second playlet is quite Pythonesque in its lack of a punchline, review how the episode would have sounded with cut lines reinstated and look at sections of the show where Hancock doesn’t have any lines!  The four take a deep dive into all of the characters called Dolly throughout Hancock’s career and debate if this episode is the first ever appearance of a character called Cravatte!Of course the team get distracted, this time by a book on celebrities and their cars, Philomena Cunk’s Soviet Onion and the brilliant Laurie Webb’s visit to the Riverside Studios.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 tonyhancock.org.uk In the final episode of the series we’ll review the excellent radio episode Hancock’s Car.  Hope that you’ll be able to join us then.

In this episode, the team celebrate the 60th anniversary of The Punch and Judy Man with a detailed look at Hancock’s final film in a starring role.The four consider how the film is deeply biographical not only in its depiction of a failing marriage but also in its link to Tony's childhood days in Bournemouth. They discuss how many of the regular players in Hancock’s Half Hour have roles in the film; most notably Hugh LLoyd, John Le Mesurier and Mario Fabrizi and the mentor from Hancock's early years, George Fairweather.The Gang of Four  also look in detail at the gestation of the film and consider how Hancock not playing a character called Hancock may have impacted the public reception the film received.  The team get distracted as usual and get sidetracked by the Carry On films, Sykes, Sir Henry at Rawlinson End and they also spend some time discussing the intricacies of the Pinner left hand down feather reverse turn!Don’t forget to rate us 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 Tonyhancock.org.uk. In the next episode of the series we’ll review the brilliant radio episode The East Cheam Drama Festival. Hope that you’ll be able to join us then.

Welcome back to all our listeners as we start our new series of the podcast with a look at the brilliant fifth television series episode The Economy Drive, which is often quoted as a fan favourite.The team look at the brilliant support played by the East Cheam Repertory Company and consider how the episode provides a brilliant social representation of the period through the self service cafeteria sequence.   They also discuss the recording techniques of the day, with this being the first ever Hancock’s Half Hour to be recorded in segments, and the many topical references scattered throughout the show.The gang also look back at the recent UKTV documentary and colourised episodes and reveal the results of a Twitter poll as to which episode fans would like colourised next if a further colourisation were to happen. In an exclusive moment, the team also reveal the winner of the ‘brightest shirt in a documentary’ award!Don’t forget to rate us 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 Tonyhancock.org.uk. In the next episode of the series we’ll review Hancock’s second starring film The Punch and Judy Man on the 60th anniversary of its premiere. Hope that you’ll be able to join us then.