Only When I Laugh (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Only When I Laugh is a British television
sitcom made by Yorkshire Television
for ITV
between 29 October 1979 and 16 December 1982. It was set in the ward of an NHS
hospital. The title is the answer to the question, "Does it hurt?"
It starred James Bolam
, Peter Bowles
, and Christopher Strauli
as patients Roy Figgis, Archie Glover, and Norman Binns. Mr. Gordon Thorpe, their consultant surgeon
, was played by Richard Wilson; and Gupte, the staff nurse from Delhi, was played by Derrick Branche.
The show was one of many successes for writer Eric Chappell
, and was rerun on ITV3
in 2007.
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
sitcom made by Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
between 29 October 1979 and 16 December 1982. It was set in the ward of an NHS
National Health Service (England)
The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
hospital. The title is the answer to the question, "Does it hurt?"
It starred James Bolam
James Bolam
James Christopher Bolam, MBE is a British actor, best known for his roles as Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Dr Arthur Gilder in...
, Peter Bowles
Peter Bowles
-Early life:Bowles was born in London, England, the son of Sarah Jane and Herbert Reginald Bowles. His father was a chauffeur and butler at a stately home in Warwickshire; but, upon the outbreak of World War II, he was seconded to work as an engineer at Rolls-Royce and moved the family to Nottingham...
, and Christopher Strauli
Christopher Strauli
Christopher Strauli is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is probably most famous for appearing as Norman Binns in the British sitcom Only When I Laugh, alongside James Bolam, Peter Bowles, Richard Wilson and Derrick Branche.-Early life and education:He was born in Harpenden,...
as patients Roy Figgis, Archie Glover, and Norman Binns. Mr. Gordon Thorpe, their consultant surgeon
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
, was played by Richard Wilson; and Gupte, the staff nurse from Delhi, was played by Derrick Branche.
The show was one of many successes for writer Eric Chappell
Eric Chappell
Eric Chappell is an English comedy writer who wrote and co-wrote a number of the UK's biggest sitcom hits during the 1970s, '80s, and '90s...
, and was rerun on ITV3
ITV3
ITV3 is an entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom that is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. The channel was launched on 1 November 2004. ITV3 is the second largest UK multi-channel, second only to ITV2.-History:...
in 2007.
Cast
- James BolamJames BolamJames Christopher Bolam, MBE is a British actor, best known for his roles as Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Dr Arthur Gilder in...
as Roy Figgis - Peter BowlesPeter Bowles-Early life:Bowles was born in London, England, the son of Sarah Jane and Herbert Reginald Bowles. His father was a chauffeur and butler at a stately home in Warwickshire; but, upon the outbreak of World War II, he was seconded to work as an engineer at Rolls-Royce and moved the family to Nottingham...
as Archie Glover - Christopher StrauliChristopher StrauliChristopher Strauli is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is probably most famous for appearing as Norman Binns in the British sitcom Only When I Laugh, alongside James Bolam, Peter Bowles, Richard Wilson and Derrick Branche.-Early life and education:He was born in Harpenden,...
as Norman Binns - Richard Wilson as Gordon Thorpe
- Derrick Branche as Gupte
Guest appearances
- John QuayleJohn QuayleJohn Quayle was a U.S. Congressman representing the 7th District of New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1923 to 1930....
- Patrick TroughtonPatrick TroughtonPatrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
- Moira ListerMoira ListerMoira Lister de Gachassin-Lafite, Vicomtesse d’Orthez was an Anglo-South African film, stage and television actress, and writer.-Early life:...
- Pat Ashton
- Pamela CundellPamela CundellPamela I. Cundell is a British character actress. Her best known role was Mrs Fox in the long-running TV comedy Dad's Army....
- Brenda CowlingBrenda CowlingBrenda Rose Cowling was an English actress. A native of London, Cowling wanted to be a film actress from the time she was a child; however, upon leaving school, she trained instead as a shorthand typist.After a time she joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she was a member of the same...
- Reginald MarshReginald Marsh (actor)Reginald Marsh was an English actor who is best remembered for starring in many British sitcoms from the 1970s onwards.-Early life and career:...
- Rosalind AyresRosalind AyresRosalind Ayres is an English actress. Active since 1970, Ayres may be best known by a wide audience for her role was in the 1997 film Titanic, in which she played Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon....
Episodes
Overall 29 episodes were broadcast over four series including a Christmas special.DVD release
- In region 2 all four series of Only When I Laugh have been released on DVD by NetworkNetwork DVDNetwork DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes...
, and a complete series box set has also been released. - In region 1 series 1 & 2 have been released in individual DVDs (now discontinued). A complete 5 disc box set was released on March 10, 2009 .
- Region 4 has only released the complete series box set.
| DVD Title | No. of Discs | Year | Episodes | DVD release | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
Region 2 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
Region 4 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
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| Complete Series 1 | 1 | 1979 1979 in British television This is a list of British television related events from 1979.-Events:*28 January – Thomas & Sarah, a spin-off of Upstairs, Downstairs premieres on LWT. It runs for only one series.... |
7 | 23 September 2003 | 8 July 2006 | — | |
| Complete Series 2 | 1 | 1980 1980 in British television This is a list of British television related events from 1980.-Events:*20 January - The British record TV audience for a film is set when some 23,500,000 viewers tune in for the ITV showing of the James Bond film Live and Let Die, released in 1973 and starring Roger Moore who is now in the process... |
7 | 16 September 2003 | 15 November 2007 | — | |
| Complete Series 3 | 1 | 1981 1981 in British television This is a list of British television related events from 1981.-Events:*5 January – The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the television version of Douglas Adams' radio comedy of the same name debuts on BBC2.... |
8 | — | 21 July 2008 | — | |
| Complete Series 4 | 1 | 1982 1982 in British television This is a list of British television related events from 1982.-Events:* 1 January – Central Independent Television starts broadcasting in the English Midlands, replacing ATV... |
7 | — | 15 September 2008 | — | |
| Complete Series 1–4 | 4 | 1979 1979 in British television This is a list of British television related events from 1979.-Events:*28 January – Thomas & Sarah, a spin-off of Upstairs, Downstairs premieres on LWT. It runs for only one series.... –1982 1982 in British television This is a list of British television related events from 1982.-Events:* 1 January – Central Independent Television starts broadcasting in the English Midlands, replacing ATV... |
29 | 10 March 2009 | 15 September 2008 | 12 April 2008 | |