Original title
Comedy Playhouse
Released
12/15/1961
Origin country
GB
Genre
Comedy
Status
Ended
Number of seasons
18
Number of episodes
142
Comedy Playhouse is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including Steptoe and Son, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served? and Last of the Summer Wine, which is the world's longest running sitcom, having run from January 1973 to August 2010.
An undertaker in 1920s France needs to drum up trade for his ailing business.
A pair of office workers have for ten years spent their lunch hour on the same park bench.
The misadventures of bigamist Edward Whitely.
Harold Steptoe, a middle aged rag and bone man, yearns to break away from the clutches of his elderly, conniving, and disgusting father, but events always conspire against him.
A reunion doesn't go as planned.
A worried man uses his phone to do something about the troubled world.
A garage owner doesn't want to return a customer's Rolls Royce because he he likes the way it looks in his yard.
A group of hospital patients prepare for visiting day.
A pair of penpals decide to meet for the first time, but they haven't been telling the truth about themselves.
A man determines to swim the Channel.
A Russian musician asks for political asylum and gives the British ambassador troubles.
District Commissioner Donald Lawrence travels to London from Borneo in order to be a guest on his brother's ""This Is Your Life,"" but the show is called off.
Two drivers refuse to give way to each other.
Norman is beset by nerves as he tries to sneak a watch through the ""Nothing To Declare"" channel at an airport.
A con-man, recently released from Wormwood Scrubs prison, dresses up as a clergyman and turns up in a pub collecting for a highly dubious charity.
An out of work machine minder takes a job as a Handyman at a health club.
Exploits of door-to-door salesman Ronnie Fender.
Exploits of crime writer Vogler.
A retired Major tries to adjust to civilian life.
Dermot is a London-born Irishman who hates everything about England, but has never even been to the ""Old Country.""
Two young girls about town share a flat.
Albert Fawkes hates his surname and rebels against it by trying to re-enact the Gunpowder Plot.
Northern Arthur Berry develops an interest in art.
Lawyer Mossy advises Mrs Emily Trout and her family of crooks.
Exploits of two charladies at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
A window cleaner witnesses an extramarital affair and is soon involved in farcical cover-up shenanigans.
Exploits of a pair of mismatched elderly friends.
The ups and downs of a Northern married couple.
Exploits of marriage bureau owner John Cook.
Mrs Fanwyn runs her Khartoum House Girls Hostel with a firm hand.
Sydney Lord hates beaurocracy and determines to fight it whenever he finds it.
Mad keen football fan Arnold Birtwhistle is mascot of Northtown Football Club, but new chairman Mr Gibson wants to change the club's image.
Match seller Gomorrah Weevil tangles with slum landlord Harold Harbinger.
Barnaby Spoot, the lowly assistant in a novelty shop managed by short-tempered Mr Bostock, is determined to make his mark in the novelty trade by inventing new gags. Unfortunately, his latest device is typical: a talking cheese (the Chatty Cheddar) that no one wants. So Spoot decides to wreak revenge on the conglomerate that controls the shop by assassinating the entire board of directors with....
Arthur Pratt struggles to break away from his domineering mother.
32-year-old Ambrose Twombly yearns to fall in love.
Problems of Ted coping with a wife and four daughters.
Stories of various couples who have 'used' a chaise longue through the years.
Murray tries to learn ""The Knowledge' (all the streets in London) in order to qualify as a taxi driver.
A solo vehicle for comedian Roy Hudd, later developed into a six-episode series, with no continuing characters or situations.
Working class bigot Alf fights with his more liberal daughter and son-in-law on every conceivable issue.
Time and Motion man Kingsley Binns lets his job spill over into his private life.
Exploits of three sailors on leave in 1910.
Misadventures of Captain Para Handy and his hapless crew aboard ""The Vital Spark.""
A twleve-year-old schoolboy has written a winning essay on the works of children's author Betsy Mae Meadows. His prize is a visit to her home—and naturally she detests actual children.
The misadventures of a group of clergymen in the cloisters of a cathedral.
Two married sisters living next door to one another are locked in a continuous battle of one-upmanship.
The Dean of co-educational Sheridan College at the University of Wessex is shocked by the appointment of a new female bursar whom he was once close to.
Elijah Jones believes the world is about to end and plans to build himself an Ark and stock it with stolen animals.
The misadventures of the Maintenance Men at Saracens Manufacturing.
A businessman has to start again when his wife leaves him.
Complications arise in the lives of Ern and Is Conway, proprietors of an unsuccessful dancing school, when Ern forgets their seventh wdding anniversary.
Misadventures of an inept MP.
Advertising executive Thomas Jones finds himself irresistible to women, but would prefer to concentrate on his job and his fiancée Sally.
Released from prison after a 10 year sentence, Hughie wants to return straight to the comfort of his cell.
Mother and housewife Jennifer Corner copes with the running of her household.
Arthur Machin, owner of a small engineering works, is determined to get the most out of his employees.
A couple are expecting an inheritance from their elderly uncle, but a spanner is put in the works by a prospective new heir.
The exploits of the eccentric Earl of Ickenham.
A good-cause-supporting couple don't like it when a pair of ""Kilburn Refugees"" take up residence in their garden.
Nick, the son of the devil, decides that Hell needs to be more trendy and with-it.
Exploits of super salesman James Franklin-Jones or FJ as he is known as he travels the globe for Balsom Plastics and seeking out 'crumpet' at every opportunity.
Exploits of a trade union secretary.
A lonely couple decide to sell their house so that potential buyers can be treated as new friends.
Next-door neighbor Aggie Plunkett has her eye on Fred, a widower of twelve years; but there are his three daughters to contend with.
Misadventures of diplomats working in the Iron Curtain state of Vulgaria.
In Victorian times a group of women work in a milliners.
Stories of a married show business couple.
The adventures of Irishman Bunjy Kennefick, a top executive with a London company. His jet-set bachelor lifestyle of fast cars and faster women makes him the envy of his friends—until, that is, they meet his ever-present mother.
Edward Wilkins is looking forward to his retirement, but things don't turn out as planned.
Two young Liverpudlian girls share a flat.
A pair of bored hacks working on a Welsh newspaper decide to invent stories and sell them on to Fleet Street.
Misadventures of a pair of Jewish multimillionaires.
The exploits of a jobbing cook.
Episodes in the life of the decidedly strange Love family.
Stanley Mold is determined to make a man out of his son Peregrine.
A newly wed husband faces problems when he learns his wife is a useless cook.
Misadventures of brothers Stephen and Robert Jugg.
Character actor James Grout flexed his comedy muscles in the role of military man Major Gissing, but his usual sterling performance failed to rescue this Comedy Playhouse project from the one-off file. (BBCi Comedy Guide)
Exploits of escort Jimmy Sampson.
Exploits of Reggie Turpin, a 19th century photography enthusiast.
Wendy Hillbright is the managing director of a steel works, unfortunately one where her troublesome father also works.
Misadventures of a pair of undertakers.
Exploits of the residents of an old folks home.
The misadventures of a pair of window cleaning Cockney brothers, one of whom happens to be black, the other white.
Old World War One veteran Sam Oakley hates everything about the modern world.
Exploits of two down-at-heel theatrical agents.
The exploits of a group of a group of female traffic wardens.
Claire and Harry Love face problems with their teenage daughter.
Kenyan Uncle Tulip arrives in England to look after his neice and nephew and is shocked to discover how English they've become.
Misadventures of one George Idle.
During WWII, German Major Sperling has his cushy existence in a rural village put under strain by the arrival by the arrival of a tough Gestapo officer.
Exploits of a group of Highland soldiers, especially Private McAuslan.
The shady exploits of a pair of con men.
Derek advertises for a flatmate. When Leonora arrives his tidy bachelor domain is soon disrupted by a feminine touch.
Two old rivals decide to make up at the funeral of a friend.
Pilot for BBC's "Happy Ever After" series.
Terry and June Fletcher are a middle-aged, middle-class couple who find themselves alone when their grown-up children, daughters Susan and Debbie, leave home. However, they are not alone for long as Aunt Lucy comes to live with them, along with her talking mynah bird.Terry frequently hits upon an idea, which due to his foolhardy and obsessive manner he then continues with whatever the consequences, while June remains patient and tolerant.
Comedy about a family of incompetent criminals
A young man struggles to break free of his domineering mother.
A man and his wife wake one morning to discover that everyone else on Earth had just disappeared. After initial disbelief, they settle into looting stores until suddenly they come under mysterious sniper fire at the end.
Pygmalion 'Smithy' Smith, a less than glamorous photographer at an out of work holiday resort, tries to make a young girl into a star.
Divorcee Audrey Dalton learns she is going out with the same man as her daughter.
Archibald Mulliner enlists the help of his Uncle in wooing the girl of his dreams.
An episode of Comedy Playhouse where Trevor Bannister and Peter Bowles play two friends who tell their wives they play for a local cricket team. Every Sunday they grab their cricket gear and head off to the local cricket pitch. This is just a front because really they going off to meet their girlfriends as they do every Sunday. The deception goes on for quite some time until one weekend the wives decide to go with them. What happens next is hilarious.
A divorcee looks forward to being single again.
Pygmalion 'Smithy' Smith, a less than glamorous photographer at an out of work holiday resort, tries to make a young girl into a star.
Divorcée Audrey Dalton learns she is going out with the same man as her daughter.
Archibald Mulliner enlists the help of his Uncle in wooing the girl of his dreams.
Over to Bill is a sit com starring starring Hugh Dennis as a weatherman who manages to get fired from his job. Bill Onion is fired after making a joke live on air about the south of England being better than the north. A train of events follow which ends in his humiliation in front of an employer from a rival network.
Comedy set around the antics of Jimmy Miller and his ragtag family of mountain rescue volunteers. When the naive and enthusiastic Conor reports for his first day as a volunteer, Jimmy, the shambolic old rescue hand, takes it upon himself to teach Conor the ways of the hills. Conor's education begins in the pub, where he is introduced to the small mountain community of Jules, Bill, and Bernie. No-nonsense barmaid Jules runs the pub, the Busted Femur; Bill spends every living hour looking after dogs, and his social skills have suffered as a result; and Bernie is head of operations, happy to the point of delirium in her work. When the actual mountain rescuing begins, things go from bad to worse, and then to even worse than that
Gary has been defrauding the dole office for ten years. Faced with criminal prosecution, he decides to join a religious order to save himself from a long stretch of hardship and abstinence. However, it turns out monastic life is a lot like prison but with more praying. Rudley Abbey is a monastery under threat with only four monks remaining, so the abbot welcomes their new recruit - much to the annoyance of his deputy, Brother Francis. This could be Gary's chance to learn about himself, take some responsibility and bring some meaning to his life. Gary causes an expensive accident and is forced to raise money for the monastery, by increasingly unorthodox means. In the meantime, Brother Francis is forced to take measures to control his anger.
This episode follows how the big decisions can affect the little people in the hospital.
Five disparate groups of people, friends, partners and parents stories unfold.
Studio sitcom about three marriages in various states of disrepair. Rob and Cathy have been married for a long time, and it shows. Evan and Fiona's marriage is one big, noisy argument punctuated by even noisier make-up sex. And David and Georgy have just moved in next door to Rob and Cathy - he's in his 60s, she's in her 30s - firmly putting the (younger) cat amongst the (not very welcoming) pigeons. When things get tricky in these relationships the characters are able to stop the action, explain themselves directly to the audience and start it all up again.
Master of the pun Tim Vine journeys back in time to the days of Robin Hood in a quest to mend a golden arrow and a broken heart. Tim is in search of a celebrity for the grand opening of his antique shop. It just so happens that his very first customer is presenter and Strictly Come Dancing champion Ore Oduba, who asks Tim if he can mend his ancient golden arrow. Tim steps inside his very special Grandfather clock which travels him back in time to Sherwood Forest in the days of Robin Hood and his band of merry men. On arriving, Tim is greeted by Robin himself (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Ore Oduba). Robin is suffering from a broken heart. He has mysteriously lost his famous bullseye aim, and with it the love of Maid Marion. Tim must get to the bottom of the mystery but local tyrant and shouty killjoy, the Sheriff of Nottingham, is determined to drive him out of town. Can Tim get to the bottom of this skullduggery and help Robin regain his archery prowess and win back the love of Maid Marion? Will he be able to repair the broken arrow and secure Ore Oduba to cut the ribbon at the grand opening of Tim’s Antiques? Only time travel will tell...
Mister Winner is a sitcom starring Spencer Jones (Upstart Crow, Tim Vine Travels Through Time) as Leslie Winner, a well-meaning but hapless chap who is prone to accidents, complications and landing himself in unusual and often somewhat dangerous situations. Leslie plans to propose to his girlfriend, Jemma Smith (Aimee-Ffion Edwards - Skins, Peaky Blinders), but unknown to him, she is having doubts about their relationship as he doesn’t take life seriously enough. Jemma is a young professional from Croydon who loves Leslie, but doesn’t know if that’s enough as he doesn’t have a job, any money, or ever take her anywhere. But he makes her laugh more than anyone else ever has. Jemma’s parents, Chris and Teresa, (Shaun Williamson - EastEnders, Extras; Dorothy Atkinson - Call The Midwife, Mum) have stuck together through 30 years of marriage. Chris is managing stress with colouring books (although he didn’t realise there were ‘adult’ ones so is frequently seen colouring in pictures of elephants and children with balloons) and Teresa refuses to take life too seriously. Both are supportive of Leslie’s endeavours to win Jemma’s hand in marriage, even after Leslie has an accident with Chris’s prize possessions, his Koi Carp. Leslie attempts a big proposal on a weekend break to London. After an eventful open-top bus tour, questionable accommodation and a surprise trip to the aquarium, this all results in an impromptu swim in a shark tank. Will Leslie win Jemma over?
Not only is Rob now jobless, but he’s now having to live on a sofabed in his parents’ caravan in a holiday park 80 miles from London whilst he figures out his next move. It seems like a disaster to begin with, but his mum’s delighted to have someone to cook for, and his dad’s figured out how to get thousands of football channels on the telly. Before long Rob’s getting used to being with mum and dad again, and through them he’s quickly drawn into the world of the park, not to mention the extraordinary characters within it. Static is at heart a family sitcom - warm, working-class, multi-generational and broad, with acutely and affectionately observed characters.
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