'' was a popular
Situation Comedy which, after a
1980 pilot, ran on
BBC1 between
1981 and
1988 .
''Hi-De-Hi!'' was set in a
Holiday Camp during the
1950s and
1960s and was drawn from the real-life experiences of writers
Jimmy Perry and
David Croft . The series featured the staff employed to entertain the campers. The fictional chain of camps was loosely based on
Butlin's , the real-life holiday camp empire of
Billy Butlin , with his
Redcoat s replaced with Yellowcoats.
The title was the phrase used to greet the campers at events, and was one of a number of memorable , a seaside holiday location, or
Rock (confectionery) traditionally sold at UK holiday venues.)
In common with a number of other
British Sitcoms such as ''
Dad's Army '' and ''
Goodnight Sweetheart '', the sitcom was a nostalgia vehicle, although no less successful because of this; the programme came 40th in the
BBC 's 2004 poll to find
Britain's Best Sitcom .
In the
Pilot Episode , a
Cambridge University professor, Jeffrey Fairbrother (
Simon Cadell ) is tired of his life in academia, and applies to become the manager of a holiday camp, a position that he duly achieves. This annoys the portly camp entertainer, Ted Bovis (
Paul Shane ), who wanted the job. During the pilot, it becomes clear that Fairbrother is not really suited to his new job, but after an elderly couple, who have not had a happy life, approach him at the end to thank him for a lovely time, he decides to stay on.
Most episodes involved Ted Bovis and his dimwitted sidekick Spike Dixon (
Jeffrey Holland ) attempting to scam the well-meaning Fairbrother, who also has to avoid the romantic approaches of sharp-tongued senior Yellowcoat, Gladys Pugh (
Ruth Madoc ) from
Wales , as he is currently divorcing his wife.
Other characters included wannabe Yellowcoat cleaning lady Peggy Ollerenshaw (
Su Pollard ); Barry and Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves, a pair of snobbish dance instructors; Fred Quilly, a jockey (played by
Felix Bowness ); dipsomaniacal, alcoholic, child-hating
Punch And Judy man, Mr Partridge, and various leggy Yellowcoat girls.
The cast changed over the years, most significantly with Simon Cadell leaving and being replaced by
David Griffin , playing
Squadron Leader Clive Dempster DFC.
Leslie Dwyer 's
Punch And Judy man Mr. Partridge, who was in his seventies when the series started in 1980, retired in
1984 and was replaced by veteran comic actor
Kenneth Connor as Uncle Sammy.
Several principal members of the cast were reunited in another period piece by the same writers called ''
You Rang, M'Lord? '' in the early
1990s , and again in ''
Oh, Doctor Beeching! '' by David Croft and
Richard Spendlove .
- The show was actually filmed at a real holiday camp, "Warners" in the town of Dovercourt near Harwich in Essex . Sadly, after the series ended the camp closed and the site was demolished, to be replaced by a housing estate.
- Former Goon Harry Secombe was originally considered for the part of Ted Bovis.
- The pilot episode and first two seasons of “Hi-De-Hi” were actually filmed during early spring (1979-81) before the real life “Warner’s” holiday camp was opened to the public for the summer season. This is noticeable during the “outdoor” scenes because most of the trees on the camp site are bare. Since it was so cold during filming a lot of the outdoor scenes, the cast were continuously complaining about having to appear in “summer” clothing – and Jeffrey Holland (“Spike Dixon”) was treated for hypothermia during season one because his character spent most of the time in the swimming pool. As a result, the BBC moved filming to during the summer (some scenes at the camp were filmed elsewhere) and during September.
- Because the show was gaining a huge following and becoming a firm favourite with the viewers, the BBC decided to air seasons 3 & 4 back-to-back – the first and only time the BBC has ever done this with one of their own shows.
- “Holiday Rock (Hi-De-Hi, Ho-De-Ho)”, the show’s theme became a chart hit in 1981. Sung by Paul Shane (“Ted Bovis”) – and featuring several members of the cast on backing vocals – “Holiday Rock…..” was performed on BBC TV’s “Top Of The Pops” show in 1981.
- “Hi-De-Hi” became a popular summer theatre musical production during the early years of the TV series. Labelled as a “summer pantomime” by its critics, the production featured most of the TV cast plus several new characters. The “summer show” didn’t follow the TV storylines, but it was a success nonetheless. It was short lived, however, when some of the cast said that filming the TV series and doing the summer show limited their offers of acting jobs elsewhere.
- At the height of the show’s popularity, the BBC had plans to make the show into a movie (in the same way they had other Croft & Perry productions like “Dad’s Army”).
- “Hi De Hi” was one of the first BBC shows to capitalise on the merchandise market. Merchandise such as board games, albums, books, toys and t-shirts were available to buy.
- Felix Bowness (“Fred Quilley”) was something of a newcomer to television when “Hi De Hi” made its debut. However, Bowness had made his name as being one of TV’s best “warm-up men” – comedians who get an in-studio TV audience warmed up before the show either goes out live or is taped.
- DVD production company “Play Back Universal” ran into a few problems when releasing the first four seasons on DVD because they didn’t hold the rights to the soundtrack. As a result, some of the episodes during seasons 1-4 have been heavily edited on DVD. There are no plans at present to release any more seasons on DVD.
- Apart from “Only Fools And Horses” and “Porridge”, “Hi De Hi” is the most repeated British comedy on TV nostalgia channel, “UKTV Gold”
- “Hi-De-Hi” was actor’s Leslie Dwyer’s final acting role. By the time the BBC began filming season six of the show, Dwyer’s health began deteriorating. Because of that, Dwyer filmed most of his scenes for that particular series over the space of three days. When it was decided his ill-health would mean Dwyer would not be able to fulfil his obligations to the show, the season finale was changed and the “Who Killed Mr Partridge?” story line was written. Ironically, “Who Killed Mr Partridge?” (Parts 1 &2) became the series most watched episodes. Leslie Dwyer died 18 months later.
- Continuity error: During the first season, the holiday camp in question is said to be on the East coast of England. From season two onwards, the holiday camp is supposed to be on the South coast.
- In spite of popular belief, the show was not axed because of falling ratings. The BBC decided to end “Hi De Hi “ because the cast felt they were too old playing characters who were obviously supposed to be younger than the actors playing them!
- Although it never transpired, the role of “Joe Maplin” was originally meant for Bob Monkhouse. Unfortunately, Bob declined the offer, and since Croft and Perry had their hearts set on casting Monkhouse in the series, the role of Joe Maplin was never given to anyone else.
- Simon Cadell, who played Jeffrey Fairbrother, is the son-in-law of Hi De Hi co-creator, David Croft
Diane Holland, who played Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves is the sister-in-law of Jimmy Perry.
