
Hancock's Half Hour Episode Rating Graph
Jul 1956 - Jun 1961

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Jul 1956 - Jun 1961
5.9
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Hancock's Half Hour is a BBC television comedy series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock with Sid James. The final series, renamed simply Hancock, starred Hancock alone. Comedian Tony Hancock starred in the show, playing an exaggerated and much poorer version of his own character and lifestyle, Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, a down-at-heel comedian living at the dilapidated 23 Railway Cuttings in East Cheam. The series was influential in the development of the situation comedy, with its move away from radio variety towards a focus on character development.
S5 Ep4
9.8
16th Oct 1959
Hancock is the foreman of the Jury and stands alone in declaring the petty criminal innocent. But when Sid discovers how much he is earning a day as a juror, he joins Hancock's side and sets about trying to convince the others.
S6 Ep4
9.0
25th Mar 1960
Hancock decides to hold a reunion with his wartime pals. But a lot of time has elapsed since he last saw them and people do change.
S5 Ep3
9.0
9th Oct 1959
Hancock's house is falling down and needs a lot of work. In order for the National Trust to renovate it for him he needs to convince them that someone famous lived there. Sid shows Hancock evidence that Byron lived at Railway Cuttings. But is the poet Byron or someone more recent?
S3 Ep9
9.0
2nd Dec 1957
Hancock becomes a lawyer but when he defends an obviously guilty Sid James in court he finds himself the subject of a guilty verdict.
S5 Ep2
8.7
2nd Oct 1959
Sid asks Hancock to lend him the money to open a fish and chip shop but Hancock refuses. Sid tells Hancock that he'll get the money somehow, but how will he do it? Hancock believes that Sid is planning to murder him, but Sid is convinced that his own life is in danger.
S7 Ep5
8.6
23rd Jun 1961
Hancock decides to give a pint of blood. But he is alarmed when he discovers he has to give very nearly an armful, and he is determined to find out who it goes to.
S5 Ep1
8.6
25th Sep 1959
Hancock and Sid return from holiday to discover that Sid has failed to cancel any deliveries and has left every electrical appliance in the house on. Hancock decides that in order to make ends meet he and Sid must go on an economy drive. But Hancock soon encounters difficulties in the local self service café, and the stairs at home prove problematic as well.
S6 Ep10
8.5
6th May 1960
Hancock is upset by a steady stream of unpleasant letters. But when the police keep a watch on the post box where the letters are being posted, Sid discovers that Hancock has been writing the letters to himself, in his sleep.
S6 Ep6
8.5
8th Apr 1960
Hancock and Sid decide to earn some extra cash by signing on as babysitters. The pleasant evening is spoiled when they start arguing over the TV and the baby starts crying. But who are those two extra visitors?
S6 Ep2
8.5
11th Mar 1960
Hancock takes out a murder mystery book from the library. When he discovers that the last page is missing he is determined to deduce who the killer is. But when he finds that it's too complicated to decipher he decides to track down a copy of the complete book.
S5 Ep10
8.5
27th Nov 1959
Hancock only needs one more draw to secure the top payout on the Football Pools. As the match is a local one with a late kick-off, Hancock and Sid go along to cheer on each team equally.
S5 Ep7
8.5
6th Nov 1959
Hancock is really looking forward to a big night out with Sid and two girls. But his preparations turn to disaster when his shirt is ruined at the launderette and his barber doesn't have a steady hand with his razor.
S1 Ep1
3.7
6th Jul 1956
Hancock has a broken leg but Sid insists that the show must go on and so the show is broadcast from Hancock's hospital bed.
S2 Ep1
6.3
1st Apr 1957
Hancock upsets his fellow passengers on a flight to Switzerland and then discovers that he has to share his room at the hotel. Initially he thinks that he is sharing with an attractive French girl only to discover that it is really a yodeller and Alpine Horn player.
S3 Ep12
6.5
23rd Dec 1957
Hancock presents his own variety show from the Television Theatre - but he has asked Sid to provide all the acts.
S7 Ep2
6.5
2nd Jun 1961
Hancock plays the part of Old Joshua Merryweather in the radio show The Bowmans (which sounds rather similar to The Archers). But his behaviour and the number of different dialects that he uses causes him to be thrown off the show. However public opinion demands his return - but he in turn demands a few changes.
S3 Ep5
6.8
28th Oct 1957
Hancock takes on a new job as an air steward. But one of the passengers on his first flight is Sid who is on the run from the police, and the other passengers include four police officers looking for a bank robber.
S3 Ep11
7.0
16th Dec 1957
Hancock buys a house from Sid but discovers that there's an airfield at the bottom of his garden. Returning to Sid dissatisfied, he is forced to try to sell the house himself but he has considerable difficulties.
S4 Ep1
7.0
26th Dec 1958
Sid has persuaded Hancock to make a dramatic film which the BBC have agreed to broadcast. But Hancock is worried; after all, when shooting started Sid's production company didn't even have a movie camera.
S5 Ep9
7.0
20th Nov 1959
Sid is struggling to find work for Hancock and the latest roles he has secured involve Hancock standing in national dress outside Indian restaurants. Hancock decides to try new locations and goes to Spain where he is unsuccessful as a nightclub comic. Penniless and unable to return home, Sid manages to find a new job for Hancock. The question is: how successful will he be as a bullfighter?
S7 Ep1
7.0
26th May 1961
Hancock is alone in his Earl's Court bed-sit and tries to master a Bertrand Russell book, fails to get the TV to work and almost gets invited to a party.
S7 Ep3
7.0
9th Jun 1961
Hancock has bought himself a radio transmitter/receiver and he is able to converse with remote parts of the world, discussing the weather and playing games of Snakes & Ladders and Chess. But when he receives a 'Mayday' call he has to contend with the landlady's husband and uncooperative electricity meters.
S7 Ep6
7.0
30th Jun 1961
Hancock decides that it's time to have children to 'carry on the line'. He selects three eligible girls and proposes to them all but is refused. Whilst he is still arguing with the third, the other two return having changed their minds.
S6 Ep3
7.3
18th Mar 1960
Hancock decides that he will emigrate, but no-one will take him. Knowing Sid's past he asks for his assistance, but the 'luxury cruise liner' Sid arranges has a very short gang plank and a very unusual crew.
S1 Ep1
3.7
6th Jul 1956
Hancock has a broken leg but Sid insists that the show must go on and so the show is broadcast from Hancock's hospital bed.
S1 Ep2
20th Jul 1956
Hancock decides to become an artist and buys up some old canvases to paint over. However, one is a stolen Rembrandt and one of Sid's cronies is forced to buy up all of Hancock's paintings to retrieve it.
S1 Ep3
3rd Aug 1956
At last Hancock secures a film role... but only if he can dance. Sid provides lessons for Hancock and enters him into a local dancing Championship Contest, but is forced to become his partner in the competition (in drag)!
S1 Ep4
17th Aug 1956
Uncle Obadiah leaves Hancock a fortune provided that he gets married. Hancock starts to look for his future wife with the help of the Sid James Marriage Bureau.
S1 Ep5
31st Aug 1956
Broadcast from the National Radio Show, Earl's Court, this episode comprised a number of sketches including the The Red Army Choir... British style!
S1 Ep6
14th Sep 1956
The cast play the parts in the story of 'Iggins, a cook who becomes a well respected chef but subsequently fails and loses everything due to drink.