Hi-de-Hi! is a BBC television sitcom that was shown on BBC1 from 1980 to 1988. It is set in Maplins, a fictional holiday camp, during 1959 and the early 1960s. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who also wrote Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum amongst others. The title was the greeting the campers heard and in early episodes was written Hi de Hi. The series revolved around the lives of the camp's management and entertainers, most of them struggling actors or has-beens. The inspiration was the experience of writers Perry and Croft: after being demobilised from the Army, Perry was a Redcoat at Butlins, Pwllheli during the holiday season. The series gained large audiences and won a BAFTA as Best Comedy Series in 1984. In 2004, it came 40th in Britain's Best Sitcom and in a 2008 poll on Channel 4, Hi-de-Hi! was voted the 35th most popular comedy catchphrase. In 2014, Jimmy Perry confirmed that Hi-de-Hi! would be repeated, and it reappeared from 2 February 2015 on BBC Two as part of Afternoon Classics alongside To the Manor Born and Open All Hours. Professor Jeffrey Fairbrother (Simon Cadell) Clive Dempster DFC (David Griffin) Ted Bovis (Paul Shane) Gladys Pugh (Ruth Madoc) Peggy Ollerenshaw (Su Pollard) Alec Foster (Ewan Hooper) (Series 8, Series 9) Harold Fox (Gavin Richards) (Series 5–7) Joan Wainwright (Cheryl Murray) (Series 4) Joe Maplin (Camp Owner) Spike Dixon (Jeffrey Holland) Camp Comic Fred Quilley (Felix Bowness) Riding Instructor Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves (Diane Holland) Dancing Instructress Barry Stuart-Hargreaves (Series 1–7) (Barry Howard) William Partridge (Series 1–7) Julian Dalrymple-Sykes (Ben Aris) (Series 5, Series 8-9) Dancing Instructor Uncle Sammy Morris (Series 7, Series 8-9) (Kenneth Connor) Children's Entertainer Marty Storm (Series 1) (Richard Cottan) Elvis Presley Impersonator Sylvia Garnsey (Nikki Kelly) Stanley Mathews (David Webb) Bruce Mathews (Tony Webb) Gary Bolton (Terence Creasy/Chris Andrews) Betty Whistler (Series 1–5) (Rikki Howard) Mary (Series 1) (Penny Irving) Val (Series 2) (Gail Harrison) Tracey Bentwood (Series 3–5) (Susan Beagley) Hilda (Series 1) (Marianne Tollast) April Wingate (Series 6–9) (Linda Regan) Dawn Freshwater (Series 6–9) (Laura Jackson) Babs Weaver (Series 6–7) (Julie-Christian Young) Charlie Dawson (Series 5) (Johnny Allan) Tony (Series 7) (Graham Stark) Mrs Baxter (Lally Bowers) Mr Turner (Series 8–9) (Billy Burden) Ramona (Jean Lear) Jimmy Jasper (Series 9) (Brian Godfrey) Henry (Gordon Peters) Plumber (Series 6) (Ronnie Brody) Percy (Series 9) (Paddy Ward) Miss Cathcart Bert Swanley and the Debonaires Fred Larkin Bert Green Rupert the Pudding Chef Charles Dempster (Dennis Ramsden) Winifred Dempster (Mavis Pugh) General Sir Claude Dempster (Peter Fontaine) Bishop Simon Dempster (Fred Bryant) Admiral Neville Dempster (Iain Anders)

• published: 18 Mar 2015
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