Region 2 UK Import
13 discs in 3 digipack presented in a lift-off lid box. The lid has seem splits on two sides as shown but this can easily be repaired.
Discs as-new
Created by Jimmy Perry (Dad's Army, You Rang M'Lord) and David Croft (Dad's Army, Are You Being Served? Allo Allo)
Inspired by Perry's time serving as a Redcoat at Butlin's, the series takes place in the fictional Maplins holiday camp in Essex towards the end of the traditional British holiday period of the 1950s. The episodes themselves focus on the lives of the camp's entertainers and staff, who frequently greet campers with the titular phrase "Hi-de-Hi!", and consist mostly of struggling actors, comedians, wannabe stars, and has-been entertainers.
Synopsis
Hi-de-Hi! is set within a holiday camp in the fictional town of Crimpton-on-Sea, Essex, covering the summer holiday seasons of 1959 and 1960. Owned by Maplins, run by the enigmatic owner Joe Maplin, the camp operates in a similar manner to real-life holiday camps, providing entertainment and activities through its staff of Yellowcoats a parody of the real-life Redcoats, Bluecoats, and Greencoats. The Yellowcoats are led by Ted Bovis, the camp host, and consist of three different groups of entertainers.
Many of the stories focus on the relationships between the characters, the constant issues that arise from Ted's attempts to scam the camp's holidaymakers, and other issues sometimes brought on by Maplin himself.
Cast
Paul Shane as Edward "Ted" Bovis The Camp's Entertainment Host, and a former entertainer. Tasked with greeting and entertaining campers, but also secretly runs scams and rackets to make money on the side. After the show concluded in 1988, Shane would be one of several cast members to work on later sitcoms by Croft.
Ruth Madoc as Gladys Pugh The Camp's radio announcer and sports organiser. The writers devised her to be the romantic foils for the entertainment managers throughout the series, while being snobbish around the Yellowcoats and Peggy.
Jeffrey Holland as Spike Dixon The camp's chief comic for the 1959 and 1960 season, acting as Ted's conscience during times when his scheming could lead to trouble. Holland would join with Shane on working on further sitcoms made by Croft following Hi-de-Hi!
Su Pollard as Peggy Ollerenshaw A chalet maid at Maplins, with dreams of becoming a Yellowcoat and achieving stardom. This dream became a recurring element in some of the stories for Hi-de-Hi. Like Shane, she would continue to work on further sitcoms by Croft after the programme concluded.
Simon Cadell as Professor Jeffrey Fairbrother (Series 1 - 5) The camp's entertainment manager for the 1959 season; a former archaeology professor from Cambridge University, who takes the job to escape academia and meet "real people". However, he struggles to adapt and is wooden when making speeches or presenting to campers. Cadell left the sitcom after the fifth series to focus on other projects.
Felix Bowness as Fred Quilley The camp's riding instructor for horse rides, and a former race jockey. Bowness would join in with Croft's later sitcoms following Hi-de-Hi, but would have less prominence as a recurring guest star.
Diane Holland as Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves An upper-class dance instructor, part of a husband-and-wife pair of former ballroom champions. Yvonne sees herself as a cut above the rest of the campers - and even her husband Barry.
Barry Howard as Barry Stuart-Hargreaves (Series 1 - 7) Yvonne's husband and dance partner. Like Yvonne, he presents an upper-class demeanour; however, she is quick to remind him of his lowlier root, as well as his real name, "Bert Pratt". Although popular with viewers for his deadpan attitude while in character, Howard had to leave the show due to personal problems.
Leslie Dwyer as Mr William Partridge (Series 1 - 6) A children's entertainer, working as "Whimsical Willie" the Punch and Judy man at Maplins, who has a drinking problem and a dislike of children. Formerly a music hall performer, his career was cut short by World War I and he has remained bitter ever since. Dwyer was forced to drop out midway through the production of the sixth series due to his declining health, and the writers worked to write his character out of the sitcom in response, where he faked his death to run away with a barmaid.
Nikki Kelly as Sylvia Garnsey A female Yellowcoat staff member, with a flirtatious behaviour with the camp's entertainment managers. The writers devised Kelly's character to be a constant foil towards that of Madoc's character, with the sitcom exploring their relationship over the two holiday seasons.
David Griffin as Clive Dempster (Series 6 - 9) The camp's entertainment manager for the 1960 season; an upper-class former wartime hero. Although sharing a similar background to his predecessor, Dempster had a slightly shifty nature with money, and was not above getting involved with Ted's schemes. Griffin was brought in to replace Cadell following his departure.
Ben Aris as Julian Dalrymple-Sykes (Series 5, Series 8 - 9) A dance instructor and a former lover of Yvonne, brought in to replace Barry after his departure. Aris initially made a guest appearance in the fifth series, and was considered the best choice to replace Howard after his departure.
Kenneth Connor as Sammy Morris (Series 7 - 9) A shady children's entertainer, brought into replace Partidge during the 1960 season. Connor was brought in to replace Dwyer following his departure, initially having a guest appearance in the seventh series, before joining the cast for the final two series of the sitcom.
David Webb as Stanley Mathews, and Tony Webb as Bruce Mathews Identical twin brother Yellowcoats. Both David and Tony maintained minor roles to begin with, but with given more involvement by the third series. In the credits, both brothers are referred to as "The Webb Twins".
Chris Andrews as Gary Bolton A male Yellowcoat staff member. Originally portrayed by Terence Creasy in the pilot, the character was unnamed to begin with and played a minor role, before writers gave Andrews more prominence by the start of the third series.
Rikki Howard as Betty Whistler (Series 1 - 5) A female Yellowcoat staff member for the 1959 holiday season, with a strong dislike of Gladys' overbearing nature towards herself and some of the other female staff. Howard left the sitcom after the fifth series for unknown reasons.
Susan Beagley as Tracey Bentwood (Series 3 - 5) A female Yellowcoat staff member for the 1959 holiday season, who, like Betty, clashes with Gladys' personality on the camp. Like
Rikki Howard, Beagley left the sitcom for unknown reasons after the fifth series.
Linda Regan as April Wingate (Series 6 - 9) A female Yellowcoat staff member for the 1960 holiday season, with a somewhat childish personality. Writers devised the character to be a love interest for Spike, with a number of stories looking in to the development of their relationship with each other.
Laura Jackson as Dawn Freshwater (Series 6 - 9) A female Yellowcoat staff member for the 1960 holiday season. Jackson's character was devised by the writers to be similar to that of previous Yellowcoat women, but with a secret attraction to Dempster during the final holiday season for the camp.
Ewan Hooper as Alec Foster (Series 8 - 9) Maplin's Camp Controller, abusing his power at every turn until Sammy Morris gets him recalled to Head Office.
