THE IDOL

Hancock's Half Hour (Radio) First Series - Programme 3

In an attempt to cure Hancock of an attack of big-headedness brought on by one fan letter, Moira and Bill hire the girls from a local factory to mob him. The trouble is stopping them.

Cast
Tony Hancock
Bill Kerr
Moira Lister
Sidney James
Alan Simpson

Programme Guide

While Hancock is in the bathroom combing his chest, Bill and Moira discuss his current strange behaviour.
Hancock has received one fan letter telling him that he's "the most handsome comedian on radio today" and he is now suffering from a swollen head and inflated ego to such an extent that he's had himself "done" in oils. He tells Moira she must now pretend to be his mother, for the sake of his fans.
Bill decides to teach him a lesson by hiring 200 girls from the local factory to stand and scream outside his house and mob him. Next morning, the girls are as good as their word and sure enough, when Hancock attempts to leave the house, they tear his clothes off. Quickly back inside, he asks Bill to get him a beer barrel to cover his embarrassment.
He then gives vent to his frustrations: "I want to share myself amongst my fans, but they're not getting a bit each!" After two more abortive attempts, he tries again in disguise, but it's no better: "Beard, dark glasses, wig, long overcoat, mask, (opens the door) - barrel". After three days, Hancock has lost all his clothes and Moira feels that he has been through enough. "Look at him standing there in his little barrel; I feel so sorry for him". "Why?", asks Bill. "Because it fits", she replies. Bill goes out to call the girls off, but they attack him also and just refuse to be stopped.
Desperate situations call for desperate measures and Bill suggests that they ask Sid for help. "But he's a criminal", protests Hancock. "He's not", says Bill, "He's just got strange ways". Sid brings his two 'boys', Maurice 'the Mangler', 'Shoulders' McGirk and 'Steamroller' Fred, to resolve matters. They try: the result - "Four more barrels, please"!
After two weeks, food is getting short, so, as a last resort, they decide to tunnel their way out of. Sid and his boys escape by catching an underground train, but Moira, Bill and Hancock surface in the pickle factory.

All in all, this is an enjoyable show, although plot credibility wears a bit thin in places - for instance, no adequate reason is given to explain how Sid and his boys can enter the house unscathed. This can be forgiven, since the cast seem to have gained in confidence, Moira Lister in particular, and they are all working together more as a team. Hancock's performance seems to be less frantic and carries more authority than in the earlier episodes.

Sid's 'boys' are played by Alan Simpson, uttering suitable grunts and groans. Galton and Simpson have a talent for extracting laughs out of the criminal fraternity - for example in the "Steptoe and Son" episodes "The Desperate Hours" (with Leonard Rossiter) and "Kung Fu" (with Henry Woolf) quite apart from Sid himself.