-
The Missing Hancocks: The Complete BBC Radio Series
- New Recordings of Classic ‘Lost’ Scripts
- Narrated by: Susy Kane, Simon Greenall, Kevin Eldon, Andy Secombe, Kevin McNally, Robin Sebastian, Margaret Cabourn-Smith
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $18.88
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Kevin McNally and Andy Secombe star in new recordings of original Hancock's Half Hour scripts by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Between 1954 and 1959, BBC Radio recorded 102 episodes of the hugely popular comedy classic, Hancock's Half Hour. The first modern sitcom, Hancock's Half Hour made stars of Tony Hancock, Sid James and Kenneth Williams, and launched Ray Galton and Alan Simpson as one of the most successful comedy-writing partnerships in history.
Sadly, 22 episodes of the show went missing from the BBC archives and have not been heard since their original transmission nearly 60 years ago - until Radio 4 lovingly recreated them over four highly-acclaimed series between 2014 and 2020. In a special treat for Hancock fans, Series 4 also premiered one episode - The Counterfeiter - that was never recorded by the original team.
Complete with the classic score performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, these hilarious episodes were recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre in front of a live audience. Kevin McNally stars as The Lad Himself, with Andy Secombe playing the role of his father Harry and a stellar cast including Simon Greenall, Kevin Eldon, Robin Sebastian, Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Susy Kane.
Also featured is a bonus director's commentary for The Matador, in which Andy Hamilton chats to Kevin McNally and co-producer Neil Pearson about the joys and challenges of recreating a 1950s sitcom. In addition, we hear Kevin McNally and Robin Sebastian's riotous performance of 'The Test Pilot' sketch at the 2018 RAF centenary gala at the Royal Albert Hall and the interview they gave afterwards.
The episodes included in this collection are:
The Matador
The Newspaper
The Hancock Festival
The Breakfast Cereal
The New Neighbour
How Hancock Won the War
The Red Planet
The Marriage Bureau
A Visit to Russia
The Trial of Father Christmas
A Holiday in France
The Crown Jewels
The Racehorse
A Visit to Swansea
The Three Sons
The Winter Holiday
Department Store Santa
The Diamond Ring
Prime Minister Hancock
Christmas at Aldershot
The Counterfeiter
The Christmas Eve Party
The New Year Resolutions
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Produced by Ed Morrish, Neil Pearson, Paul Sheehan and Hayley Sterling. Music composed by Wally Stott and performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Levon Parikian. Thanks to Tessa Le Bars. A BBC Studios Production. Originally broadcast on the BBC Light Programme between 1954 and 1959.
Recreated for broadcast by BBC Radio Comedy for BBC Radio 4, 31st October - 28th November 2014 (Series 1), 23rd November - 21st December 2015 (Series 2), 14th March - 11th April 2017 (Series 3), 6th December 2018 - 31st December 2020 (Series 4).
Cast:
Tony Hancock - Kevin McNally
Bill Kerr - Kevin Eldon
Sid James - Simon Greenall
Kenneth Williams - Robin Sebastian
Andree Melly - Susy Kane
Moira Lister - Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Harry Secombe - Andy Secombe
Director's Commentary
Featuring Andy Hamilton, Kevin McNally and Neil Pearson.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Hancock’s Half Hour: The Marriage Bureau
- A lost episode of the classic radio comedy & more
- By: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
- Narrated by: Tony Hancock, Peter Sellers, Bill Kerr, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first ever publication of a long-lost episode of Hancock's Half Hour, featuring Peter Sellers - plus bonus material. Legendary sitcom Hancock's Half Hour ran for 102 episodes on BBC Radio between 1954 and 1959. Over 20 shows were subsequently lost - but now one of the funniest and most sought-after, 'The Marriage Bureau', has been rediscovered. The penultimate episode of Series 1, it features a unique appearance from Peter Sellers, standing in for Kenneth Williams. Available for the first time since its original broadcast in 1955, it sees Hancock looking for a job - and a wife...
By: Ray Galton, and others
-
Hancock’s Half Hour: Selected TV Soundtracks & more
- A BBC Classic Comedy Collection
- By: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
- Narrated by: Tony Hancock, Sid James, Bill Kerr, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over 30 brilliant BBC recordings, including TV shows, radio highlights and a wealth of previously unreleased material. Tony Hancock was one of Britain's best-loved and most influential post-war comedians. Collected here are some of the very best radio and TV episodes from Hancock's Half Hour, plus celebrations, compilations, interviews, original dramas and documentaries - many of which have never before been available on audio.
By: Ray Galton, and others
-
Hancock's Half Hour: Series 4
- 20 episodes of the classic BBC Radio comedy series
- By: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
- Narrated by: full cast, Sid James, Tony Hancock
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The fourth series of the legendary BBC Radio comedy series starring Tony Hancock. Created by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson in 1954, Hancock's Half Hour was the radio vehicle that made Tony Hancock a household name. Each week listeners would be admitted to the sometimes fantastical, sometimes mundane life of "the lad 'imself". Aided and abetted by Sid James, Bill Kerr Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques, Hancock would enter into the spirit of each episode with characteristic dolefulness.
By: Ray Galton, and others
-
Hancock’s Half Hour: Series 3
- Ten episodes of the classic BBC Radio comedy series
- By: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
- Narrated by: full cast, Tony Hancock, Sid James
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tony Hancock stars with Sid James and Kenneth Williams in the legendary BBC Radio comedy series. Created by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson in 1954, Hancock’s Half Hour was the radio vehicle that made Tony Hancock a household name. Each week listeners would be admitted to the sometimes fantastical, sometimes mundane life of “the lad 'imself”.
By: Ray Galton, and others
-
Hancock's Half Hour, Series 6
- 14 episodes of the classic BBC Radio comedy series
- By: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
- Narrated by: Sid James, Tony Hancock
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The complete final series of the ground-breaking BBC Radio comedy starring Tony Hancock - plus five bonus episodes. Created by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson in 1954, Hancock's Half Hour was the radio vehicle that made Tony Hancock a household name. Each week listeners would be admitted to the sometimes fantastical, sometimes mundane life of 'the lad 'imself'.
-
-
Headlines
- By michael a rozyla on 06-27-23
By: Ray Galton, and others
-
Hancock's Half Hour: Series 5
- 20 episodes of the classic BBC Radio comedy series
- By: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
- Narrated by: Sid James, Tony Hancock
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The complete fifth series of the legendary BBC Radio comedy series starring Tony Hancock. Created by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson in 1954, Hancock's Half Hour was the radio vehicle that made Tony Hancock a household name. Each week listeners would be admitted to the sometimes fantastical, sometimes mundane life of 'the lad 'imself'. Aided and abetted by Sid James, Bill Kerr, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques, Hancock would enter into the spirit of each episode with characteristic dolefulness.
By: Ray Galton, and others
-
Hancock’s Half Hour: The Marriage Bureau
- A lost episode of the classic radio comedy & more
- By: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
- Narrated by: Tony Hancock, Peter Sellers, Bill Kerr, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first ever publication of a long-lost episode of Hancock's Half Hour, featuring Peter Sellers - plus bonus material. Legendary sitcom Hancock's Half Hour ran for 102 episodes on BBC Radio between 1954 and 1959. Over 20 shows were subsequently lost - but now one of the funniest and most sought-after, 'The Marriage Bureau', has been rediscovered. The penultimate episode of Series 1, it features a unique appearance from Peter Sellers, standing in for Kenneth Williams. Available for the first time since its original broadcast in 1955, it sees Hancock looking for a job - and a wife...
By: Ray Galton, and others
-
Hancock’s Half Hour: Selected TV Soundtracks & more
- A BBC Classic Comedy Collection
- By: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
- Narrated by: Tony Hancock, Sid James, Bill Kerr, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over 30 brilliant BBC recordings, including TV shows, radio highlights and a wealth of previously unreleased material. Tony Hancock was one of Britain's best-loved and most influential post-war comedians. Collected here are some of the very best radio and TV episodes from Hancock's Half Hour, plus celebrations, compilations, interviews, original dramas and documentaries - many of which have never before been available on audio.
By: Ray Galton, and others
-
Hancock's Half Hour: Series 4
- 20 episodes of the classic BBC Radio comedy series
- By: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
- Narrated by: full cast, Sid James, Tony Hancock
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The fourth series of the legendary BBC Radio comedy series starring Tony Hancock. Created by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson in 1954, Hancock's Half Hour was the radio vehicle that made Tony Hancock a household name. Each week listeners would be admitted to the sometimes fantastical, sometimes mundane life of "the lad 'imself". Aided and abetted by Sid James, Bill Kerr Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques, Hancock would enter into the spirit of each episode with characteristic dolefulness.
By: Ray Galton, and others
-
Hancock’s Half Hour: Series 3
- Ten episodes of the classic BBC Radio comedy series
- By: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
- Narrated by: full cast, Tony Hancock, Sid James
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tony Hancock stars with Sid James and Kenneth Williams in the legendary BBC Radio comedy series. Created by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson in 1954, Hancock’s Half Hour was the radio vehicle that made Tony Hancock a household name. Each week listeners would be admitted to the sometimes fantastical, sometimes mundane life of “the lad 'imself”.
By: Ray Galton, and others
-
Hancock's Half Hour, Series 6
- 14 episodes of the classic BBC Radio comedy series
- By: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
- Narrated by: Sid James, Tony Hancock
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The complete final series of the ground-breaking BBC Radio comedy starring Tony Hancock - plus five bonus episodes. Created by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson in 1954, Hancock's Half Hour was the radio vehicle that made Tony Hancock a household name. Each week listeners would be admitted to the sometimes fantastical, sometimes mundane life of 'the lad 'imself'.
-
-
Headlines
- By michael a rozyla on 06-27-23
By: Ray Galton, and others
-
Hancock's Half Hour: Series 5
- 20 episodes of the classic BBC Radio comedy series
- By: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
- Narrated by: Sid James, Tony Hancock
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The complete fifth series of the legendary BBC Radio comedy series starring Tony Hancock. Created by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson in 1954, Hancock's Half Hour was the radio vehicle that made Tony Hancock a household name. Each week listeners would be admitted to the sometimes fantastical, sometimes mundane life of 'the lad 'imself'. Aided and abetted by Sid James, Bill Kerr, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques, Hancock would enter into the spirit of each episode with characteristic dolefulness.
By: Ray Galton, and others
Related to this topic
-
The Best Man's Ghostwriter
- By: Matthew Starr
- Narrated by: Glen Powell, Nicholas Braun, Ashley Park, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A bad best man’s speech can ruin a wedding. Why do we plan every detail of a perfect day and then give the groom’s idiot best friend five minutes of total power? Enter Nate (Glen Powell), a speechwriter-for-hire who helps people write incredible best man speeches. To keep the best man from embarrassing himself (and the newlyweds), Nate uses his list of don’ts: Don’t mention the exes, don’t be rated R, and don’t bum everyone out. Nate’s system never fails. That is, until he meets Dan (Nicholas Braun).
-
-
SO GOOD
- By Csutty on 09-23-24
By: Matthew Starr
-
Born a Crime
- Stories from a South African Childhood
- By: Trevor Noah
- Narrated by: Trevor Noah
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this award-winning Audible Studios production, Trevor Noah tells his wild coming-of-age tale during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa. It’s a story that begins with his mother throwing him from a moving van to save him from a potentially fatal dispute with gangsters, then follows the budding comedian’s path to self-discovery through episodes both poignant and comical.
-
-
Great book and perfect narration
- By MarilynArms on 12-15-16
By: Trevor Noah
-
Slaughterhouse-Five
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: James Franco
- Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Traumatized by the bombing of Dresden at the time he had been imprisoned, Pilgrim drifts through all events and history, sometimes deeply implicated, sometimes a witness. He is surrounded by Vonnegut's usual large cast of continuing characters (notably here the hack science fiction writer Kilgore Trout and the alien Tralfamadorians, who oversee his life and remind him constantly that there is no causation, no order, no motive to existence).
-
-
Don't Quit Your Daytime Job, James
- By Keith on 11-20-15
By: Kurt Vonnegut
-
The Great Indoors
- By: Ginny Hogan
- Narrated by: Mae Whitman
- Length: 3 hrs and 53 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice's journey begins as all good journeys do: hitting on the sales guy at REI. After a tumultuous breakup, a quick career transition, family upheaval, and a sobriety journey that didn't fix her life quite as much as she expected it to, Alice decides that the only way to solve all her problems is to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. But as she begins preparing for the months-long quest, she realizes the answers she's seeking might not be on top of a snow-covered mountain. Especially since she just learned there was snow in California.
-
-
Chuck full of laughs to lift anyone's spirits.
- By Laura Boogaert on 09-22-24
By: Ginny Hogan
-
I Can't Make This Up
- Life Lessons
- By: Neil Strauss - contributor, Kevin Hart
- Narrated by: Kevin Hart
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Superstar comedian and Hollywood box-office star Kevin Hart turns his immense talent to the written word by writing some words. Some of those words include: the, a, for, above, and even even. Put them together and you have the funniest, most heartfelt, and most inspirational memoir on survival, success, and the importance of believing in yourself since Old Yeller.
-
-
Best Audiobook I Ever Listened To
- By Sam Clear on 07-13-17
By: Neil Strauss - contributor, and others
-
American Psycho
- By: Bret Easton Ellis
- Narrated by: Pablo Schreiber
- Length: 16 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, Bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Expressing his true self through torture and murder, Bateman prefigures an apocalyptic horror that no society could bear to confront.
-
-
Fanntastic book but maybe not for everyone....
- By So Fain on 03-27-11
-
The Best Man's Ghostwriter
- By: Matthew Starr
- Narrated by: Glen Powell, Nicholas Braun, Ashley Park, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A bad best man’s speech can ruin a wedding. Why do we plan every detail of a perfect day and then give the groom’s idiot best friend five minutes of total power? Enter Nate (Glen Powell), a speechwriter-for-hire who helps people write incredible best man speeches. To keep the best man from embarrassing himself (and the newlyweds), Nate uses his list of don’ts: Don’t mention the exes, don’t be rated R, and don’t bum everyone out. Nate’s system never fails. That is, until he meets Dan (Nicholas Braun).
-
-
SO GOOD
- By Csutty on 09-23-24
By: Matthew Starr
-
Born a Crime
- Stories from a South African Childhood
- By: Trevor Noah
- Narrated by: Trevor Noah
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this award-winning Audible Studios production, Trevor Noah tells his wild coming-of-age tale during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa. It’s a story that begins with his mother throwing him from a moving van to save him from a potentially fatal dispute with gangsters, then follows the budding comedian’s path to self-discovery through episodes both poignant and comical.
-
-
Great book and perfect narration
- By MarilynArms on 12-15-16
By: Trevor Noah
-
Slaughterhouse-Five
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: James Franco
- Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Traumatized by the bombing of Dresden at the time he had been imprisoned, Pilgrim drifts through all events and history, sometimes deeply implicated, sometimes a witness. He is surrounded by Vonnegut's usual large cast of continuing characters (notably here the hack science fiction writer Kilgore Trout and the alien Tralfamadorians, who oversee his life and remind him constantly that there is no causation, no order, no motive to existence).
-
-
Don't Quit Your Daytime Job, James
- By Keith on 11-20-15
By: Kurt Vonnegut
-
The Great Indoors
- By: Ginny Hogan
- Narrated by: Mae Whitman
- Length: 3 hrs and 53 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice's journey begins as all good journeys do: hitting on the sales guy at REI. After a tumultuous breakup, a quick career transition, family upheaval, and a sobriety journey that didn't fix her life quite as much as she expected it to, Alice decides that the only way to solve all her problems is to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. But as she begins preparing for the months-long quest, she realizes the answers she's seeking might not be on top of a snow-covered mountain. Especially since she just learned there was snow in California.
-
-
Chuck full of laughs to lift anyone's spirits.
- By Laura Boogaert on 09-22-24
By: Ginny Hogan
-
I Can't Make This Up
- Life Lessons
- By: Neil Strauss - contributor, Kevin Hart
- Narrated by: Kevin Hart
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Superstar comedian and Hollywood box-office star Kevin Hart turns his immense talent to the written word by writing some words. Some of those words include: the, a, for, above, and even even. Put them together and you have the funniest, most heartfelt, and most inspirational memoir on survival, success, and the importance of believing in yourself since Old Yeller.
-
-
Best Audiobook I Ever Listened To
- By Sam Clear on 07-13-17
By: Neil Strauss - contributor, and others
-
American Psycho
- By: Bret Easton Ellis
- Narrated by: Pablo Schreiber
- Length: 16 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, Bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Expressing his true self through torture and murder, Bateman prefigures an apocalyptic horror that no society could bear to confront.
-
-
Fanntastic book but maybe not for everyone....
- By So Fain on 03-27-11