Harry Worth’s ‘Here’s Harry’, on DVD for the very first time

❉ A slice of British television history: all surviving episodes on DVD for the first time.

Simply Media has announced the release of BBC’s Here’s Harry: all surviving episodes on DVD for the first time 11 September 2017.

This rare collection will contain all 11 remaining episodes of Here’s Harry, which aired from 1960-1965, rescued from the BBC’s archives. The other episodes of this popular, long-running series were unfortunately lost or wiped. One episode from series 5, episode 5 The Musician was thought missing forever, but was recovered by Kaleidoscope for use in this DVD collection.

Remembered today for his iconic shop-window levitation trick in the show’s opening credits, Here’s Harry stars Harry Worth, who forged an award-winning stage and screen persona as a bumbling middle-aged fusspot out of sync with a fast-changing society. Worth revolutionised the comedy of the era, going against the slew of comedians displaying brash humour. Instead, he portrayed a charming and gentle bumbling complainer and do-gooder who produced comedic confusion as he landed himself in all sorts of strange situations. Audiences loved it.

Here’s Harry, written by Vince Powell and Harry Driver (Love Thy Neighbour / Bless This House), was Harry Worth’s breakthrough show and best sitcom. It was also one of the longest running sitcoms of the era.

Set in the fictional town of Woodbridge, Worth lives with his cat Tiddles and his often-referred to but never seen Auntie. In each episode Worth is pitted against figures of minor authority such as customs officers, railway staff, doctors, lawyers or policemen. They become increasingly exasperated with Harry’s unfathomable babbling and their inability to understand him. The fallout is always hilarious. Storylines range from absurd attempts to book a holiday, celebrate a birthday or arrange an overdraft, to the accidental theft of a policeman’s bicycle.

Harry Worth’s influence on the shaping of modern British comedy is undeniable. His amiable but bewildered persona helped inspire some of the most well-known comedy characters in history, from the equally hapless Frank Spencer from Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em to the altogether angrier Victor Meldrew from One Foot in the Grave. Even Harry Hill’s on-screen persona is arguably inspired by Worth.

The supporting cast showcases iconic character actors and sitcom stalwarts, including: Hugh Lloyd (Hugh and I), Frank Thornton (Last of the Summer Wine), Meg Johnson (Emmerdale), Frank Williams (Dad’s Army), Patrick Cargill (Father, Dear Father) Colin Douglas (Doctor Who), Deryck Guyler (Sykes), Leonard Williams (Z Cars) and Jack Woolgar (Crossroads).

❉ Here’s Harry: All Surviving Episodes is released on DVD by Simply Media, 11 September 2017, RRP: £19.99. Run Time: 300 mins approx. on 2 discs.


News source: Simply Media.

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2 Comments

  1. Always been curious about Worth. As a sitcom fan, he’s a name I’ve come across repeatedly.

    • I think Harry Worth was brilliant at putting across excellently written scripts. Without the script being excellent you cannot expect the best from the performer but when performer is excellent and is script then you have a memorable combination which I found to be as funny today as the first time the prog was shown. Both the writers and the performers were excellent, please please please let us have the “Harry Worth” programmes as well.

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