The Benny Hill Show

Did You Know?

• The show's closing theme "Yakety Sax" was written by James Q. "Spider" Rich and Boots Randolph.
• The announcer intro was "Yes! It's The Benny Hill Show!" often delivered by cast member Henry McGee.
• Hill also starred in a 1962–1963 BBC sitcom titled Benny Hill, where he played a different role each week.

Show format

The Benny Hill Show consists of short comedy sketches and occasional musical performances. Hill appears in many costumes and portrays a wide range of characters, using slapstick, burlesque, and double entendre. Critics accused the show of sexism and objectification of women, but Hill argued that the female characters kept their dignity while the men who chased them were portrayed as buffoons. The show often uses undercranking and sight gags to create what Hill called "live animation," employing mime and parody. It typically closes with a sped-up chase scene accompanied by the instrumental "Yakety Sax," parodying Keystone Cops chases. Hill also composed and sang patter songs and lengthy double-entendre rhymes in a single take. He used the television camera for comedic illusions, such as in the 1976 parody "Murder on the Oregon Express," where he played multiple roles including Ironside, McCloud, Kojak, Cannon, and Hercule Poirot.

Cast

The show’s regular supporting cast included Henry McGee, Jon Jon Keefe, Ken Sedd, Nicholas Parsons, Bob Todd, Cyril Cross, and Jackie Wright. The female performers often cast as glamorous types were Jenny Lee-Wright, Sue Bond, Moira Foot, Bettina Le Beau, Lesley Goldie, Cherri Gilham, and Diana Darvey. Later seasons introduced a dance troupe called Hill’s Angels, which was briefly preceded by the Love Machine; the most frequent Angels were Sue Upton and Louise English, while Corinne Russell and Jane Leeves appeared in a few early-1980s episodes. The Ladybirds, a female singing group featuring Maggie Stredder, provided backup vocals and occasionally performed their own numbers. Character actresses included Anna Dawson, Bella Emberg, Rita Webb, Helen Horton, and Patricia Hayes. Hill sometimes had brief on-stage chats with guests and gave early exposure to non-British musical acts like Luis Alberto del Paraná and Los Paraguayos.

Cancellation

Davies cited three reasons: declining audiences, high production costs, and Hill looking tired. The shows had earned Thames £100 million, largely from US success. At its peak in 1971, 21.63 million UK viewers watched; the last Thames episode in 1989 attracted 9.58 million viewers. Despite declining UK ratings, the show remained a successful British export, airing in 97 countries. In the 21st century, the programme was not repeated in full on national TV for 20 years, until That's TV announced it would feature in its Christmas schedule alongside other ITV programmes.

DVD releases

In 2004, A&E Home Video released a six-set, 18-disc Region 1 DVD collection titled Benny Hill: Complete & Unadulterated, containing all 58 Thames episodes (1969–1989) uncut except for ad-break bumpers, with trivia challenges and documentary extras. Hill's 1977 Australian TV special was not included. In 2005, Network began releasing Region 2 DVD sets titled The Benny Hill Annual, each representing one year from 1970 through 1989, uncut including original ad-break bumpers. Two box sets covered 1970–1979 and 1980–1989, with a set bundling all Annuals together. Also in 2005, Warner Home Video released Benny Hill: The Lost Years on Region 1 DVD, a three-hour collection of clips from surviving black-and-white BBC episodes. In Australia, Via Vision released the complete Annuals box set on 3 August 2022.