Butterworth Carries On … As Mr Smith

A couple of years back I started a regular series of blogs which profiled each of Joan Sims' fabulous 24 Carry On roles. I enjoyed giving each performance a turn in the spotlight so once I completed the mammoth task of writing about everything from Nurse Stella Dawson to Mrs Dangle, I went on to blog about all of Hattie Jacques' roles in the series and then those portrayed by Dame Barbara Windsor.

More recently I have carried out the same task for two of Carry Ons' unsung heroes - Kenneth Connor and Bernard Bresslaw. Now I will turn my attentions to all sixteen of Peter Butterworth's delightful supporting turns in the Carry On series. Peter, along with Sid James and Joan Sims, has long been one of my very favourite comedy actors and favourite members of the Carry On troupe. Sadly, Peter has received scant attention from the wider press, with only diehard fans really giving his acting talent the praise it so rightly deserves.

Peter joined the Carry On team in 1965 for Carry On Cowboy and remained a loyal servant to the series pretty much right through until the end of the original series in 1978. He was also a frequent contributor to many of the team's small screen outings and appeared alongside Sid James, Barbara Windsor and several others in the Carry On London stage farce in the early 1970s. He never put a foot wrong and was the master scene stealer. 2019 marks not only one hundred years since Peter's birth but also, sadly, forty years since he passed away. It therefore seems fitting to devote some blogging time to his wonderful performances.

Follow on from my first blogs in this series on Peter's roles in Carry On Cowboy, Screaming Don't Lose Your Head and Follow That Camel today I'm looking at Peter's performance in the classic Carry On Doctor, made in 1967. 

Carry On Doctor is one of my favourite Carry Ons. The films seemed to lend themselves so well to the hospital setting and Doctor, Talbot Rothwell's tribute to Norman Hudis' iconic Carry On Nurse almost ten years earlier, features the gang firing on all cylinders. Following a trend for period costume Carry Ons (Cowboy, Screaming, Don't Lose Your Head etc) the team were back in the present day for this romp through the wards. Almost all the regular faces of the era feature in the film. Only Kenneth Connor who was at the time on a break from the series, does not appear. It is an absolute joy to see Sid James and Hattie Jacques return to the fold after previous absences; to see Jim Dale take centre stage as the romantic, bumbling hero of the piece; Kenneth Williams on sublime pompous villainous form as Dr Tinkle (!) and the likes of Bernard Bresslaw, Dilys Laye and Charles Hawtrey bring the wards to life. Throw in a delightful cameo role from Joan Sims and a stunning guest starring performance from Frankie Howerd and you have near perfection!  

The basic plot of the film sees the patients of the hospital revolt after the fiendish team of Matron, Dr Tinkle and Sister Hoggett (June Jago) rule over the wards for too long, culminating in the axing of popular Doctor Kilmore (Dale). It's a lovely story that allows the audience to root for the underdog. Of course all is well in the end and the film comes to a satisfying conclusion. Rothwell includes some lovely references to Carry On Nurse, no better than the infamous daffodil sequence which is joyfully brought back to life briefly by Frankie and Valerie Van Ost. Watch out also for a framed portrait of the brilliant James Robertson Justice in character as Sir Lancelot Spratt - it is between the lifts in the hospital foyer. This is of course a tribute to the Doctor series of films, a franchise to which the Carry Ons owe a debt of gratitude. The Doctor films were produced by Peter Rogers' wife Betty Box and directed by Ralph Thomas, brother of Gerald. Peter sought permission to make Carry On Doctor from his wife before going into production.


So what about Peter's role? 

In a cast bursting with talent Peter is given less screen time than his previous couple of outings with the gang. While this a shame, Butterworth still shines whenever he's given any kind of opportunity large or small. Only ever known as Mr Smith, no first name given, he is very much the everyman on the ward. He's there as part of the Greek chorus, reacting to the drama on the wards and the fiendish acts of the hospital senior staff. Peter blends in with his other male co-stars and adds real depth alongside Bresslaw, Hawtrey and James. He's given little to do but plays a full part in the climatic scenes which see the patients rise up and send a clear message to the crooked Dr Tinkle and Matron Lavinia!

Mr Smith's reason for being in hospital is never made particularly clear however for most of the film there are veiled references to a mysterious lump! He eventually has it off (as it were) but remains in the ward for a visit from his irritating wife, played by Jean St Clair in her only Carry On appearance. As she sits and witters on about this that and the other, she fails to take much interest in her husband as she even goes so far to scoff all the grapes she's brought in for him! Peter's farewell to his wife as she leaves is a thing of beauty, clutching the  bare stalk in his hand!

With much of the action revolving around Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques and Jim Dale and big name guest star Frankie Howerd grabbing most of the screen time, the likes of Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth are left to play second fiddle but in a cast where really only Kenneth Connor is missing it must have been hard to give everyone their fair share of funny lines in a film which barely ran to 90 minutes. Where Butterworth excels as ever is stealing scenes with the slightest glance, reaction shot or comedic mannerism. Even his reaction to dropping Kenneth's Dr Tinkle into the ice bath is played beautifully despite it only lasting a couple of seconds. Peter was a gift to these films and his natural flair for comedy and sense of what would make the audience laugh meant he stood out even when, as with Carry On Doctor, his part was fairly small and insignificant. In the hands of a lesser actor it wouldn't be remembered at all. 

Still, compared to his major supporting turns in Camel and Screaming, Butterworth fans may be disappointed by Doctor. Better is thankfully still to come as Peter's next two roles in the series are crackers. Stay tuned for my take on his turn as Brother Belcher in Carry On Up The Khyber coming up next!

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Bernie Carries On … As Ken Biddle

Over the past year I have written a series of blogs covering each of the roles of some of our favourite Carry On stars. I began my looking back at each film role played by the three leading ladies in the series - Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques and Barbara Windsor - and most recently I've written about all of Kenneth Connor's Carry On performances in the run up to the great man's centenary. 

Today I am beginning a new strand of this series by turning the spotlight on that gentle giant of British comedy, the late Bernard Bresslaw. Probably one of the most under-rated actors in the main team, Bernard was a part of the series for ten years and fourteen films, tackling a superb range of crumbling villains and delightfully dimwitted foils to the likes of Sid James and Kenneth Cope. Bernard enjoyed a long career away from the Carry Ons and spent much of his later life wowing audiences in legitimate theatre. However he will forever to remembered for his clutch of hilarious Carry On supporting turns. 

Bernard joined the Carry On team in the mid 1960s and along with Peter Butterworth was the last main team member to join the gang. Along with Butterworth, Bernard played a series of smaller, supporting roles to begin with before graduating to major roles towards the end of the decade. Bernard fitted in effortlessly with the rest of the team and he's the kind of actor who is working hard but making it look oh so easy. A quiet, erudite, thoughtful family man away from the film studios, I often think Bresslaw has never received the credit he's due as like Connor and Butterworth, he didn't ever seek the limelight or splash his life over the front pages.

So today, we'll continue this new series looking at Bernard's role as hospital patient Ken Biddle in his fourth Carry On, a return to the hospital wards, Carry On Doctor in 1967.

This was a momentous film for the series. Carry On Doctor saw one of the biggest cast of Carry On favourites ever to feature in the same film. It also saw the first guest starring turn from the master, Frankie Howerd. Doctor was one of the first films in the series to reference past successes too - the use of the daffodil in the scene between Valerie Van Ost and Frankie is a direct reference to the 1959 smash hit, Carry On Nurse. The presence of the portrait of James Robertson Justice in the hospital lobby is also a direct nod to Betty Box's hugely successful series of Doctor comedies. And Carry On Doctor also saw the return to the series of three main players. 

After a three year absence, Barbara Windsor was back with the gang following her debut in the 1964 film Carry On Spying. Doctor would see Barbara begin a film a year tradition with the team right up until 1974. Sid James was also back, although in a reduced role following a serious heart attack some months before. His character spends the vast majority of the film in bed. And most importantly of all for this particular blog, Carry On Doctor saw the return of Hattie Jacques after four years away from the series pursuing other projects. Looking back at it now, it's hard to imagine the film without her, however Jacques was obviously far from the minds of the production team as the role of Matron was originally offered to her close friend and co-star Joan Sims. Joan however knew Hattie must play the legendary role so passed over the part and instead took on the supporting role of Chloe Gibson, the hilariously hard of hearing companion to Frankie's Francis Bigger. 

Carry On Doctor is very much a homage to Carry On Nurse. It's broader, cheekier and very much a 1960s version but it remains true to the series' heritage. It's Talbot Rothwell paying tribute to Norman Hudis' landmark script. As with Nurse there is a large communal ward of male patients, lots of lovely nurses and a fearsome Matron. The film follows the story of the charming if accident prone Dr Kilmore who is popular with the patients, less so with the hospital management. Following an accidental yet incriminating situation with Nurse Sandra May (Windsor), Kenneth Williams' Dr Tinkle and Hattie's Matron join forces to see off Kilmore. The patients, upset over this matter, get together to restore the natural order to the hospital.

So what about Bernard's role in the film? Well for Bresslaw comes of age as a Carry On top team member with this film. For the first time in the series he plays a very familiar version of his simple but kindly character from the smash hit sitcom, The Army Game. He's just a down to earth, working class bloke, stuck in hospital sharing a communal ward with many more of the same. I love the interplay between Bernard and the other male patients - Sid James, Peter Butterworth, Frankie Howerd and Charles Hawtrey. It's the heart and soul of the film and their camaraderie is very much reminiscent not just of the film's direct predecessor Carry On Nurse, but also of the barrack room larks in Carry On Sergeant. 

The closeness of the male patients sets up the grand finale of the film when the patients rise up against the corrupt hospital hierarchy of Matron, Dr Tinkle and Sister (Jacques, Williams and June Jago). It's a lovely comedy version of David versus Goliath and it really does give the audience something to root for. After all, the powers that be have been pretty awful throughout the film. Much of Bernard's role in Carry On Doctor surrounds his blossoming romance with female patient Mavis Winkle, played by the delightful Dilys Laye in her third appearance in the series. As Ken Biddle has his leg in plaster it provides a good source of humour as he limps along the corridor between the male and female wards in an attempt to communicate with Mavis. Many of his attempts are thwarted by Matron and it becomes something of a running joke as the hospital staff do not approve of fraternisation! 

I love Bernard and Dilys together on screen. So did the audience of the time and the Carry On producers as they teamed them up again the very next year in Carry On Camping. Much like Kenneth Williams' hospital romance with Jill Ireland in Nurse, there are moments of real pathos between Bernard and Dilys and their scenes are very much played for real. They are obviously two quite lonely people and the characters provide some lovely warm moments in amongst the riotous comedy. There is plenty of comedy in their story though - Biddle's unsuspecting hospital visiting mate Fred (Julian Orchard) gets a stomach full of castor oil while he takes Ken's place in bed so he can visit Mavis is lovely stuff as is Mavis being made to switch beds with elderly patient Lucy Griffiths leading to a major misunderstanding when Jim Dale's Dr Kilmore passes on a note! 

Of course no Carry On is complete without a bit of dragging up and not for the last time, it's Bernard's turn. Something about Bernard's height and stature made the sight of him in drag particularly amusing. When the patients decide to rise up against Dr Tinkle and Matron, Sid sends Bernie into the women's ward to recruit their services to bring down the medical staff. To do this, Bernie drags up in Nurse Clark's uniform (yes, that's right Bresslaw fits into Anita's costume) and manages to fool Sister, despite a wayward pyjama trouser leg! It's a lovely scene and brings together a lot of what the Carry Ons mean to me - innocent, childlike panto comedy delightfully played by a host of irresistibly brilliant actors. 

One thing always frustrates me about Bernard's role in Doctor. I keep seeing a still of Bernard and Dilys leaving the hospital, their characters in the foyer in a scene with Jim Dale and Anita Harris. Obviously the scene was cut from the final print but I wonder why. Perhaps it was over-running and deemed superfluous to the story, but I think it's a shame. It would have been nice to see their story wrapped up in this way at the end of the picture.

So that's my thoughts on Bernard's role as Ken Biddle in Carry On Doctor. Stay tuned for my next blog in this series, as I look back at Bernard's role as another fiendish villain, Bungdit-Din in the classic Carry On Up The Khyber!

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Carry On Nurse! Celebrating 70 years of the NHS

It's been all over the news for a while and rightly so. Today marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the National Health Service. Normally you can't mention the NHS without the conversation turning achingly political but we're going to keep it nice and light on the blog as we commemorate this wonderful milestone.

I listened to a discussion on the radio not long ago about a special BFI season of films looking at how television and film has portrayed the NHS. Well for me, you need look no further than the Carry On films. The Carry Ons have become synonymous with the National Health Service and some of the most famous, best loved films in the series have been set in hospitals. Peter Rogers, lauded producer of the series, once said the hospital comedies were so popular as everyone knows what it's like to be in hospital and it really does help to have a jolly good laugh.

Even now, more than half a century after Hattie Jacques first donned the famous Matron uniform, most newspapers can't resist using an image of the actress alongside articles calling for the return of Matron's discipline. Such is the strength of the Carry On brand and the imagery of Hattie, Kenneth, Barbara and that daffodil. The Carry Ons went behind the scenes and provided a humorous, touching and affectionate take on the health service which was never cruel or mocking. Thankfully they didn't go down to the gory Casualty route and medical procedures were relatively few and far between, apart from Leslie Phillips' pesky bunion! 

It was writer Norman Hudis who first brought the idea of a medical comedy to the attentions of Peter Rogers. Norman was to produce a script as a follow up to his national service comedy Carry On Sergeant, so why not focus on yet another great British institution? The authentic feel to Carry On Nurse was provided by Norman's wife who was a nurse at the time. She provided some of the best set pieces and Norman gagged it all up gently. 

That first medical Carry On gave us some deliciously seductive nurses in Shirley Eaton, Ann Firbank and Susan Beaumont; Joan Sims as the accident prone junior nurse; fearsome authority in Hattie Jacques and Joan Hickson; a wide range of sneaky, awkward, down to earth patients in the likes of Kenneth Connor, Kenneth Williams, Cyril Chamberlain and Charles Hawtrey and some delightful hospital visitors in June Whitfield, Marianne Stone, Jill Ireland and Irene Handl. What a cast!

Almost ten years later Talbot Rothwell brought us a wonderful tribute to Norman's iconic Carry On when Carry On Doctor was released in 1967. A swinging sixties follow up to Nurse, all the familiar stereotypes are present and correct - Kenneth Williams' big headed surgeon, Hattie's bombastic Matron and Jim Dale's kindly, human and put upon doctor. Doctor also gave us Barbara Windsor's iconic Nurse Sandra May, wiggling her bottom and fancying a bit of Peter GIlmore's pear. The patients enjoying or enduring a stay in hospital eventually revolt against the hierarchy, headed by Bernard Bresslaw, Peter Butterworth, Sid James and the amazing guest star Frankie Howerd. It is Frankie's Francis Bigger who is subjected to the resurrection of the delicious Carry On Nurse sight gag involving that infamous daffodil. This time it's not Joan Sims and Wilfrid Hyde White, it's Frankie and the gorgeous nurse Valerie Van Ost. What confidence the series had to be so self-referential!

Two years later, we were Carrying On Again Doctor, which focussed less on the NHS, throwing in a trip to a tropical medical mission and a private weight loss clinic. Despite this, all the familiar characters are there - Jim Dale's handsome yet accident prone doctor (yes, that hospital trolley); Hattie Jacques' as a slightly more kindly Matron and Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey as rather conniving senior doctors. By now the Carry Ons were forever interlinked with the NHS, doctors and nurses. 

The final Carry On with a medical theme came along in 1971 when Talbot Rothwell scripted a tribute to Hattie's iconic character - Carry On Matron. Based around a Too Many Crooks attempt to rob vast quantities of the pill from Finisham Maternity Hospital, much of the action centres around the hospital misfits of Hattie, Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey (playing Dr F. A Goode!) Patients are few and far between this time apart from an ongoing side story of Joan Sims' never-ending pregnancy and never-satisfied appetites! Kenneth Connor is amazing as the put upon nervy father to be while the nursing staff are glamorously represented by Jacki Piper, Barbara Windsor again and Kenneth Cope in drag (it's a long story). And who can forget Terry Scott's rather grim, grotty Dr Prodd. An aptly named character if ever there was one.

Hospitals did feature in other Carry Ons, albeit to a lesser degree. In 1960 there was an extended sequence set in a hospital during Carry On Regardless. This involved Helping Hands boss Bert Handy (Sid James) being involved in a case of mistaken identity which caused much chaos in the wards. In a throwback to Nurse, Joan Hickson and Hattie Jacques were both present although this time Joan was the Matron and Hattie the Sister. June Jago is also there as a nurse, six years before she played Hattie's rather duplicitous Sister in Carry On Doctor. And in Carry On Loving ten years on from Regardless (indeed Loving was a modern tribute to the content and form of Regardless) we again return to the wards as Richard O'Callaghan's Bertie is knocked on the bonce by Bernard Bresslaw's Gripper Burke. When Jacki Piper goes hospital visiting Eric Rogers even resurrects his incidental music from Carry On Doctor. I just loved when the Carry Ons provided nods to the past.

The Carry Ons have become a part of British life. In many ways they presented a view of a Britain which never really existed. It was an inflated, stereotypical version of our beloved country, packed full of eccentrics. The series' treatment of the National Health Service was also far from reality - all jolly high jinks, sexy nurses and outlandish Matrons. True some of the stories stemmed from real events but us fans are happy with the Carry Ons staying clear of proper reality. I think we should be ever so proud of the Carry Ons' regular NHS tributes as that's what they were - affectionate, warm and full of appreciation. 

Happy 70th birthday to the NHS. 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Anita Harris joins Celebrity Masterchef

Following on from her appearance in the ITV show Last Laugh in Vegas, actress, singer and all round good egg Anita Harris is set to appear in another reality television show, this time for the BBC.

I saw on Twitter this morning (where else?) that Anita will be starring in the new series of Celebrity Masterchef. Now I admit this is one reality style show that I have watched before and probably will watch again. I'm not a fan of the genre as a whole but I do find this one quite entertaining despite the annoying hosts! I also admit that when I saw the faces of all Anita's fellow contestants, she was pretty much the only one I recognised!

Anita has been an entertainment showbiz legend for decades, first making her mark as a singer back in the mid 1960s. Her fame was galvanised when she starred in two Carry On films, first of all as Cork Tip in Follow That Camel with Bernard Bresslaw and Phil Silvers and then later the same year (1967) as Nurse Clark, mooning after Jim Dale's Dr Kilmore in Carry On Doctor.

I met Anita a couple of years ago at the London Film Fair and she couldn't have been nicer. Warm, welcoming and gentle, it was an absolute pleasure to meet her. 

I wish her all the very best in Celebrity Masterchef and I'll be rooting for her all the way!

You can read my interview with Anita here and you can follow Anita's official account on Twitter

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram 

My Top 20 Favourite Carry On Actors - Number 11: Dilys Laye

This is part of a brand new series of blogs where I will take a purely personal look at my favourite Carry On actors. I will be doing a countdown of my top twenty actors and actresses in this, the sixtieth anniversary year of Carry On. So why top twenty? Well top ten didn't allow me to include all my favourites and any more than twenty and I'd be at it forever, as it were.

This top twenty will be a mix of regular top team actors and many of those instantly recognisable supporting actors who popped in and out of the series, adding superb cameos here and there. You will probably agree with some of my main choices and be vehemently opposed to others, but it's meant to encourage debate! 

So here we go with Number Eleven: a wonderfully warm, instinctive, natural actress who added class to four 1960s Carry On films - Dilys Laye.

I've loved Dilys Laye for years. She's an actress who was never a star name like her contemporaries Joan Sims or Barbara Windsor but she worked consistently and beautifully across all media for seven decades and so many of these performances gained her a legion of fans and admirers. A bright, cheeky, sometimes alluring and always sparkly presence, Dilys popped up in many classic British comedy films but is best remembered today for her supporting roles in four wonderful Carry On films.

Dilys was a lifelong friend of Carry On regular Joan Sims, having met in revue in the early 1950s. Dilys landed her first Carry On role when Joan was too ill to play Flo Castle in Carry On Cruising in 1962. Although Joan will always be my favourite, I can't imagine anyone other than Dilys playing the energetic, husband-seeking cruise passenger who forms such delicious chemistry with Kenneth Connor. Two years later Dilys played the femme fatale Lila opposite Kenneth Williams in Carry On Spying, even singing a couple of gorgeous songs in the Cafe Mozart sequence.

In Carry On Doctor Dilys played the role of hospital patient Mavis Winkle, playing brilliantly with Bernard Bresslaw. Dilys shone in the climatic scenes which see the patients rebel against the horrid hospital staff of Dr Tinkle (Kenneth Williams) and Hattie Jacques' Matron. Dilys made her final Carry On appearance in the legendary Carry On Camping in late 1968. Teaming up with Sid James, Bernard Bresslaw and Joan Sims, the foursome go on a car journey from hell before pitching up at Paradise Camp! 

Dilys spoke so fondly of her time with the Carry On team and showed so much affection both for the films and the people she met making them. Always a joy to listen to as herself or in whatever role she played, her only regret was that she hadn't appeared in many more of the films. You can't help but love her!

So Dilys Laye comes in at Number 11 in my top twenty list of favourite actors. Who'll be next? 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram 

The Gerald Thomas Archive: Letters from Larry

Last month I made a rather delayed trip (thank you British weather) to the British Film Institute on London's Southbank. As I've mentioned over on Twitter, the BFI hold the entire Gerald Thomas archive which is chock full of delightful artifacts from Gerald's long, varied and illustrious career in British film. I was quite frankly dazzled by the array of material on offer and have only managed to flick through a fraction of it, but this blog today is the start of several pieces looking at different aspects of what I've had the very good fortune to see.

Following on from my first blog on Gerald's Scrapbook for Carry On Abroad and my second on the Carry On Abroad Draft Script the next item file I want to write about concerns final preparations for the release of Carry On Doctor in late 1967. 

The Carry On Doctor files contain some lovely, fascinating letters from the artist Terence Parkes, otherwise known as Larry. Larry designed the title sequences for several Peter Rogers Productions, including Carry On Doctor. The letters on file document Parkes' attempts to capture the kind of artistic feel which would suit the Carry Ons. Obviously a fan of the series, Terence Parkes went to great lengths to impress Peter with his efforts. Each of Larry's letters to Peter Rogers is accompanied by personalised cartoons, for example a nurse having the title card for Carry On Doctor projected onto her chest.

The first letter was sent to Peter on 20 November 1967. Larry seemed slightly anxious about the work he had enclosed for Peter's perusal:

I haven't a clue how my drawings will look 'blown up' to screen size. They may look bloody horrible! I await the results with some intrepidation. 

Peter Rogers didn't wait long before providing feedback to Larry, writing back with his thoughts the very next day:

Dear Larry,

I'm delighted with the drawings. They're superb. But I am returning one to you in the hope you can amend it. It is of the nurse pushing the trolley of 'spares'. For the sake of the customers I would prefer the spares to be arms and legs rather than 'internals'. If necessary you can have the fingers of one of the spare arms making the usual gesture!

Again, even though they were writing in the pre-email days, Larry still managed to get back to Mr Rogers the day after. Writing on 22nd November 1967 he said:

I wouldn't be sure it looks any less gruesome but at least it looks funnier!

The work Parkes completed was obviously a success with Peter and Gerald as this marked the first of several collaborations during the late 1960s and 1970s. The archive also includes a letter from the artist the following May (1968) where he addressed the producer's request for some cartoons to accompany their next big screen release, the majestic Carry On Up The Khyber. In typical Larry fashion, the letter included a wonderful little drawing of a snake charmer with a camera man sitting atop the snake!

These letters provided a priceless and fascinating insight into yet another aspect of producing the Carry On films. Rogers was obviously extremely shrewd with an eye for detail and these letters also demonstrate Peter's deliciously dry sense of humour. They also give us a lovely insight into the work of the late, great Terence "Larry" Parkes.

I wrote about Larry's superb art work back in 2016 and you can read that here: Carry On Blogging: Full Credit to Larry

Stay tuned for the next in my series of special blogs on Gerald's archive coming up soon!

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

My Top 20 Carry On Actors: Number 20 - Peter Gilmore

This is part of a brand new series of blogs where I will take a purely personal look at my favourite Carry On actors. I will be doing a countdown of my top twenty actors and actresses in this, the sixtieth anniversary year of Carry On. So why top twenty? Well top ten didn't allow me to include all my favourites and any more than twenty and I'd be at it forever, as it were.

This top twenty will be a mix of regular top team actors and many of those instantly recognisable supporting actors who popped in and out of the series, adding superb cameos here and there. You will probably agree with some of my main choices and be vehemently opposed to others, but it's meant to encourage debate! 

So here we go with Number Twenty: that lovely character actor Peter Gilmore.

Peter Gilmore is one of those super-reliable, comfortingly familiar actors who appeared in many Carry Ons. In fact, although his parts were often small, Peter appeared in more Carry Ons than series regular Barbara Windsor and the same number of films (eleven) as leading man Jim Dale. Peter was never a star of the series but was loyal to the films throughout the 1960s. Never really appearing in anything more than a handful of scenes in each film, many of his appearances are still very memorable.

Peter made his first appearance in the series in Carry On Cabby in 1963 and featured in nine more up until Carry On Henry in 1970. He then returned for one final Carry On in the 1992 offering, Carry On Columbus. During his original run of films, Peter played everything from a gun-toting gangster (Cabby) and a pirate (Jack) to hospital doctor (Again Doctor) and a French king (Henry). Such was his versatility. From historical epics in period costume to present day fun and frolics, Gilmore, like many of his contemporaries was game for the challenge.

His biggest Carry On role was probably as ambulance driver Henry alongside Harry Locke in the 1967 film Carry On Doctor, popping up throughout the film. My own favourite Peter Gilmore roles are Private Ginger Hale, in a priceless scene with Charles Hawtrey in Up The Khyber and the aforementioned Francis, King of France in Carry On Henry. In Henry he camps it up beautifully with Sid James and runs off with the delectable Barbara Windsor! Not bad!

The Carry Ons wouldn't have been what they were and what they are without reliable actors like Peter Gilmore and they deserve to be celebrated to this day. 

So Peter Gilmore brings up the rear in my top twenty list of favourite actors. Who'll be next?

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