Guest Blog: Chris Stephenson on 'Our House'

Chris Stephenson recently wrote a guest blog for me on his own top 20 favourite Carry On actors and it was a great read. Chris has also written in on how he came to become such a fan of the Carry On series and a recent discovery of a classic comedy television series with a host of Carry On links.

So without further ado, it's over to Chris…

My first recollection of the Carry Ons was Carry On Henry at Butlins, Filey as their new film of the week! Being 10 I loved the visual gags but the rest passed by by! Growing up they crept more into my life and now they're my favourite comedy film franchise. Jim Dale, Sid James and Kenneths Williams and Connor are my favourite males while my female choices are more obscure with Angela Douglas, Jacki Piper, Liz Fraser and Dilys Laye being my favourites.

I was recently looking through the Network On Air sale (a great place for old TV and movies) and noticed a DVD called Our House, written by Norman Hudis and Starring Hattie Jacques (a librarian who turns into a foghorn outside the workplace), Joan Sims (whose employment record is second to none), Charles Hawtrey (an oddball who works in a rates office) and Norman Rossington (a law student) who along with five other share the same house!

The series ran from 1960 to 1962 and there were 39 episodes recorded (some 55 minutes and some 45 minutes) but due to some errors all but three were erased and those are on the DVD! Other famous faces appearing to various episodes included Bernard Bresslaw, Johnny Vyvyan, Hylda Baker, Deryck Guyler, Roy Hudd, Frank Williams, Frank Thornton and Leonard Sachs among others although most of these have been lost.

Although Talbot Rothwell is my favourite, Our House creator Norman Hudis is a Carry On legend himself and will go down in history as the scriptwriter for the first six Carry Ons, therefore helping them gain their lasting popularity. The surviving episodes are all from the first series and were broadcast in the September, October and November of 1960. The episodes themselves are a cross between a Carry On movie and a Brian Rix farce. Plenty of one liners ('It's only 86 and a half miles as the crow flies' 'Ooh that poor crow bust be really tired!') and visual gags interspersed with running around the set including up and down the stairs. In one of the episodes Charles plays his relatives including an aunt who is the spit of Lady Puddleton from Carry On Again Doctor! And in one scene Hattie even says the immortal line 'Carry On then'!

As a footnote the Our House producer Ernest Maxin produced programmes for such comedy greats as Norman Wisdom, Charlie Drake (in which he won the Golden Rose for Drake's rendition of the 1812 Overture), Dave Allen, Dick Emery, Les Dawson and Morecambe and Wise (including the 1976 and 1977 Christmas shows!).

Many thanks again to Chris for writing this really interesting Guest Blog.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Happy Birthday Judy Geeson!

I'd like to wish the actress Judy Geeson a very happy birthday. Judy, based over in the United States for many years now, turns 70 years young this very day.

To Carry On fans Judy is mainly known for two things. First of all, for starring in Carry On England as Sergeant Tilly Willing opposite Patrick Mower in 1976 and also for being the real life sister of Bless This House and Carry On Abroad actress Sally Geeson. 

Although Judy only made one Carry On appearance, she has enjoyed a long and varied career on screen on both sides of the Atlantic. Following her break out role as Pamela in the 1967 film To Sir, With Love, other films quickly followed. Among Judy's best are Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1968) with Barry Evans; 10 Rillington Place (1971) with Richard Attenborough and John Hurt; Fear in the Night (1972) with Joan Collins and Peter Cushing; Brannigan (1975) with John Wayne and The Eagle Has Landed (1976) with Michael Caine and Donald Sutherland. Judy also starred in comedies such as Percy's Progress (from the Betty Box/Ralph Thomas stable) and the sub-Carry On sex comedy Adventures of a Taxi Driver (again with Barry Evans).

On the small screen Judy has been seen in the likes of Emergency - Ward 10, Danger Man, the original 1970s series of Poldark and Tales of the Unexpected. Over in the United States, Judy's career has taken in everything from Murder She Wrote and The A Team to Charmed and Mad About You.

You can read more about Judy here

Whatever Judy is up to today, I hope she has a great birthday!


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Special Screening of Carry On Girls for 92 Year Old Former Dancer

This is a very sweet story from the Eastern Daily Press. The 1973 film Carry On Girls was shown at a retirement home in Norfolk earlier last month in honour of one of the home's residents. 

92 year old former dancer and actress Anne Loxam, now resident in the home appeared in Carry On Girls as an uncredited extra and one of Augusta Prodworthy's militant women's libbers! Anne can be seen in several scenes as one of Augusta's saboteurs, particularly during the climatic beauty contest which sees Anne sprinkle itching powder liberally in some of the contestant's costumes!

Although mainly working as a dancer in theatre shows during her career, Anne also made several small appearances in films and television. By all accounts Carry On Girls, which of course starred Sid James, Barbara Windsor, Joan Sims and Kenneth Connor, went down very well both with Anne and her fellow residents as they all enjoyed a trip down memory lane.

You can read the full piece here.


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

BBC Radio London repeat Liz Fraser's 'My London'

BBC Radio London have today aired a lovely tribute to the late Liz Fraser. Last year Liz, known for her lifetime in the very best of British film, television and stage, was interviewed as part of the "My London" series by Gary Crowley. I listened at the time and remember it as a great programme full of warmth, wit and nostalgia.

"My London" focuses on the memories of famous Londoners and what it was like to grow up in the country's capital. The hour long programme saw Liz remember her early life growing up in Southwark, south London in the 1930s, before the war years intervened. Liz was always good value as an interviewee, never one to shy away from telling it as it is!

Best known for her film comedy roles, Liz appeared in four Carry Ons - Regardless as Delia King, Cruising as Gladys Trimble, Cabby as Sally and finally Carry On Behind as Sylvia Ramsden. Other film roles included I'm All Right Jack, A Pair of Briefs, Two Way Stretch, The Americanisation of Emily and the big screen version of Dad's Army. On television Liz was seen in Citizen James, Hancock's Half Hour, Jason King, The Avengers, The Professionals, Foyle's War, Holby City and Last of the Summer Wine. 

In the programme Liz remembers her early film roles and working with the likes of Sid James, Tony Hancock, Peter Sellers and Roger Moore.

You can listen again to the programme on the BBC Radio London: My London Website

You can also read my tribute to Liz here and my blog on my five favourite Liz performances here

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

My Five Favourite Liz Fraser Performances

We lost a great talent this week with Liz Fraser passing away. I know my Twitter feed has been pretty focussed on this the last couple of days but I think Liz's contribution to the best of British film and television warrants this coverage. A big thank you to everyone out there who commented positively on my tribute to Liz, posted after I heard the sad news. It wasn't easy to write but I'm glad it was well received.

I thought, after the sad news, I would take some time to write a blog on my favourite Liz performances. As she was on our screens for seven decades and worked with just about everyone this is no easy feat. So what I've come up with is a purely personal list of favourites. Some are from the cinema, some the small screen. Some are starring roles, some are small yet important cameos. 

I hope you like my choices.


Cynthia Kite in I'm All Right Jack (1959)

I couldn't do this without including Liz's breakthrough role in this Boulting Brothers classic. Despite being almost sixty years old, I caught this film again recently and it made me laugh and kept me fully engaged throughout. Not only that, it also made my husband laugh and he has a very un-British, very American sense of humour. The tale of trouble at the works boasts a stellar cast, headed by Ian Carmichael and Peter Sellers. Liz shines as Peter's sexy young daughter Cynthia who flutters her false eyelashes at Ian's Stanley Windrush and dons many a tight sweater. This role saw Liz nominated for a BAFTA and her career as a British comedy icon and glamorous sex symbol began. In an interview with The Art Desk in 2015 Liz was still immensely proud of this film and rightly so. Her seduction of Ian Carmichael in his bubble car is a highlight with that knock out line: "Is them your own teeth?" Brilliant.

Delia King in Carry On Regardless (1961)

Liz joined the Carry On team for three adventures in the early 1960s followed up by a supporting turn in Carry On Behind in 1975. She brought a breath of fresh air to the established cast and although labelled another 'Carry On Blonde' she was always much more than that. Yes, she was blonde, busty and beautiful but she was also a damn fine comic actress. She brought something different to the films from other 'Carry On Blondes' such as Shirley Eaton or Barbara Windsor. I think my favourite of Liz's Carry On roles is her very first, as an eager member of the newly established Helping Hands Agency. Although a late addition to the cast following the withdrawal of Hattie Jacques due to illness, Liz fitted like a glove. She was acting with her Hancock co-star Sid James and alongside lifelong friend Joan Sims and everything just clicked. In a cast bursting with talent, Liz holds her own.  And in my eyes, she never looked lovelier. 

Sandra in Double Bunk (1961)

By all accounts, Liz's own personal favourite from all the films she made, Double Bunk is just a delight from start to finish. In many ways it's Genevieve by boat and that's not a bad thing. It's charming, innocent black and white fun with a touch of sauce. Starring alongside Sid James, Ian Carmichael and Janette Scott, Liz joins a rather unexpected voyage on a rusty old houseboat. Liz is again working closely with Sid and the pair share tremendous chemistry. She also provides the silver screen with one of the sexiest and yet most innocent strip teases in order to pinch some petrol from fiendish cad Dennis Price. Double Bunk is light and frothy and fairly inconsequential but it wins through on bright, breezy charm and the cosy familiarity of a bunch of actors who get on well in real life having a hoot together in the studio.

Margery Harper in The Professionals: Backtrack (1979)

With the British film industry in severe decline by the late 1970s, actors like Liz were appearing more often on television. The Professionals, an action adventure crime fighting series featuring heightened violence and focussing on the negative aspects of Britain in the 1970s, may not immediately feel like the right home for an actress like Liz but her appearance is an utter joy. The Professionals, starring Gordon Jackson, Martin Shaw and Lewis Collins as leading members of CI5, although a hard-hitting drama, also featured many moments of surreal humour. As blowsy antiques dealer cum fence Margery Harper, Liz shines in an over the top performance of high camp, tight flared trousers and buckets of green chartreuse. Helping out agents Bodie and Doyle, Liz's Marge takes more than a shine to Shaw's Ray Doyle while making several hilariously snide asides to the brutish Bodie (Collins). It's camp, knowing and Fraser is obviously having a whale of a time. Where else can you find Liz Fraser screeching around Kensington in the middle of the night, dressed in furs in the back of a big American car? Wonderful stuff.

Mrs Brent in Miss Marple: Nemesis (1987)

Joan Hickson was the definitive Miss Marple. Her BBC adaptations from the 1980s and early 1990s are just the best. For me, they'll never be surpassed. They always boasted a superb cast of supporting actors and Nemesis is one of the best. Liz appears in just one scene in this feature length drama, playing a grief-stricken mother fond of a tipple. As Mrs Brent, Liz shares one small but powerful scene with actor John Horsley's Professor Wanstead. Mrs Brent's daughter Nora has disappeared and is presumed dead. Although initially bright and cheerful in her respectable 1950s semi, as Wanstead starts to ask questions, Mrs Brent's face slowly cracks and the emotion is palpable. Liz achieves this excellent emotion by completely underplaying it and the tears she sheds are very real. As her character sips her orange squash laced liberally with gin, the facade slips. This role remained a favourite of Liz's and you could tell she was very proud of it, even though it was the subject of two frequent quips. The first, that she loved it as it provided regular royalty cheques from the BBC and the second that the day after it was first broadcast a woman stopped her in the street to commend her saying, "I didn't know you could act!" 

That was Liz though. There was a spiky bluster to her but you could tell she had a heart of gold. She was proud of some of the roles she played, less so of others. She was a realist and took jobs because she both enjoyed the work and needed to work. I hope she would approve of my choices here and I hope you'll agree she was right to be proud of each and every one of them.

You can read my tribute to Liz Fraser here



You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Liz Fraser has died

It has been a dreadful week already with the sad deaths of both Carole Shelley and Jacqueline Pearce. It has now emerged that the legend of countless classic British films, the great Liz Fraser, has passed away at the age of 88.

Liz was such a force of nature I couldn't really imagine this day coming. I saw her in conversation with Robert Ross at the Museum of Comedy only the other month and she was in amazingly entertaining form. I even got to exchange a few words with her afterwards and shake her hand, a moment I will now cherish. 

Liz enjoyed a long career on stage and screen which of course included roles in four Carry Ons. She played Delia King in Carry On Regardless, Glad Trimble in Cruising, Sally in Cabby and finally Sylvia Ramsden in Carry On Behind. She made so many other appearances it's hard to bring them all together here but of course there was the brilliant I'm All Right Jack, Two Way Stretch and my own personal favourite, Double Bunk.

A true original, Liz defended those she loved in the business to the very hilt. A great mate of Sid James, she was a voice for good when his memory was being attacked in the 1990s. A close and loyal friend to my own comedy heroine Joan Sims, Liz provided both emotional and practical support to dear Joan during her darkest of times. 

Liz was quite simply one of the last of a breed of talented, original, naturally funny comedy actors and her time working with the likes of Sid, Peter Sellers and Tony Hancock provided such a tangible link to the glory days of British comedy. She is quite simply irreplaceable. After many years away from our screens, Liz had recently filmed a cameo role for Midsomer Murders, which will now very sadly be shown posthumously.

Thanks for all the laughs Liz. It was one hell of a ride but we loved every minute. And we'll keep on watching you on our screens for so many more years to come.

Rest in Peace. 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Carry On at 60 in The Telegraph

With the Carry On films turning 60 years young this year there has been a rather subdued flurry of articles about our favourite series of films in the press. I've just come across one of these, written by Andy Roberts for The Telegraph. 

I always read such pieces with trepidation as I hope the writer is going to treat the films and their long departed stars fairly. And I think, on the whole, Mr Roberts does just that. It's a very interesting piece which describes the very best and the very worst of the Carry Ons in glorious detail. 

While Roberts claims that the majority of the well-known cast of actors did their best work elsewhere, he does state that the films would have been nothing without their talents and there I wholeheartedly agree with him. Despite Peter Rogers claiming, as Roberts repeats, that the title Carry On was the star, we all know that wasn't true. It was those loyal, underpaid yet beautifully skilled comedy actors that kept as and indeed keep us coming back for more.

Andy Roberts flags up Norman Hudis for particular praise, believing that his first six films in the series were well written for the actors engaged to play his parts. I was also pleased to see actors such as Peter Butterworth and Patsy Rowlands given plenty of credit for their delightful contributions over the years. So often actors like Peter and Patsy are missed out in tributes. Roberts also pays tributes to the likes of Imogen Hassall, Jacki Piper and Elke Sommer and I'm so glad he has.

And he ends the piece with mention of my favourite Carry On of all time. You can read the article in full here although you may need to register with the site first. It's definitely worth a read.


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram