All Gas and Gaiters

All Gas and Gaiters
All Gas and Gaiters DVD
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Pauline Devaney Edwin Apps
Starring	Robertson Hare William Mervyn Derek Nimmo John Barron Ernest Clark
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	5
No. of episodes	33 + 1 short
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC1
Original run	17 May 1966 (1966-05-17) – 17 June 1971 (1971-06-17)

All Gas and Gaiters was a British television ecclesiastical sitcom which aired on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team who used the pseudonym of "John Wraith" when writing the pilot. All Gas and Gaiters was also broadcast on BBC radio from 1971 to 1972.

Cast

• William Mervyn - Bishop Cuthbert Hever
• Robertson Hare - Archdeacon Henry Blunt
• Derek Nimmo - The Reverend Mervyn Noote, bishop's chaplain
• John Barron - Dean Lionel Pugh-Critchley, (pilot, series 1 and 4)
• Ernest Clark - Dean Lionel Pugh-Critchley, (1968 special, series 2 and 3)
• Joan Sanderson - Mrs Grace Pugh-Critchley
• Ruth Kettlewell - Mrs Grace Pugh-Critchley (early episodes)

Plot

All Gas and Gaiters, predominantly farcical in nature, was set in the close of the fictional St Ogg's cathedral and concerned various intrigues and rivalries among the clergy. "Gaiters" in the title refers to part of the traditional dress of bishops and archdeacons. The bishop was easygoing; his friend the archdeacon was elderly, tippling, and still appreciative of attractive women; and the bishop's chaplain was naïve and accident-prone. Their wish to live a quiet bachelor life was continually threatened by the overbearing dean, who tried to bring by-the-book rule to the cathedral.

The series initially aroused some controversy because of its portrayal of senior clergy as bungling incompetents, although some clergy quite enjoyed it. In the opening credits, St. Alban's Cathedral was shown as the fictional St Ogg's, but with the twisted spire of Church of St Mary and All Saints, Chesterfield added to the central tower.

It proved to be the first of a series of comedies starring Derek Nimmo as similar bumbling clerical characters (Oh, Brother!, Oh, Father! and Hell's Bells). It is considered by some people to be the best, partly because of a strong supporting cast (particularly Robertson Hare as the archdeacon) and partly because it included some elements of gentle satire.

All 11 surviving episodes were released on DVD by DD Home Entertainment in 2004, originally accompanied by a detailed behind-the-scenes booklet, written by Andy Priestner in consultation with show's writers, Edwin Apps and Pauline Devaney, but later released without. Cinema Club have since bought the DVD rights.

Episodes

The pilot and first three series were filmed in black-and-white. The third series was filmed in colour, but originally broadcast in monochrome. The fourth and fifth series were made and shown in colour. Only 11 episodes still exist in the archive, owing to the Wiping policy of the BBC in this era.

Pilot: 1966

Title	Airdate	Description	Notes
The Bishop Rides Again	16 May 1966		part of Comedy Playhouse

Series 1: 1967

Title	Airdate	Description	Notes
The Bishop Gets the Sack	31 January 1967
The Bishop Meets a Bird	7 February 1967		lost
The Bishop Writes a Sermon	14 February 1967		lost
The Bishop Sees a Ghost	21 February 1967
The Bishop Turns to Crime	28 February 1967		lost
Only Three Can Play	7 March 1967		lost

Series 2: 1967

Title	Airdate	Description	Notes
The Dean Goes Primitive	24 November 1967		lost
The Bishop Gives a Party	1 December 1967		lost
The Bishop Gets a Letter	8 December 1967		lost
The Bishop Goes to Town	15 December 1967		lost
Give a Dog a Bad Name	22 December 1967		lost
The Bishop Gives a Shove	29 December 1967		lost

Series 3: 1969

Title	Airdate	Description	Notes
The Bishop learns the Facts	8 January 1969		lost
The Bishop has a Flutter	15 January 1969		lost
The Bishop is Hospitable	22 January 1969		lost
The Bishop Pays a Visit	29 January 1969		lost
The Bishop takes a Holiday	5 February 1969		lost
The Affair at Cookham Lock	12 February 1969		lost
The Bishop Keeps his Diary	19 February 1969		lost

Series 4: 1970

Title	Airdate	Description	Notes
The Bishop Buys a Car	15 April 1970		lost
The Bishop Gains a Reputation	22 April 1970		lost
The Bishop Loves His Neighbour	29 April 1970
The Bishop Beats the System	6 May 1970
The Bishop Buys a Mug	13 May 1970		lost
When In Rome	20 May 1970		lost
The Bishop Takes Up Business	27 May 1970		lost

Series 5: 1971

Title	Airdate	Description	Notes
The Bishop Warms Up	13 May 1971
The Bishop Entertains	20 May 1971
The Bishop Gives a Present	27 May 1971
The Bishop Shows his Loyalty	3 June 1971
The Bishop Has a Rest	10 June 1971
The Bishop Loses his Chaplain	17 June 1971

Surviving episodes

Series No.	Ep No.	Title	Broadcast	Notes
Pilot		The Bishop Rides Again	17/5/66	Previously lost, found in 2001
Series 1	Episode 1	The Bishop Gets The Sack	31/1/67
Series 1	Episode 4	The Bishop Sees A Ghost	21/2/67
Series 4	Episode 3	The Bishop Loves His Neighbour	29/4/70
Series 4	Episode 4	The Bishop Beats the System	6/5/70
Series 5	Episode 1	The Bishop Warms Up	13/5/71
Series 5	Episode 2	The Bishop Entertains	20/5/71
Series 5	Episode 3	The Bishop Gives a Present	27/5/71
Series 5	Episode 4	The Bishop Shows his Loyalty	3/6/71
Series 5	Episode 5	The Bishop Has a Rest	10/6/71
Series 5	Episode 6	The Bishop Loses his Chaplain	17/6/71

Christmas Night with the Stars

Christmas Night with the Stars was a programme screened annually on Christmas night, when the top stars of the BBC appeared in short versions of their programmes, typically five to ten minutes long. All Gas and Gaiters appeared once alongside its sitcom spin-off Oh, Brother! in 1968, however this telerecording still exists in the BBC's film and videotape archives alongside other surviving Christmas segments from other sitcoms.

Christmas Special: 1968

Title	Airdate	Description	Notes
	25 December 1968		as part of Christmas Night with the Stars

Radio

A radio version of All Gas and Gaiters was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from 5 January 1971 to 4 December 1972 for 33 episodes. The television cast stayed the same for the radio series, with the exception of Derek Nimmo who left after thirteen episodes to be replaced by Jonathan Cecil. Though seven radio episodes were thought to have been wiped, these were later found and all are available through radio enthusiasts. Some episodes were rebroadcast on BBC7 in October and November 2006 and again a year later and in early 2009. They continued to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra, August 2011.

Radio episodes

Series One: 1971

1. "The Bishop Rides Again" (5 January 1971)
2. "The Bishop Writes a Sermon" (12 January 1971)
3. "The Bishop Meets a Bird" (19 January 1971)
4. "The Bishop Turns to Crime" (26 January 1971)
5. "The Bishop Sees a Ghost" (2 February 1971)
6. "Only Three Can Play" (9 February 1971)
7. "The Dean Goes Primitive" (16 February 1971)
8. "The Bishop Gets a Letter" (23 February 1971)
9. "The Bishop Gives a Party" (2 March 1971)
10. "The Bishop Goes to Town" (9 March 1971)
11. "Give a Dog a Bad Name" (16 March 1971)
12. "The Bishop Gives a Shove" (23 March 1971)
13. "The Bishop Pays a Visit" (30 March 1971)

Series Two: 1972

1. "The Bishop Learns the Facts" (24 July 1972)
2. "The Bishop Takes a Holiday" (31 July 1972)
3. "The Bishop Buys a Car" (7 August 1972)
4. "The Bishop Gets the Sack" (14 August 1972)
5. "The Bishop Has a Flutter" (21 August 1972)
6. "The Affair at Cookham Lock" (28 August 1972)
7. "The Bishop Loves His Neighbour" (4 September 1972)
8. "The Bishop Beats the System" (11 September 1972)
9. "The Bishop Entertains" (18 September 1972)
10. "The Bishop Gains a Reputation" (25 September 1972)
11. "The Bishop Buys a Mug" (2 October 1972)
12. "The Bishop Loses his Chaplain" (9 October 1972)
13. "When In Rome" (16 October 1972)
14. "The Bishop Is Hospitable" (23 October 1972)
15. "The Bishop Gives a Present" (30 October 1972)
16. "The Bishop Takes Up Business" (6 November 1972)
17. "The Bishop Keeps his Diary" (13 November 1972)
18. "The Bishop Warms Up" (20 November 1972)
19. "The Bishop Shows his Loyalty" (27 November 1972)
20. "The Bishop Has a Rest" (4 December 1972)

External links

• All Gas And Gaiters at BBC Online
• All Gas and Gaiters at British TV Comedy
• All Gas and Gaiters at the British Comedy Guide
• All Gas and Gaiters at the Internet Movie Database