Only When I Laugh
Only When I Laugh is an ITV1 sitcom broadcast from 29 October 1979 to 16 December 1982 for four series with seven episodes each, and a Christmas special in 1981. The title is the answer to the question, "Does it hurt?" A naïve middle-class man is admitted to an NHS hospital ward, shared with a working-class layabout and an upper-class hypochondriac. The trio never fail to cause a nuisance for the poor, unsuspecting staff.
Overview
Only When I Laugh is an ITV1 sitcom broadcast from 29 October 1979 to 16 December 1982 for four series with seven episodes each, and a Christmas special in 1981. The title is the answer to the question, "Does it hurt?" A naïve middle-class man is admitted to an NHS hospital ward, shared with a working-class layabout and an upper-class hypochondriac. The trio never fail to cause a nuisance for the poor, unsuspecting staff.
Vernon Lawrence
Producer
Episodes
1. A Bed with a View
Young Norman Binns is admitted to Dr Thorpe's ward and is tricked by pessimistic Roy Figgis into swapping beds so that Figgis can have the bed with the window view. As a result, Thorpe and staff nurse Gupte confuse the two men's symptoms.
2. Operation Norman
Norman has to have an appendectomy but Figgis' doom-laden description of operations and Thorpe's wariness do not give him confidence, so he hides in the toilet, having to be coaxed out.
3. The Rumour
Thorpe is telling Gupte that his dog Victor is unwell but Gupte misunderstands and thinks he's talking about his son. The patients also fall prey to the misunderstanding, for various reasons each believing that they are going to die.
Cast & Crew
James Bolam
Roy Figgis
Peter Bowles
Archie Glover
Christopher Strauli
Norman Binns
Richard Wilson
Gordon Thorpe
