Citizen James
| Citizen James | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Starring |
Sid James Sydney Tafler Alec Bregonzi Bill Kerr |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 32 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC TV |
| Original release | 24 November 1960 – 23 November 1962 |
Citizen James is a BBC sitcom that ran for three series between 24 November 1960 and 23 November 1962. The show featured comedian and actor Sid James and Sydney Tafler with Bill Kerr and Liz Fraser appearing in early episodes. It was initially written by the comedy writing team of Galton and Simpson, who based the characters very much on the "Sidney Balmoral James" and "Bill Kerr, the dim-witted Australian" roles that they had played in Hancock's Half Hour.
The first series was set around 'Charlie's Nosh Bar', a cafe in Soho, and centred on Sid's get-rich-quick schemes. He is helped by "Billy the Kerr" and quite often frustrated by the local bookmaker Albert Welshman (Tafler). Liz Fraser played Sid's long-suffering girlfriend who has been waiting for seven years for Sid to set the date.
Changes were made to the format after the first series. Sid James' character was changed to be something of a people's champion, campaigning for social justice. Bill Kerr and Liz Fraser departed and Sidney Tafler played a different character: Charlie Davenport. The location switched from Soho to Sid and Charlie sharing a house.
Later episodes were written by then Morecambe & Wise writers Sid Green and Dick Hills.
Despite not being written by Galton and Simpson, the sets and familiar supporting cast gave these last two series a recognizable Hancock feeling to the proceedings.
Like many BBC series of this time, episodes were not necessarily retained (see Wiping). Only ten episodes from the three series are known to still exist.
Series 1
E01 - The Race
Out of money, Sid hits on an idea to fix a "waiter's race" by use of a ringer.
E02 - The Elixir
Sid and Bill try their hand in the snake-oil business, selling "Dr." Sidney James' Magical Elixir.
E03 - The Money
Liz entrusts £300 to Sid to take to the Bank, but Sid and Bill soon find themselves parted from the money by Albert
...
Wikipedia