Harry Enfield & Chums (originally titled Harry Enfield's Television Programme) is a British sketch show starring Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse and Kathy Burke. It first broadcast on BBC2 in 1990 in the 9 pm slot on Thursdays, which became the traditional time for alternative comedy on television.
Enfield was already an established name owing to his "Loadsamoney" character (which featured in a few entertainment programmes in the late 1980s), but the series gave greater presence to his frequent collaborators Whitehouse and Burke – so much so that, in 1994, the show was retitled Harry Enfield & Chums. In 2001, a clip show series titled Harry Enfield Presents aired, which featured compilations of sketches from the series featuring new linking material recorded by Enfield in character.
History Harry Enfield's Television Programme was written by Enfield, Whitehouse, Charlie Higson and Geoffrey Perkins, and broadcast on BBC2. The original series titles began with Enfield in a black suit walking towards the camera and blowing two raspberries to the music of a brass band, standing still while the camera showed the upper half of his right side, then flipped to the left side, then simultaneously rotated and zoomed in before ending with a full body shot of him taking a quick drag from a cigarette hidden behind his back. The show ran for two series with this title in late 1990 and spring 1992. A Christmas special titled Harry Enfield's Festive Television Programme was broadcast on Christmas Eve 1992.
A special, Smashie & Nicey: End of an Era, aired at Easter 1994, which retired the characters of Smashie and Nicey.
After the original series, there were a couple of radio appearances. During the period between series, Enfield concentrated on straight acting parts, and Whitehouse worked on other projects.
Through repeats, the characters proved popular, and in 1994, the BBC commissioned a new series called Harry Enfield & Chums, this time broadcast on BBC1. This series was produced with a pool of writers, rather than the cast alone. The format of the opening credits was the same, although Enfield was now joined by co-stars Whitehouse and Burke to take a collective bow to the audience. Two Christmas specials of Harry Enfield & Chums were produced for 1997 and 1998. These were titled Harry Enfield & Christmas Chums and Harry Enfield's Yule Log Chums, respectively.
For Christmas 1999, and in advance of the forthcoming Kevin & Perry Go Large film, a clip show episode called Harry Enfield Presents Kevin's Guide to Being a Teenager was broadcast. The clip show format was revisited in 2001 with a series of six further Harry Enfield Presents episodes based around individual characters or premises. The episodes in the series were:
Tim Nice-but-Dim's Guide to Being a Bloody Nice Bloke Wayne and Waynetta's Guide to Wedded Bliss Guide to Family Values Look, Listen and Take Heed The North of England Guide to Being a Senior Citizen
Episodes
SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired First in the series Last in the series Harry Enfield's Television Programme Series 1|align="center"| 6
|align="center"| 8 November 1990
|align="center"| 13 December 1990
|bgcolor=green height="10px"|
|align="center"| Harry Enfield's Television Programme Series 2|align="center"| 6
|align="center"| 2 April 1992
|align="center"| 7 May 1992
|bgcolor=red height="10px"|
|align="center"| Harry Enfield & Chums Series 1|align="center"| 6
|align="center"| 4 November 1994
|align="center"| 16 December 1994
|bgcolor=yellow height="10px"|
|align="center"| Harry Enfield & Chums Series 2|align="center"| 6
|align="center"| 7 January 1997
|align="center"| 11 February 1997
|bgcolor=blue height="10px"|
|align="center"| Harry Enfield Presents 6 5 January 2001 30 October 2001
In addition to the main series, the following Christmas and one-off specials were broadcast:
Harry Enfield's Festive Television Programme was broadcast 24 December 1992.
Smashie & Nicey: End of an Era was broadcast 4 April 1994.
Harry Enfield & Christmas Chums was broadcast 24 December 1997.
Harry Enfield's Yule Log Chums was broadcast 28 December 1998.
Harry Enfield Presents Kevin's Guide to Being a Teenager was broadcast 27 December 1999.
Recurring characters and sketches
Harry Enfield's Television Programme Series 1 The following characters and recurring sketches appear for the first time in series 1 of Harry Enfield's Television Programme. In series 1, they are often introduced with title cards announcing the name of the character or sketch.
The Boressszzzzz Two uninteresting middle-aged men, Jeff and Geoff Bore (Harry Enfield and Simon Godley), who frequently engage in dull and witless banter, revolving around bland topics such as their cars and local theatre, typically punctuated by obnoxious laughter at their own jokes.
Doctor Dolittle, He Talks to the Animals A vulgar parody of Doctor Dolittle (Enfield), in which he communicates with animals through verbal abuse and profanity.
The Double-take Brothers Two brothers (Enfield and Rupert Holliday-Evans) with an irritating propensity for exaggerated double takes whenever something obvious or mundane occurs, such as having to queue at a post office, yet fail to react when something genuinely shocking and unexpected happens, such as being attacked by a shark or hit by a car.
Fat Bloke A fat, jolly-looking man (David Barber) who made his first appearance in a "Lee and Lance" sketch. He later formed a running gag where, for no apparent reason, he would walk into the middle of a sketch, hand something to a character (usually appropriate to the situation), be told "Thank you, Fat Bloke!", and walk off. In the first series of Harry Enfield & Chums, he would be introduced at the end of the closing credits by Enfield who would announce: "The show's not over until the Fat Bloke sings!" whereupon he would sing a song (ranging from "Lord of the Dance" to "Smack My Bitch Up") in operatic style.
Freddie & Jack A pair of Labour and Conservative MPs (Enfield) who live together and are unable to perform any menial household tasks without descending into petty and childish political arguments which usually have nothing to do with the task at hand. The final sketch featured a guest appearance by David Steel, a prominent Liberal Democrat MP at the time, against whom Freddie and Jack unite during a birthday party. Certain elements of Enfield's character were carried over into the later character Tory Boy. This sketch has become more dated than most due to Freddie's frequent references to the EEC.
George Integrity Whitebread George (Enfield) is a stereotypical, insensitive, plain-speaking Yorkshireman; unfortunately, he usually finds himself in a position of responsibility requiring creativity and sensitivity. When he is first introduced, it is stated with approval by the other characters in the sketch that "Integrity is his middle name", only for them to discover that this is only true in a literal sense.
Lee and Lance Two idiots (Enfield and Paul Whitehouse) who work variously as mechanics, builders, and stall holders, and have inane conversations about a range of topics, confidently exposing their own ignorance. Lance is completely moronic (though surprisingly proficient in opera singing), whereas Lee is slightly smarter, but not by much.
Little Brother Kevin (Enfield) is an annoying, hyperactive twelve-year-old boy with a minuscule attention-span; constantly pestering his older brother and parents by making immature jokes, insensitive remarks, and repeatedly referencing Blackadder ("Bloody hell, Baldrick!").
In Harry Enfield & Chums, on Kevin's 13th birthday his personality suddenly changes to become "Kevin the Teenager".
Mr. Cholmondley-Warner A snobbish, upper-crust 1930s newsreel presenter (played by Jon Glover). Miles Cholmondley-Warner ( ), with his manservant Greyson (Enfield), would expound on various issues of the day and attempt to uphold the British Empire's values. In the second series of Chums, in the absence of Glover, this gave way to a series of public information films that would advise, amongst other things, that women refrain from driving and participating in complex conversations (as this would lead to insanity) or that babies be given gin to ensure a good night's sleep. The characters also appeared in a series of TV adverts for Mercury Communications, where they were introduced by Grayson's wife (portrayed by Felicity Montagu). The sketch Women: Know Your Limits! was plagiarised by a Danish PR agency in a campaign video for the 2009 Danish Act of Succession referendum. Some other sketches within the show also use the 1930s newsreel format but are not connected to any specific character. In keeping with the setting, the brief piece of music that introduced these segments was "Calling All Workers" by Eric Coates, a piece that had previously been used as the theme to Music While You Work, a wartime and post-war BBC radio show.
The Old Gits A pair of cruel and bitter old men, Fred and Alf Git (Enfield and Whitehouse), who only derive joy from inflicting misery on others. Even just the thought of upsetting or inconveniencing other people is enough to entertain them, as they habitually imagine twisted hypotheticals involving their neighbours, families, and even each other. The characters re-appeared in Harry Enfield & Chums, albeit with their names swapped to avoid confusion with The Fast Show character Unlucky Alf, also played by Whitehouse.
The Palace of Righteous Justice A superhero team, consisting of Law Man (Enfield), Fire Man (Parker), and Kometh the Iceman (Aden Gillett), who attempt to solve everyday problems such as opening a bank account through use of their destructive superpowers, invariably ending in chaos. The day is always then "saved" by a fourth member of the team, She Woman Cat Type Thing, who does nothing but regurgitate fur balls or lick herself.
Sergei and Vincent Russian and Dutch tourists (Enfield and Whitehouse) with a naive, optimistic outlook on the world and a dated taste in rock music.
The Scousers
Gary, Barry, and Terry (Enfield, Joe McGann and Gary Bleasdale) are three stereotypical Liverpudlians with incredibly short tempers, constantly challenging each other to fights over perceived slights and insults which they read into everything. They are also shown to be petty criminals, occasionally discussing their thieving and joyriding exploits, and in one sketch they attempt to rob a building society. Their catchphrases are "Dey do dough, don't dey dough" ("They do though, don't they though") and "Alright! Alright! Calm down, calm down", said by one of the trio when the other two start arguing.
The characters returned in Harry Enfield & Chums, with McGann replaced by Mark Moraghan.
The Slobs (Wayne and Waynetta) A benefit-dependent, lower-class couple (Enfield and Kathy Burke) with a lack of personal hygiene who spend most of their time smoking cigarettes or eating pizzas. Wayne and Waynetta argue constantly over everything, including the name of their child, whom they eventually name Frogmella because "it's exotic". Later, another daughter is named Spudulika after Waynetta's favourite fast-food franchise Spudulike. A third child, which Waynetta calls Canoe (supposedly named after actor Keanu Reeves), was born of an affair Wayne had with Naomi Campbell which resulted in octuplets. Canoe completes the family with the "brown baby" Waynetta always wanted (since all the other mothers on the estate had one). The couple win the lottery and also win a holiday; but the aircraft crashes because they are so overweight, and they end up stranded in the jungle. The Slobs were derived both from one of Burke's stand-up skits and a couple with a similar lifestyle who lived in the flat below Enfield in his younger days.
Smashie and Nicey