''Parsley Sidings'' is a

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

of the early 1970s created by

Jim Eldridge Jim Eldridge (born November 1944) is an English radio, film and television screenwriter with hundreds of radio and TV scripts broadcast in the United Kingdom and across the world in a career spanning over 30 years. Eldridge is the creator and ...

. It stars Arthur Lowe and

Ian Lavender Arthur Ian Lavender (born 16 February 1946) is an English stage, film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Private Pike in the BBC sitcom '' Dad's Army'', and is the last surviving major cast member of the series following t ...

(who were starring in the sitcom ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...

'' at the time) and

Kenneth Connor Kenneth Connor, (6 June 1918 – 28 November 1993) was a British stage, film and broadcasting actor, who rose to national prominence with his appearances in the ''Carry On'' films. Early life Connor was born in Highbury, Islington, London ...

from the ''

Carry On Carry On may refer to: * ''Carry On'' (franchise), a British comedy media franchise *Carry-on luggage or hand luggage, luggage that is carried into the passenger compartment * ''Carry On'' (film), a 1927 British silent film * ''Carry On'' (novel), ...

'' films. The show is set in a sleepy out of the way

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

on the main line between

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, in the Midlands. The main characters are the station master, Mr Horace Hepplewhite (played by Arthur Lowe); his son, Bertrand (

); station porter Percy Valentine (

); Mr Bradshaw, the signalman (also played by

, as was Clara the station hen); and station tannoy announcer Gloria Simpkins (

Liz Fraser Elizabeth Joan Winch (14 August 1930 – 6 September 2018), known professionally as Liz Fraser, was a British film actress, best known for being cast in provocative comedy roles. Early life Fraser was born in Southwark, London. Her year of bi ...

, who was also in the ''Carry On'' films, and appeared in the Dad's Army feature film). The guest cast in some episodes included

Bill Pertwee William Desmond Anthony Pertwee, (21 July 1926 – 27 May 2013) was a British comedy actor. He played the role of Chief ARP Warden Hodges in the sitcom '' Dad's Army''. Early life Pertwee was born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, on 21 July 192 ...

(also from ''Dad's Army'', appearing in episode 11),

Roger Delgado Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto (1 March 1918 – 18 June 1973) was a British actor. He played many roles on television, radio and in films, and had "a long history of playing minor villains" before becoming ...

(The Master in '' Doctor Who'' in the Jon Pertwee era) with the announcer for the programme being

Keith Skues Richard Keith Skues MBE, AE (born 4 March 1939) is a British radio personality. His career spans over 60 years. Biography Skues was born in Timperley, Cheshire. His broadcasting career began on the British Forces Network in Cologne, Germany, in ...

. The scripts are by Jim Eldridge (who would later go on to write for many more series, the most successful being the BBC's '' King Street Junior''). The series was produced by

Edward Taylor Edward Taylor (1642 – June 29, 1729) was a colonial American poet, pastor and physician of English origin. His work remained unpublished for some 200 years but since then has established him as one of the foremost writers of his time. His poe ...

, and was broadcast on BBC Radio 2. Due to the BBC's then practice of wiping tapes after the broadcast of a show, only a minority of the 21 episodes produced were still in the BBC archive; ''Goodbye, Parsley Sidings'' and ''The Entente Cordial'' are aired on BBC Radio 4 Extra occasionally and have always been in the BBC archives, while ''A Night Out'', ''A Bird in the Hand'' and ''The Secret Agent'' were recovered between 2001 and 2003 as off-air recordings from members of the public. These episodes were aired in early 2007. All the other episodes are known to exist in private hands. In 2008, more episodes were 'discovered', including the pilot and "The New Level Crossing". The BBC broadcast some programmes from the series in February 2011. Starting 1 November 2012, 4 Extra began a run of the whole series using audio compiled from both the BBC's own archive and private collections, with intros and outros re-recorded by original on-stage announcer

. The signature tune is "Banjo Boy" by

Roger Roger ''Roger Roger'' is a BBC television comedy drama written by John Sullivan. The series was about a mini-cab firm called Cresta Cabs. The pilot aired in 1996 and there were three subsequent series on BBC1 in 1998–2003. Cast and characters Mai ...

, from the LP ''Mood Music Vol. 18'' in the Chappell music library. (This music was also used for the signature tune of the 1969–71 British TV series '' The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder''.)

Episodes

References

External links

*
Parsley Sidings – more information and some episode synopses
{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113180851/http://www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/Dads%20Army%20Parsley%20Sidings.htm , date=13 January 2015 BBC Radio comedy programmes Lost BBC episodes