''Help'' is a

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

comedy series first screened on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

in 2005. Written by and starring

Paul Whitehouse Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a Welsh actor, writer, presenter and comedian. He was one of the main stars of the BBC sketch comedy series ''The Fast Show'' and has starred with Harry Enfield in the shows ''Harry & Paul'' and ''Ha ...

and

Chris Langham Christopher Langham (born 14 April 1949) is an English writer, actor, and comedian. He is known for playing the cabinet minister Hugh Abbot in the BBC sitcom ''The Thick of It'', and as presenter Roy Mallard in '' People Like Us'', first on ...

, it concerns a

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

Peter Strong (Langham) and his therapy sessions with a variety of patients, almost all of whom are played by Whitehouse. Strong, the diffident therapist, has an obsession with his receptionist Rebecca (played by

Alison King Alison Rosamund King (born 3 March 1973) is an English actress and model. She is known for her roles as Lynda Block in the Sky One drama series '' Dream Team'' (1998–2003, 2005–2007), and Carla Connor in the long-running ITV soap opera '' ...

) and also has regular appointments with his own therapist (who is also played by Whitehouse), the only times when the scene leaves Peter's office. Other performers are Mark Williams and

Olivia Colman Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Award ...

in cameos as patients, Alison Senior as a patient's wife, and Langham's real-life daughter Emily as a patient's precocious daughter. Two of the most frequent patients are Gary (the only role Whitehouse plays with no make-up), who initially uses his therapy sessions to escape from his wife; and Monty, an elderly Jewish taxi-driver whose wife is suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Others include an Eastern European father, a magician and a TV presenter. Interviewed by Ben Thompson for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' in 2005, Langham said, of his writing partnership with Whitehouse:

The way Paul works is to try and come up with a phrase that suits a particular voice ... That's the grain of sand around which the pearl of a character forms. Once he's found that voice, he's volcanic – it all comes out of him in a stream of consciousness which I can't type fast enough to keep up with. Then my rather less glamorous and exciting job would be to take that stuff and shape it, which was fine by me, as I'm kind of obsessed with structure.

The show was released on Region 4 DVD, but has so far remained unreleased in the UK, most likely as a result of Langham's conviction for possession of child pornography in 2007 and subsequent semi-retirement. The development of

peeping tom Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. She is mainly remembere ...

character Pedro, who would appear in the proposed and ultimately unmade second series, became a focal point of Langham's trial.

Swedish version

A Swedish remake, ''

Hjälp! ''Hjälp!'' () was a Swedish situation comedy television series, broadcast on the TV4 (Sweden), TV4 network. It revolved around a psychologist, Jeanette Placzycks, played by Stina Ekblad, who treated patients with a variety of problems. The serie ...

'', was broadcast on Swedish television in 2007–2009. The psychologist Jeanette Plaszczyk was played by

Stina Ekblad Stina Åsa Maria Ekblad (born 26 February 1954) is a Swedish-speaking Finnish actress. Living in Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as wel ...

References

External links

* 2005 British television series debuts 2005 British television series endings 2000s British comedy television series BBC television comedy Psychotherapy {{BBC-comedy-tv-prog-stub