''Whoops Baghdad'' (also known as ''Frankie Howerd in Whoops Baghdad'' ) is a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

programme first broadcast from 25 January to 1 March 1973. Starring

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of a soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

, it was similar to his earlier programme ''

Up Pompeii! ''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series set in ancient Pompeii and broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the seco ...

'', with the setting moved from

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. Unlike its predecessor, all six episodes exist. The original proposed title, ''Up Baghdad'', was rejected because it was felt that it might have been seen as supportive of the then-current Iraqi regime.

Cast

as Ali Oopla, servant to the Wazir (all episodes) *

Derek Francis Derek Francis (7 November 1923 – 27 March 1984) was an English comedy and character actor. Biography Francis was a regular in the Carry On film players, appearing in six of the films in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in '' The Tomb of Lig ...

as Abu ben Ackers, Wazir and Prime Minister of Old Baghdad (all episodes) * Hilary Pritchard as Saccharine, the Wazir's youngest and most innocent daughter (all episodes) * Anna Brett as Boobiana, the Wazir's oldest and most well developed daughter (5 episodes) * Larry Martyn as Derti Dhoti the beggar (5 episodes) * Alan Curtis as Captain of the Guard/Havabanana/Sheikh Akabar the Vile/Robber (5 episodes) *

Norman Chappell Norman Chappell (31 December 1925, Lucknow, India – 21 July 1983) was an English character actor, known for numerous roles in television and film. Biography Born in India during the British Raj, Chappell appeared mainly in television series as ...

as Imshi the eunuch, caretaker of the Caliph's harem (2 episodes) * Lee Young as Genie of the bottle (2 episodes) *

Bill Fraser William Simpson Fraser (5 June 1908 – 9 September 1987) was a Scottish actor who appeared on stage, screen and television for many years. In 1986 he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for his stage role in the play '' ...

as Wizard Prang/Caliph of Old Baghdad (2 episodes) * Ronnie Brody as Mustafa Shufti, Wizard Prang's assistant (1 episode) *

Josephine Tewson Josephine Ann Tewson (26 February 1931 – 18 August 2022) was an English actress, known for her roles in British television sitcoms and comedies. She portrayed Edna Hawkins ("Mrs H") on '' Shelley'' (1979–1982), Jane Travers in '' Clarence' ...

as Fatima the Marriage Broker (1 episode) *

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor. He became best known for his roles in television, most notably starring as the Second Doctor, second incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the lo ...

as Tambalane the Tartar (1 episode) * Jane Murdoch as Tangerine (1 episode) * Winifred Sabine as Tambalane's first wife (1 episode) *

Milton Reid Milton Rutherford Reid (29 April 1917 – c. 1987) was a British-Indian actor and professional wrestler. He was born in India, the son of a Scottish-born Customs and Excise inspector and an Indian woman. He wrestled in England under the name of ...

as the harem's hairdresser (1 episode) *

June Whitfield Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television and film actress. Whitfield's big break was a lead in the radio comedy '' Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme ...

as Charisma (1 episode) *

Debbie McGee Debra Ann McGee (born 31 October 1958) is an English television, radio and stage performer who is best known as the assistant and widow of magician Paul Daniels. McGee is a former ballet dancer and for three years was artistic director of her ...

as belly dancer (1 episode) * George Ballantine as

Sinbad the Sailor Sinbad the Sailor (; or Sindbad) is a fictional mariner and the hero of a Literary cycle, story-cycle. He is described as hailing from Baghdad during the early Abbasid Caliphate (8th and 9th centuries A.D.). In the course of seven voyages thr ...

(1 episode) * Valerie Stanton as Shannonar (1 episode)

Episode list

References

External links

* * 1970s British comedy television series 1973 British television series debuts 1973 British television series endings Baghdad in fiction BBC One original programming BBC television sitcoms Television series set in the Middle Ages {{BBC-comedy-tv-prog-stub