Terry Scott and June Whitfield are not names generally associated with controversy, but this 'Happy Ever After' episode, broadcast on 5/9/1978, attracted numerous complaints back in the day.
June complains that Terry is taking up too much room in bed, and puts him on a diet. He finds he cannot stick to it, so he - and June - check in at the Fallowfields health farm, run by Mrs. Danvers ( Pearl Hackney ). Terry hates the place because of the strict regime of low calorie food and exercise. One night, he has a nightmare in which the place is like a Nazi prisoner of war camp, and Aunt Lucy is the Commandant.
It is the dream sequence which provoked the controversy. On the night it was broadcast, BBC-1 also screened the third instalment of the American mini-series 'Holocaust ( starring David Warner and Meryl Streep ), a kind of prototype 'Schindler's List'. Although the Holocaust was not directly mentioned in the 'Happy Ever After' episode, viewers felt the spoof was in bad taste. When the series was repeated, this episode was noticeably missing.
Looked at now, the episode is not especially offensive, not when compared to Jimmy Carr's infamous 'Holocaust' joke of recent times ( which also provoked anger but does not appear to have had a damaging effect on his career ). The timing was wrong though.
Funniest moment - exploring the health farm, Terry finds a skeleton and wonders if it might have been a previous resident!
June complains that Terry is taking up too much room in bed, and puts him on a diet. He finds he cannot stick to it, so he - and June - check in at the Fallowfields health farm, run by Mrs. Danvers ( Pearl Hackney ). Terry hates the place because of the strict regime of low calorie food and exercise. One night, he has a nightmare in which the place is like a Nazi prisoner of war camp, and Aunt Lucy is the Commandant.
It is the dream sequence which provoked the controversy. On the night it was broadcast, BBC-1 also screened the third instalment of the American mini-series 'Holocaust ( starring David Warner and Meryl Streep ), a kind of prototype 'Schindler's List'. Although the Holocaust was not directly mentioned in the 'Happy Ever After' episode, viewers felt the spoof was in bad taste. When the series was repeated, this episode was noticeably missing.
Looked at now, the episode is not especially offensive, not when compared to Jimmy Carr's infamous 'Holocaust' joke of recent times ( which also provoked anger but does not appear to have had a damaging effect on his career ). The timing was wrong though.
Funniest moment - exploring the health farm, Terry finds a skeleton and wonders if it might have been a previous resident!