New DVDs and CDs mark anniversary

The 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of Hancock's Half Hour is to be marked with new audio and video releases featuring the lad himself.

The show was first broadcast on the radio on November 2, 1954, and was so successful, that it was transferred to TV two years later.

BBC Audiobooks are releasing three titles – including a complete collectors pack of the six radio series broadcast between 1954 and 1959.

The 41-CD set, a repackaged collection of discs previously released, will cost £250. Click here to buy.

For more modest pockets, there is a two-hour documentary about Tony Hancock’s rise to the top, presented by Denis Norden.

Hancock: A Comedy Genius traces his early career, starting from a 17-year-old in a Bristol variety show called A La Carte for the BBC Forces Programme.

It charts his rise through shows such as Variety Bandbox and Happy-go-Lucky, where he first read words written by his acclaimed writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. It costs £12.99 on CD. Click here to buy

A third CD release features soundtracks  from four TV shows: The Missing Page, Son and Heir, Poison Pen Letters and Lord Byron Lived Here Hancock's Half Hour, which were previously available as separate. This is also £12.99 on CD (here)

Meanwhile, some of Hancock’s earliest TV shows were released on DVD last week.

None of the first series, and all but one episode of the second series, were destroyed by the BBC.

However, the remaining show from series 2, the Alpine Holiday; the four remaining shows from series three, and a Chistmas special: Hancock’s 43 Minutes are included in the new disc.

Published: 21 Sep 2004