Why Royal Mail rejected his image

The Royal Mail rejected the idea of putting Benny Hill on a stamp because his lascivious comedy wouldn’t have complied with the company’s policy on harassment at work, it has been revealed.

The comedian’s image was suggested for a series of stamps marking the 50th anniversary of ITV in 2005 – but newly released documents show that bosses were worried about the reaction to them.

Minutes from a committee meeting to decide on which images to use stated: ‘Benny Hill has been included in previous presentations but concerns were raised by our public relations team as it was in direct opposition to company's policies on harassment in the workplace.’

The committee also rejected images of Kenny Everett and Miss Piggy, though the reason is not known.

In the end, they plumped for Inspector Morse, Emmerdale, Rising Damp, The Avengers, The South Bank Show and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire to represent half a century of the commercial broadcaster.

William Brown, of the fan site Benny's Place, compared the Royal Mail’s decision to ‘what the Soviet Union did with dissidents by just airbrushing them out of history’.

Published: 6 Nov 2009