Brothers
2026 · Comedy
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TV series / 1979
Only When I Laugh
Only When I Laugh is an ITV1 sitcom broadcast from 29 October 1979 to 16 December 1982 for four series with seven episodes each, and a Christmas special in 1981. The title is the answer to the question, "Does it hurt?" A naïve middle-class man is admitted to an NHS hospital ward, shared with a working-class layabout and an upper-class hypochondriac. The trio never fail to cause a nuisance for the poor, unsuspecting staff.
The story
Only When I Laugh is an ITV1 sitcom broadcast from 29 October 1979 to 16 December 1982 for four series with seven episodes each, and a Christmas special in 1981. The title is the answer to the question, "Does it hurt?"
A naïve middle-class man is admitted to an NHS hospital ward, shared with a working-class layabout and an upper-class hypochondriac. The trio never fail to cause a nuisance for the poor, unsuspecting staff.
Cast
James BolamRoy Figgis
Peter BowlesArchie Glover
Christopher StrauliNorman Binns
Richard WilsonGordon Thorpe
Derrick BrancheGupte
Alexandra BrookNurse
Patsy SmartLady
Elin JenkinsAnna
Stephen GreifNicos
Robert GillespieClegg
Pamela CundellCook
Sally OsborneSally
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John JunkinLandlord
John MooreCustomer
Arnold DiamondCustomer
Naomi BuchCustomer
John RapleyCustomer
Moira ListerGloria Robbins
Patrick TroughtonJoe Perkins
Ronnie StevensHargreaves
Jenny McCrackenFemale Patient
Julia GoodmanJenny
Margaret CourtenayMrs Binns
Pat AshtonPeg
John QuayleVicar
Brenda CowlingMatron
Judi MaynardEileen
Richard MorantPhil
Jeremy BullochGary
Les FlanaganCamera Crew
Ian LangstaffCamera Crew
Rick PickardCamera Crew
Dominic FieldCamera Crew
Reginald MarshSir Julian Briggs
Rosalind AyresAmy Glossop
Ann BeachHelen Roper-Jones
Sylvia KayClare Butterfield
Mary TammLeonora
Karl HowmanRonnie
John RonanePoliceman
Isla BlairBradley
Gwen TaylorVictoria Plumtree
Oliver PyeDanny
Kay GarnerNurse
Sue GloverNurse
Lee GibsonNurse
Marian DaviesNurse
Jane ShackellNurse
Susan SheridanAssorted Children (voice)
Wanda VenthamFiona
John NettletonCol. Walters
Terry DiabDr. Bernstein
Diane BullDeidre
Jacqueline ClarkeMuffin
Neil McCarthyHarry Bridgewater
Norman MitchellPrison Officer
Frank MiddlemassCharlie
Patricia BrakeHilary
Nicholas McArdleGeorge
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