Big Jim and the Figaro Club

Bernard Cribbins stars in this classic BBC comedy set in a post-war seaside town

Featuring Norman Rossington as Big Jim, listen to these six funny and anarchic tales from those demob days “when we was going to build the new Jerusalem – you know, before the world turned lax and sour”. Set on the building site of a seaside town in the1950s, and narrated by comedy legend Bernard Cribbins, this is classic BBC comedy at its best.

When Old Ned is finally demobbed, he heads south to the seaside to find work as a builder and joins a special construction team hoping to revive an old town that suffered during the war. This comedy series features a cast of hilarious characters including arch-rivals the Town Hall clerk, Potts, and sanitary inspector, Harold Perkins as well as builders Turps (played by Dr Who actor Sylvester McCoy) and Chick, and the aptly named local vicar, Trev the Rev. As they try (but fail) to make construction progress, they find themselves hurling insults and then onions when things get a little heated… This story revels in the highs and lows of post-war Britain. It’s a charming and funny listen where nostalgia meets cynicism, and the future, whilst seemingly bright and bleak in equal measure, is consistently hilarious.

Bernard Cribbins’s career spanned over seven decades. He became known in the 1960s for his appearances in such comedy films as Two-Way Stretch and the Carry On series. His other screen roles include Albert Perks in The Railway Children, the barman Felix Forsythe in Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy and the pretentious hotel guest Mr Hutchinson in the Fawlty Towers episode ‘The Hotel Inspectors’ and several appearances in Dr Who.

Episode List

Transport of Delight

The French Connection

On the Line

Up the Pole

Boning Up on History

The Old Dunkirk Spirit

Cast and credits

Written by Ted Walker and Colin Rose

Produced by Martin Fisher

Narrator - Bernard Cribbins
Big Jim - Norman Rossington
Harold Perkins - Roland Curram
Old Ned - Harold Goodwin
Nimrod - David John
Turps - Sylvester McCoy
Chick - David Beckett

Potts - Christopher Godwin
The Farmer - Douglas Blackwell
The Farmer’s Daughter/Typist - Karen Ascoe

Miss Farquhar - Hilary Mason

French Onion Johnnie - Andre Maranne

PC Speedworth - Norman Mitchell

Harry - Steven Harrold

Miss James - Carol Hawkins
Plonker - Stephen Garlick
Trev the Rev - Ben Aris

Fortescue - Norman Bird

First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 Feb-21 Mar 1987

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