All Gas And Gaiters

1 9 6 6 (UK)
1 9 6 7 – 1 9 7 1 (UK)
33 x 30 minute episodes
1 x short special

Another intelligent sitcom from the BBC, All Gas And Gaiters starred Derek Nimmo as the bumbling, inept but well-meaning chaplain Mervyn Noote of St Oggs, a 13th Century cathedral.

Reverend Noote never used one word when ten would do, and his misadventures were usually aided and abetted by the Archdeacon (Robertson Hare) and the Bishop (William Mervyn).

The trio were in constant battle with the church authorities, especially the Dean (played in turn by John Barron and Ernest Clark).

All Gas And Gaiters was one of many shows to spring from the BBC’s Comedy Playhouse initiative, which gave new writers a peak-time slot in which to try out new ideas.

Beginning life under the title The Bishop Rides Again, All Gas & Gaiters proved particularly durable, with 33 half-hours from husband and wife writing team Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps.

Handsomely served by a fine cast, the show elevated Derek Nimmo to the top rank of British comic character actors, at the same time giving him a religious connection in the public’s mind that he cheerfully explored for many years.

During the run of All Gas And Gaiters, Nimmo moonlighted as novice monk Brother Dominic in Oh Brother!  and the two shows combined for a segment of the BBC’s 1968 Christmas Night With The Stars.

A radio version of All Gas And Gaiters aired for 33 episodes (January 1971 –  December 1972 on BBC Radio 4) featuring the main TV cast but with Derek Nimmo leaving after the first series of 13 to be replaced by Jonathan Cecil.

Reverend Mervyn Noote 
Derek Nimmo
Bishop Cuthbert Hever
William Mervyn
Archdeacon Henry Blunt
Robertson Hare
Dean Lionel Pugh-Critchley
John Barron (1)
Ernest Clark (2)
Mrs Grace Pugh-Critchley
Joan Sanderson