It Ain't Half Hot Mum



It Ain't Half Hot, Mum is a BBC television sitcom about a Royal Artillery concert party based in Deolali in India and the fictional village of Tin Min in Burma, during the last months of the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who had both served in similar roles in India during World War II. It was first broadcast on BBC 1 between 1974 and 1981 in eight series totalling 56 episodes in all. Each episode ran for 30 minutes.

The title comes from the first episode in which young Gunner Parkins (Christopher Mitchell) writes home to his mother in England.

Many songs of the era were performed by the cast in their re-enactment of wartime variety shows. In 1975, Don Estelle and Windsor Davies, in character as "Lofty" and Sergeant Major Williams, released "Whispering Grass" and this became a hit, reaching number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and stayed at the top spot for three weeks.

Outline
It Ain't Half Hot, Mum is set during the Second World War (in the period just after the German surrender when the Allies were trying to finish the war by defeating Japan in Asia). The scripts make clear that the performers are members of a Royal Artillery Concert Party and are thus enlisted soldiers, rather than being members of ENSA. Initially, the British soldiers are stationed at the fictional Royal Artillery Depot in Deolali, India, where soldiers were kept before being sent to fight at the front lines. The series used the experiences of its creators during the Second World War; Jimmy Perry had been a member of a similar performing troupe in India while David Croft had been an entertainments officer in Poona (now in the Indian state of Maharashtra).

The main characters are performers in the base's Concert Party, which involved putting on comic acts and musical performances (similar to those seen in a music hall) for the other soldiers prior to their departure for the front lines. The soldiers in the Concert Party all love this particular job, as it keeps them out of combat duty, but some do harbour dreams of becoming world-famous actors when they leave the army.

The main characters include Gunner "Lofty" Sugden, a short, fat soldier who wears a pith helmet and possesses an incredible singing voice; Gunner "Parky" Parkin, a young recruit who, though eager, is slightly bumbling and has very little aptitude for the theatre; Gunner "La-de-dah"/"Paderewski" Graham, a bald-headed and intelligent Oxbridge graduate who plays the piano; Gunner "Atlas" Mackintosh, a short-tempered Scotsman who specialises in feats of strength; Gunner "Nobby" Clark, a not-very-bright soldier who does bird calls and whistling acts; and Gunner "Nosher" Evans, a soldier who does a paper-tearing act and tends to eat a lot, spraying food whenever he speaks. Rounding out the enlisted crew are Bombardier "Solly" Solomons, a soldier from London, who is a former theatrical agent, and Jewish; and Gunner "Gloria" Beaumont, an effeminate, cowardly soldier who specialises in performing female roles in drag (as there are no women assigned to the Concert Party). Beaumont is later promoted to Bombardier after Solly is demobbed and sent back to Britain.

The soldiers are under the orders of Battery Sergeant Major Williams, a belligerent Welshman who has spent almost all of his life as a professional soldier. In turn, Williams reports to the two officers in charge of the Concert Party: Captain Ashwood and Lieutenant-Colonel Reynolds. Both Ashwood and Reynolds are characterised as coming from upper-class backgrounds. Ashwood, the younger officer, is rather stupid and slightly excitable, while Reynolds is older and more worldly-wise and sensible. While often bemoaning the rough conditions of Army life, both Ashwood and Reynolds realise that keeping their Concert Party administrative duties (and thus remaining behind friendly lines) is infinitely preferable to combat duty at the front line.

A small contingent of Indian workers are also usually found alongside the Britons: Bearer Rangi Ram, who acts as their butler and porter, displaying an outwardly obsequious nature that hides a very savvy intelligence; he is a good friend of the concert party and helps them out when they are in trouble; Muhammad, the idealistic chai wallah who, in the traditional role, carries an urn of hot tea and a box of pastries for everyone to purchase, and Rumzam, the lazy punkah wallah whose job it is to fan the officers, who is often kicked and told off by everyone.

While both the enlisted men and the officers are extremely reluctant to give up their relatively cushy assignment behind the lines, Sergeant Major Williams hates being assigned to the Concert Party. Williams resents not only the lack of an active combat role, but also having to be in charge of men who perform what he considers to be effeminate duties (often deriding them as "poofs"), instead of being able to command men he considers to be "real soldiers". As a result, Williams is routinely found shouting orders at the men (both soldiers and native workers) in the manner of a drill sergeant, delighting in putting the enlisted men through endless drills, parades and PT sessions. His ultimate goal, and the focus of many of his schemes, is to have the Concert Party disbanded, and the men sent off to join other troops fighting at the front. However, the soldiers usually find a way to get out of these schemes (often with the unwitting help of the two officers), and so are able to continue performing their Concert Party duties. However, the Concert Party eventually finds themselves transferred to the village of Tin Min, Burma, which is located very near the front line.

The Sergeant Major is also depicted as being extremely proud of the British Empire (and being blind to the fact that it is in its last days), and disgusted by the idea of Home Rule that India and Burma will gain after the war, and by Asian nationalists who dream of India and Burma being independent from British control. As such, the Sergeant Major is often abusive to the Asian workers and people, and tries his best to treat them roughly, which often gets him into trouble. Rangi, the bearer, is also presented comedically as being extremely supportive of British imperialism, and considers himself British, despite his very Asian appearance, and frequently refers to his fellow Asians as "damn natives".

While Williams heaps scorn and derision upon all the enlisted men, he reserves particular contempt for Gloria (who he considers to be the most effeminate of the lot), Graham (who he mocks for having a "posh" accent and university education, although he sometimes needs and appreciates his intelligence), and Lofty (because of his height, weight and general lack of military bearing, despite admiring his voice). The sole, and notable, exception to Williams' usual callous treatment of the troops is Gunner Parkin, who Williams believes is his illegitimate son as he had an affair with Parkin's mother, many years before. When the rest of the concert party discover what the Sgt Major believes, Parkin is welcomed into the party, as the Sgt Major would want to stop it being sent into battle as long as Parkin is a member. They change Parkin's blood group on his medical file to that of Williams so that the Sergeant Major will have 'proof' that Parkin is his son. As a result, Williams routinely compliments Parkin and praises him for even the most minor of successes and often goes to great lengths to defend Parkin to the officers whenever he bungles a task. Williams also routinely excuses Parkin from participating in any event that might be even the least bit dangerous, even when Parkin himself has eagerly volunteered to participate. At times, that means that Williams must intervene to foil a scheme that he himself came up with to disband the Concert Party when it becomes evident that Parkin will get into the same trouble as the rest of the men. For his part, Parkin does not take advantage of his special relationship with Williams, preferring instead to be treated as just another member of the Concert Party. For their part, the Concert Party happily keeps Parkin around because they not only consider him to be a "nice bloke" but also know that Williams will be reluctant to send the Concert Party into danger if his (alleged) son is likely to have to go with them.

Officers
Lieutenant-Colonel Reynolds is the most senior officer in charge of the concert party and enjoys their shows immensely. He thinks army life in Asia is very hard, while all he does is sit around sipping pink gin and dining with the elite. He is having an affair with Daphne Waddilove-Evans, whose husband, Major Waddilove-Evans, has left for the Punjab. He is a stereotypical British Army Officer, very stiff upper lip and prim and proper. Captain Ashwood's utter stupidity does occasionally infuriate him, but he is effectively good-natured and tries at all costs to avoid losing the easy life he has. Reynolds is revealed to be a solicitor in civilian life. Captain Ashwood is an even bigger fan of the concert party than Colonel Reynolds, especially when they dress up as girls. He is not very bright, and often unknowingly ruins other people's plans, especially the Sergeant Major's. His catchphrase is "It's a tricky one, sir", which he says in reply to Colonel Reynolds asking for his opinion when the concert party runs into a particular problem. He occasionally writes skits for the concert party, which they reluctantly accept, although they are, on the whole, absolutely awful. He has absolutely no military bearing in him, which makes it very easy for the Sergeant Major and the others to manipulate him into using his authority to achieve their own ends. He is known for his stupidity, high-pitched voice, and love of gardening. He is exceptionally devoted to his wife, Fiona.
 * Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Arthur Digby St John Reynolds (Donald Hewlett)
 * Captain Jonathan Tarquin 'Tippy' Ashwood (Michael Knowles)

Warrant Officer
The Sergeant Major is the only real, professional soldier among the concert party and its officers. He is extremely bigoted in his views, making every effort to bully the Indian camp staff and remind everyone of British supremacy in Asia. He has only one goal in life: to get his soldiers posted up the jungle (and into action) as fast as he can. Williams has a cunning and fierce pirate-like look. He is disgusted that his soldiers prance about on the stage wearing dresses and make-up all the time and frequently calls them a "bunch of poofs". He is sometimes portrayed as a stereotypical "devious" Welshman, using cunning schemes to turn events in his favour. He dislikes all members of the concert party, apart from Parkins, whom he believes to be his son. He has a particular loathing for "Lah-Di-Dah" Gunner Graham, owing to his university education, although Williams will praise Graham for it if it serves his purposes. Williams often mispronounces long words, turning "hysterical" into "hystorical" or "historectical", "misapprehension" into "mishappropriation", "education" into "heducation" and "ignorant" into "higorant". Williams also has a tendency to exclaim "Shut up!" when he hears something that meets his disapproval (hence his nickname) and is also famous for his sarcastic remark, "Oh dear, how sad, never mind!" When he leaves the army, Williams plans on marrying a widow who owns a pub.
 * Battery Sergeant Major Tudor Bryn 'Shut Up' Williams (Windsor Davies)

There is some inconsistency over Williams' full name. In the series 3 episode "Don't Take the Micky" we hear his thoughts and he uses the name Tudor Bryn Williams to refer to himself, but in the final episode he reads out the name on his newly-issued ration book as "B.L. Williams". It is possible that "Tudor" is a play on the actor's own name, but this is unconfirmed.

Concert party
'Solly' is a showbiz man who always plays the male leads in the concert party's shows and is also the party's producer. He is a very intelligent individual and often has some sort of devious plot to avoid being posted or to get one over on the Sergeant Major. His father was a pawnbroker in Bond Street and he is a Jew. He left at the end of Series 2 when he was demobbed back to England. 'Gloria' Beaumont is a very effeminate person who cannot handle the violence, heat and mosquitoes of army life in India too well. He considers himself an artiste, and doesn't believe he should be in the Army, often trying to emphasize his show-business angle and ignore the "soldier" parts of his job. He has a passion for show business and always dresses up as famous film stars during the concert party shows, especially as Ginger Rogers. He was later promoted Bombardier when Bombardier Solomon (George Layton) left the series. Despite Beaumont's effeminacy, he meets a nurse in the episode 'Ticket to Blighty' and they announce they are to be wed. However, no more is heard of this plot line. 'Lofty' is a soldier whose appearance can be summarized by quoting the Sergeant Major: "Is it a mushroom? No. Is it a soldier? No. It's Gunner Sugden." Lofty is the tiny, rotund lead singer of the concert party usually seen in an old-fashioned pith helmet. He has an amazing tenor voice which even the Sergeant Major cannot resist when he sings. Unfortunately, he is always picked out by the Sergeant Major as a "volunteer" when there is a particularly nasty or dangerous task to be carried out. He has been married three times; his two previous wives were called Agatha and Betty, and according to a letter, Sugden's third and present wife shares a house with Betty. 'Parky' is the youngest member of the concert party and has tried everything to become part of them, including being a ventriloquist, comedian, and singer, although he is very clumsy and never does anything right. The Sergeant Major wrongly believes that Parkins is his son. (Williams had a relationship with Parkins' mother Edith in Colchester, which is why he treats him much better than he treats the others, and keeps telling him he has "a fine pair of shoulders") Parkins is not Williams' son, but when the rest of the concert party discover what the Sgt Major believes, Parkins is welcomed into the party, as the Sgt Major would want to stop it being sent into battle as long as Parkins is a member. (In an early episode, the party get hold of Williams' and Parkins' medical records, they discover that Parkins is blood group O and Williams is AB, so Parkins cannot be Williams' son, but they change Parkins' blood group on his medical file so Williams believes he is his son) Consequently, Williams becomes very selective about Parkins' achievement – praising him when he does something right and ignoring when Parkins makes huge blunders. For instance Parkins is appointed as Battery Clerk – since he has no exploitable talent for the concert party – and, having misunderstood an order from the Sergeant-Major, proceeds to have the Officer's Mess demolished. (Sergeant-Major Williams had told him to "remove the mess by the Officers' lines", referring to a pile of old beds that were to be discarded, and he destroyed the Officers' Mess. Then Colonel Reynolds tells him to order 200 tent pegs and he orders 200 tents) Parkins references the show's title in the first ever episode when he signs off a letter to his mother with the words "I've been in India now two days, and it ain't half hot, Mum." Parkins was born on 2 October 1924, making him 21 years old, a birthday which he celebrates in at the end of Series 4 in the episode "Twenty-One". Gunner Graham is the concert party's pianist. His appearance – bald and bespectacled – marks him out as a stereotypical boffin. He has a university degree in English literature (in early episodes, he claims to have attended Oxford, but in later episodes, he claims to have attended Cambridge). He is very clever, speaking with a very upper-class accent. This is why the Sergeant Major always mockingly repeats what he says, as well as mockingly addressing him as Mister La-De-Dah Gunner Graham. Graham often has difficult and ingenious plans to solve the concert party's problems, but these plans never seem to work and often result in him saying "Oh well, bang goes that theory." The others (even the Sergeant Major and the officers) often rely on his intelligence to get them out of awkward situations. 'Atlas' Mackintosh does the strong man act in the show, which involves tearing telephone directories in half. He is rather short-tempered, especially when Beaumont calls him a "great, big, butch, hairy haggis". He is very macho, and is a bit of a contradiction to what Beaumont thinks is right for the concert party. Nevertheless, Mackintosh always tries his best and copes with what is given to him. 'Nobby' Clark does a whistling act in the show, and can do excellent bird impersonations. He is not particularly clever and often makes nonsense comments or observations about situations in which they find themselves. 'Nosher' Evans does a paper tearing act. He is always eating something (and once stayed on punishment in the canteen four hours after he was relieved as he was enjoying himself) resulting in him spraying the contents of his mouth all around him when he speaks.
 * Bombardier 'Solly' Solomons (George Layton)
 * Gunner/Bombardier 'Gloria' Beaumont (Melvyn Hayes)
 * Gunner 'Lofty' Harold Horace Herbert Willy Sugden (Don Estelle)
 * Gunner 'Parky' Nigel Parkins (Christopher Mitchell)
 * 'La-De-Dah' Gunner 'Paderewski' Jonathan Graham (John Clegg)
 * Gunner 'Atlas' Mackintosh (Stuart McGugan)
 * Gunner 'Nobby' Clark (Kenneth MacDonald)
 * Gunner 'Nosher' Evans (Mike Kinsey)

Natives
Rangi Ram is the concert party's native bearer and very proud to be of service to the army. The Sergeant Major shouts at him more than at anyone else, but Rangi is also the one he confides in when he wants to talk about problems. Rangi often provides the audience with an "old Hindu proverb" at the end of the episode, such as "There is an old Hindu proverb which say that if you see two eyes looking at you in the dark, it is not always a Tiger. It might be two one-eyed Tigers!" He is a devious individual, who can often manipulate the situation for his own ends (usually money). Though he often speaks of himself as British, he will show divided loyalty when his Indian aspect is under threat – when asked to burn the Indian flag by the Sergeant Major, he refused. He disappears without mention after series 5 due to the death of Michael Bates and is never mentioned again. Muhammed the char wallah walks around the camp all day, selling tea from his urn. We can also hear him sing the musical interruptions between the scenes, which are mostly popular American hits, accompanied by a sitar. At the end of the credits he starts to sing "Land of Hope and Glory" only to be interrupted by the Sergeant-major shouting "SHUT UP!!!". After Rangi leaves, he takes on the role as Bearer to the Concert Party as well as still being the Char Wallah. Rumzan the punkah wallah always sits outside the officers' quarters, pulling a string that is attached to a large fan indoors. He comments on everything in Urdu, and always adds a few words in English at the end. Rangi often tells him to "sit up straight while you are punkah-ing" and not to "be such Clever Dickie". He is far more intelligent than the others give him credit, and much of what he observes early on is often borne out in the end, but no-one notices. He disappears after Series 7 without mention.
 * Bearer Rangi Ram (Michael Bates)
 * Char Wallah Muhammad (Dino Shafeek)
 * Punkah Wallah Rumzan (Barbar Bhatti)

Deolali, India
Mrs Waddilove-Evans is the wife of a local colonel, who lives in a large house near the camp in Deolali. In the earlier episodes, she is the lover of Colonel Reynolds; the two have a strong relationship, to the point when she accompanies the patrol on a journey to a nearby town. However, the group's vehicle breaks down and Rangi recommends that they spend the night in a nearby fort. The Colonel and Mrs Waddilove-Evans agree to meet at midnight and they do so. As Colonel Reynolds is distracted, Mrs Waddilove-Evans is kidnapped by a group of Pathan tribesmen and the concert party, Rangi, Muhammed and Rumzan attempt to save her. They are surprised when they meet her on a horse further on, having gained her freedom. It is implied that she escaped by granting sexual favours to the smugglers. Ling Soo is a local girl who works as a maid for Colonel and Mrs Waddilove-Evans. She and Sergeant Major Williams have a continuing relationship. Her father, the owner of the Deolali Chinese restaurant, arranges for Williams and Ling Soo to elope to the mountains and marry secretly. This horrifies Williams, as he would be classed as a deserter, which creates a dilemma for Williams; does he stay on at the camp, or does he marry Ling Soo? Eventually, he reluctantly chooses his profession and his relationship is not mentioned again. The Inspector is the head of police in Deolali, who warns Colonel Reynolds and Captain Ashwood on a few occasions when the locals are rioting, demanding that the British go home.
 * Mrs Daphne Waddilove-Evans (Margaret Courtenay/Frances Bennett)
 * Ling Soo (Yasuko Nagazumi)
 * '''Inspector Singh (Nick Zaran)

Tin Min, Burma
Me Thant is a Burmese smuggler, who is bribed by GHQ at 20 pieces of gold a week to keep from assaulting and keeping away from the local British troops. Later on, he challenges Sergeant Major Williams to a test to see which of the two is more manly. Me Thant cheats to make sure he wins the test, but he and his gang is infiltrated by members of GHQ, resulting in him and his gang being tied against a small plank, "Burmese style". Ah Syn is the cook for the camp later in the series, a man of Chinese ethnicity who served food that Captain Ashwood describes as 'furniture stuffing'. Gunner Graham in particular moans that the food is inedible and disgusting. When Captain Ashwood asks if he knows about spotted dick and toad in the hole, he misses the point entirely and thinks that spotted dick is an illness.
 * "Pretty Boy" Me Thant (Burt Kwouk)
 * Ah Syn (Andy Ho)

Reception
The series, which attracted up to 17 million viewers during its run, is no longer repeated on British television. It has been released on DVD in its entirety with a 12 certificate.

The casting of the white actor Michael Bates as the Indian bearer Rangi Ram has been seen as an example of blackface. Jimmy Perry, in a 2013 Daily Telegraph interview with the journalist Neil Clark, rejected the claim Bates "blacked-up" saying all he "wore was a light tan". A frequently recurring gag connected with Rangi Ram is his continual references to "we British" and "us British" while at the same time referring to the other Indian characters as "ignorant coolies" or "damned natives". David West Brown wrote, in English and Empire, that the case for Bates character rests on an assumption his "dramatic and social functions are not derogatorily comic in the way that depictions of African diasporic identities are" in a series like The Black and White Minstrel Show. Neil Clark, in a 2005 article for The Times, insisted the series "delightfully lampooned the attitudes of the British in India".

Jimmy Perry commented to Stuart Jeffries of The Guardian in 2003 about It Ain't Half Hot Mum: "It is without doubt the funniest series that David Croft and I wrote. Of course, it is also the show that we're not allowed to talk about any more." Perry told an interviewer from the Radio Times in 2014 about this rejection: "You might as well be in Stalin’s Russia. You don’t want to upset anyone". Of the exchanges between the Battery Sergeant Major and the troup like "You're a load of poofs! What are you? We're a load of poofs!", he commented to Jeffries: "People complain that the language was homophobic, and it was, but it was exactly how people spoke. He referred to the behaviour of his own Sergeant Major in the concert party in India who told them: No man who puts on make-up and ponces about on a stage is normal - what are you?' 'We're a bunch of poofs!' we'd reply". Of the depiction of the Melvyn Hayes character 'Gloria' Beaumont, Croft told interviewer Simon Morgan-Russell that the character "never expressed any interest in other males" and, in fact, "was a transvestite, not a homosexual".

The imperialist consideration however, is believed to be at least partly responsible for the programme not being repeated on British television in later years, along with, according to Darren Lee writing for the British Film Institute's Screenonline website, a belief that it contains "national stereotyping and occasionally patronising humour". According to Mark Duguid, writing for the same website, it suffers "from its narrow stereotypes of its handful of Indian supporting characters as alternately servile, foolish, lazy or devious". Its flaws have not stopped it appearing in several "best of" lists.

The show's creators had been aware of the issues around the casting of a seemingly white actor to play one of the Indian characters, but relented owing to the lack of suitable Indian actors at the time. Jimmy Perry, in his 2013 Daily Telegraph interview, defended the casting as Bates (who born in India) "spoke fluent Urdu, and was a captain in the Gurkhas".

Concerning the issues with It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Alex Massie wrote in January 2019, shortly after the starring actor Windsor Davies died, that "even when judged by modern standards" the series is a "relatively minor offender when compared with programmes" such as Mind Your Language, Love Thy Neighbour and Curry and Chips.

Songs
Because It Ain't Half Hot Mum was a sitcom about a concert party, many old music hall, musical and traditional songs were performed by the actors, including:


 * "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody"
 * "By a Waterfall"
 * "Chattanooga Choo Choo"
 * "Dames"
 * "Gilbert the Filbert"
 * "Happy Days Are Here Again"
 * "I'll Be Seeing You"
 * "In a Monastery Garden"
 * "Love for Sale"
 * "On the Road to Mandalay"
 * "Moonlight Becomes You"
 * "On the Good Ship Lollipop"
 * "Puttin' On the Ritz"
 * "Rule Britannia"
 * "South of the Border"
 * "Stout-hearted Men"
 * "The Teddy Bears' Picnic"
 * "The White Cliffs of Dover"
 * "Top Hat"
 * "The Whiffenpoof Song"

Don Estelle and Windsor Davies released two in-character performances as singles. The first, "Whispering Grass" reached number one in the British singles chart for three weeks from 7 June 1975. The second, "Paper Doll", reached number forty one later that year. They also recorded a top 10 LP called Sing Lofty.

Home releases
All eight series have been released on DVD region code 2 and 4. A Complete Series Collection Box Set containing all eight series of the show was released on 4 October 2010.

Master copies of the fourth and sixth episodes of series one ('A Star is Born' and 'It's a Wise Child') were lost after first broadcast and have not been recovered. VHS copies recorded at home by a viewer in Australia were found in 1988. They are not of broadcast quality, but are included as extras on the series 1 DVD.