Hancock & Joan (TV 2008)

In the mid-1960s, Joan, not long married to comic actor John Le Mesurier, meets and is mutually attracted to comedian Tony Hancock, married to the long-suffering Freddie. Hancock's most ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Laxton

Writers:

Richard Cottan, Joan Le Mesurier (book),

Stars:

Ken Stott, Maxine Peake, Alex Jennings

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ken Stott	...	Tony Hancock
Maxine Peake	...	Joan Le Mesurier
Alex Jennings	...	John Le Mesurier
Don Gallagher	...	Dr. Newman
George Costigan	...	George
Olivia Colman	...	Marion
Geoffrey McGivern	...	Billy Marsh (as Geoff McGivern)
June Watson	...	Lily
John Kay Steel	...	Reporter One
Julia Deakin	...	Landlady
Tom Georgeson	...	Fred
Lesley Nicol	...	Nellie
Oscar Lloyd	...	David
Gareth Tunley	...	Chat Show Host
Peter Sullivan	...	Edward Joffe

Storyline

In the mid-1960s, Joan, not long married to comic actor John Le Mesurier, meets and is mutually attracted to comedian Tony Hancock, married to the long-suffering Freddie. Hancock's most successful period is in the past and he has become depressive and alcoholic, recently emerging from a stay in a rehab centre. Joan tells him that if he can remain sober for a year she will leave John for him. Hancock goes to Australia to film a comedy series there but it does not work out and he commits suicide. Joan stays with John until his death in the 1980s.

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Plot Keywords:

alcoholic | australia | comedian | domestic violence | stand up comedy | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC Four [uk]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 2008 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Broadstairs, Kent, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£720,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

World Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min 86 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Made as one of a four-part season "The Curse of Comedy" on BBC Four, though not billed on-screen with this series title. The other three films in the series were The Curse of Steptoe, Hughie Green, Most Sincerely and Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me.

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Quotes

[Tony and Joan have just made love; in a panic at his forthcoming stage performance, Tony rushes to the toilet, suffering from a sudden attack of diarrhoea]
Tony Hancock: What am I doing? My arse has exploded and my teeth are chattering.
Joan Le Mesurier: When I was living in Ramsgate, my friend Sheila worked on the dog track. She said when you see the dogs on parade before the race, if one of them has a hard-on or has just had a crap, put your money on it. I'd back you on both counts tonight.

User Reviews

Quality film-making

Just when you get sick of the barrage of reality TV and the dispiritingly banal shows that seem to make up the majority of TV it comes as a real pleasure to come across a TV drama like this. A deceptively straight-forward account of the affair between Tony Hancock and Joan Le Mesurier (wife of the wonderful John) the film follows their relationship from its tentative beginnings through the problems with Hancock's chronic alcoholism, and its devastating impact on both their lives, to the inevitable ending. This is a well written piece that rarely puts a foot wrong but the real heart and soul of the film are the outstanding performances from Stott and Peake who are both exceptional. Indeed, both their performances deserve to get noticed come the next BAFTA awards.