Play Away S11E1 (1981) - FULL EPISODE

The 13th Play Away on my channel (for those trying to keep track), and it's the first episode of the 1981 series - as evidenced by the opening continuity - meaning this was originally broadcast on Saturday, 14th November of that year. Brian Cant, Pam Ellis, Alex Norton and Heather Williams are the four funsters bringing us the jokes, singing and dancing in this one. Look out for the full version of the old opening credits that were replaced a year or two later. Much slower but more creative in many ways than that which followed. (For some reason it reminds me of series one of Peep Show.) There's a good medley of door-related songs - I won't spoil the surprises - and the character of the Odd Job Man is always good value. The Marvo the Magnificent sketch gave me a good laugh, and I really enjoyed the opening one in the shop - wordy ones like that always get me. But just edging all of them for me is the slightly surreal desert sketch, due to poor Alex being forced to eat two ice creams in pretty much record time. The sacrifices one has to make for one's art! I bet he wasn't impressed with the hot dog that followed... Many thanks to Lee for providing this recording. (This is a transfer from an old videotape, so please don't expect full HD quality. To the best of my knowledge, this material is not available commercially anywhere in the world, and has been uploaded for its historic interest. That said, if you are a copyright holder and object, please don't hesitate to contact me.)