Comedy Connections - Series 5 - It Ain't Half Hot, Mum

David Croft and Jimmy Perry are the writing team responsible for some of the biggest hits in British comedy over the last 30 years and It Ain't Half Hot Mum is described as the jewel in the crown of this comedy empire. In this episode of Comedy Connections we discover that although the ridiculous goings on in the Royal Artillery Concert Party kept the nation laughing for an amazing 8 series, a lot of the comedy was actually based on David Croft and Jimmy Perry's own experiences in India during the Second World War. The show reveals how It Ain't Half Hot Mum built on the winning formula Croft and Perry had created on their other Second World War sit com, Dad's Army; a large cast of eccentric characters, thrown together from all corners of the UK, a touch of class conflict mixed with a splash of show biz!. and you have a hit on your hands. Comedy Connections tells the inside story of the making of the show, including the revelation that Windsor Davies, who will always be associated with his character Battery Sergeant Major Williams, wasn't first choice for the part. Sergeant Major Williams always had his work cut out, managing a concert party of clueless performers while at the same time trying to turn them into "real" soldiers. Of course, the all male cast of performers resisted his attempts to enforce military discipline, and to infuriate Sergeant Major Williams even more, spent much of the time in make up and drag. Comedy Connections reveals, though, that real life mirrored life in the concert party, many of the actors seemed to enjoy dressing up in drag a little too much and the production was managed with military discipline. Although It Ain't Half Hot Mum kept a seventies audience laughing for 7 years, it's a show that's not without controversy. Comedy Connections examines the show's attitude to race and cast and crew give us their own take on how attitudes have changed.