Only When I Laugh: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Only When I Laugh is a British television sitcom made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It aired between 29 October 1979 and 16 December 1982 and was set in the ward of an NHS hospital. The title is in response to the question, "Does it hurt?"

It starred James Bolam, Peter Bowles, and Christopher Strauli as patients Roy Figgis, Archie Glover, and Norman Binns. Mr. Gordon Thorpe, their consultant surgeon, was played by Richard Wilson; and Gupte, the staff nurse from Delhi, was played by Derrick Branche.

The show was one of many successes for writer Eric Chappell, and has been repeated on ITV3 since 2007.

Roy, Archie and Norman are long-term patients in a British hospital ward. Though they don't seem terribly ill, neither do they seem to be getting better and going home. So they pass their days side by side in the hospital ward, chatting and occasionally getting on one another's nerves.

Series details

• Title: Only When I Laugh
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Comedy
• Premiere date: 1979-10-29
• Final broadcast date listed: 1982-12-16
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: ITV1
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 30 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 7823
• IMDb ID: tt0077057
• TVDB ID: 78640

Cast and credited roles

• James Bolam — Roy Figgis
• Peter Bowles — Archie Glover
• Christopher Strauli — Norman Binns
• Richard Wilson — Dr. Gordon Thorpe
• Derrick Branche — Gupte

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1979-10-29; final listed air date 1979-12-10; episode order: 7.
• Season 2: premiered 1980-04-29; final listed air date 1980-06-10; episode order: 7.
• Season 3: premiered 1981-09-02; final listed air date 1981-12-24; episode order: 7.
• Season 4: premiered 1982-11-04; final listed air date 1982-12-16; episode order: 7.

Source and licence

Adapted from Only When I Laugh on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.