Hi-De-Hi stars quit classic sitcom because they 'hated' it – and it led to tragedy

By Gemma Jones, Showbiz Reporter

The cast of Hi De Hi were unhappy off screen (Image: BBC)

Hi-De-Hi was a British classic staple on televisions back in the 80s and for many more years afterwards. While fans absolutely loved the sitcom, it seems that some of the BBC actors were actually putting on a good show as they were reportedly miserable behind the scenes.

From turning to drink to quitting their roles, the stars faced their fair share of fall out. Created by the Jimmy Perry and David Croft for the BBC, the programme ran for nine series as it took place within the fictional Maplins holiday camp in Essex towards the end of the traditional British holiday period of the 1950s.

The episodes focused on the lives of the camp's entertainers and staff, who frequently greeted campers with the titular phrase "Hi-de-Hi!". While it seemed to be all fun and games on-screen, some of the actors grew increasingly unhappy with the show.

For example, Penny Irving who took on the role of Mary left after just one series. Speaking about landing the role, she later admitted: "Oh I hated it! It just wasn’t funny at all that show."

The former Page 3 model added: "I didn’t ever aspire to be an actress. I couldn’t act! I had been modelling and that didn’t involve having to earn lines or speak so I had much more confidence with modelling."

Barry turned to drink behind the scenes (Image: BBC)

Elsewhere, Barry Howard grew unhappy with his role as Barry Stuart-Hargreaves. As a result, the actor began to drink heavily on set, with his drunken antics being a problem for production since at least Series 5.

Show writer Jimmy Perry gave him several chances to stop drinking and even issued a warning when the character of Julian Dalrymple-Sykes was written into "The Epidemic".

He hinted that if Barry continued to drink then he would be replaced by Julian. Still, the final straw came during the filming of Series 7 when a drunken Howard pushed one of the Yellowcoat girls into the pool.

He was written out the next series, replaced by who else but Julian, as mentioned above. Guest star Ben Aris was brought back full time in Series 8 and 9 to replace him.

Speaking about his exit, Barry admitted: "I used to drink more than was good for me in those days and got into trouble for shoving one of the yellowcoats into the pool."

Howard later died of cancer aged 78, back in 2016. He was said to have overcame his drinking problem with great tenacity and faced his illness in similar vein.