Hi-De-Hi legend Jeffrey Holland slams woke comedy and has ‘no time for it’

Legendary actor Jeffrey Holland has lamented “woke” as he prepares to release his memoir The First Rule Of Comedy. The star became a household name when he starred as Spike Dixon in the hugely popular sitcom Hi-De-Hi.

“It’s a shame. I’m really set against this woke thing of you’ve just got to be so careful what you say or don’t say now. And I have no time for it.

“I’m afraid my time has been back in the 80s when you could say that sort of thing, you could infer whatever inuenndo. And it’s a good, clever, funny, cheap way of doing it.

“Particularly with things like John Iman in Are You Being Served? never actually admitting, ever, that Mr. Humphreys was gay.

“It was never said. It was just inferred, mainly with John’s performance. But it was never, never said that Mr. Humphreys was gay. It was just inferred again, because of comedy on that level.”

Although best known for his role as the jovial comedian in the holiday camp set comedy Jeffrey has enjoyed a long career on both stage and screen. He also guest starred in several other much loved classic comedies including the aforementioned Are You Being Served?, and It Ain’t Half Hot Mum.

All these shows attracted viewing figures that could only be dreamt of nowadays with up to 20million people making them appointment viewing in an era before catch up or on demand was available. They are now enjoyed by a new generation in re-runs and their popularity seems to be enduring.

Asked what the secret of their success was Jeffrey credits the team behind the shows – namely David Croft and Jimmy Perry who were responsible for some of the most popular comedies of the 70s and 80s.

“Firstly, I think the writers. We don’t have the writers of their calibre anymore because we don’t have the opportunity for them to produce the works that there were in those days. David (Croft) was not just a writer. He was a director and a producer for the at the time.

“He and Jimmy were prolific writers, and the one thing they were very good at asking the right people and making the chemistry (with the cast) work.

“That’s their great gift. They write stuff that that works as a group, as an ensemble – and that’s difficult to do. But you see that the great premise of Dad’s Army was that all those businessmen they would never have socialised with each other, but under the common umbrella of the Home Guard, they were forced together, and that’s where the comedy came from. The reactions of each other to each other.

“Same in the holiday camp entertainment staff, they’re all failures in their chosen professions, and the only work they could get was in this holiday camp.”

Explaining one of David Croft’s top tips for ensuring a show didn’t date Jeffrey said: “The big thing for David Croft was he insisted on writing period pieces so that they would never date, because they’re already set in the past, you know.

“And they did that with all the stuff he wrote as Dad’s Armey was set during the war, Are You Being Served? was set in a style that was out of out of date department store. And I think Hi-De-Hi is sitting in the 1950s moving into 1960 so it was already a period piece.ust made it longer for the Christmas market. There’s a couple of Hi-De-Hi episodes that are 40 minutes for that very reason.

“But the shows last because of the quality of their work and the genuine colour of the character and the pictures they created on the screen,” he said.

Jeffrey Holland’s memoir The First Rule of Comedy…! is released n February 6 and is available to pre-order on now.