THE CLITHEROE KID


The Clitheroe Kid was James Robertson Clitheroe, Jimmy Clitheroe to most, who by some strange coincidence did come from the town of that name without having to change his family name! At his full height he was 4ft 3in, and played the naughty schoolboy from 1958 to 1972. Although plausable from a distance, he was not really able to pass himself off as a youngster close up, so a TV career did not really take off too well, but at the peak of his fame the radio show was raking in about 10 million listeners, although by the end this had dropped to a tenth of that figure.

Clitheroe was a very private person, and the shows became a sort of escape for him, as well as the release from the worries of his diminutive size, but despite this, his popularity increased and increased, making this series one of the longer running on the radio - a total of 17 series.

It is surprising then that with such a success, and with such a long run that the shows are rarely broadcast. The humour was very obvious and probably wouldn't stand up in todays climes, but there has been one release from the BBC radio collection, so if you wanted to hear some of the shows, you can hunt this down in the shops.

I would like to thank Tony Lang for the following information about the series. I do not have any of this series on tape myself, so if anyone has comments to make I would be most grateful.


The scripts were generally written by James Casey and Frank Roscoe, with the shows production by James Casey. The series sprang from a single show broadcast on 24-4-56 as part of a Variety Playhouse series

The pilot series did not have individual names for the episodes. The producer was Geoff Lawrence, with the music supplied by the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra, conducted by Alyn Ainsworth, and broadcast in the North of England only.

The cast consisted of Jimmy Clitheroe, Eddie Leslie (1-6), Peter Sinclair (1-3, 5-10), Judith Chalmers (2-10), Rosalie Williams (2, 5-6, 8), Fred Fairclough (2), Brian Truman (3,10), John Broadbent 3), Bob Monkhouse (4), Jack Watson (4), Herbert Smith (4,8), Jack Howarth (5, 7-8, 10), Fred Ferris (5, 7-10), Shirley King (6), Violet Carson (7-8, 10), Tom Harrison (9-10), Patrick Wells (9)

Pilot Series

EpTrans.
11/7/57
28/7/57
315/7/57
422/7/57
529/7/57
65/8/57
711/8/57
819/8/57
926/8/57
102/9/57

Series One

EpTrans.Title
1 5/5/58 Seconds out
2 12/5/58 The pen pal
3 19/5/58 The wrong end of the stick
4 26/5/58 Clitheroe on the keys
5 2/6/58 Raising the rent
6 9/6/58 All by accident
7 16/6/58 The kid's last fight
8 23/6/58 The mystery trip
9 30/6/58 Too many cooks
10 7/7/58 The concert
11 14/7/58 Wakes week

Series Two

EpTrans.Title
1 29/12/58 What a pantomime
2 5/1/59 No match for the kid
3 12/1/59 Mind my bike
4 19/1/59 I shot an arrow in the air
5 26/1/59 Cupid and the black hand gang
6 2/2/59 A kid with a problem
7 9/2/59 Clitheroe and the hound-dog
8 16/2/59 Message received and misunderstood
9 23/2/59 Girl trouble
10 2/3/59 The trouble with Higginbottom

Series Three

EpTrans.Title
1 4/4/60 The tale of a cat
2 11/4/60 Clitheroe's merry go round
3 18/4/60 Money, money, money
4 25/4/60 All at sea
5 2/5/60 May the best man win
6 9/5/60 Nothing but the truth
7 16/5/60 Storm in a test tube
8 23/5/60 Mother's day of rest
9 30/5/60 The wheels of misfortune
10 6/6/60 What a picnic
11 13/6/60 Trouble with the goggle-box
12 20/6/60 Job for the girl
13 27/6/60 Almost a holiday

Series Four

EpTrans.Title
1 20/2/61 Pardon my English
2 27/2/61 How now brown cow
3 6/3/61 Grandads back
4 13/3/61 The trouble with neighbours
5 20/3/61 My pal Ozzie - the clot
6 27/3/61 Goodness gracious me
7 3/4/61 The girl who got the message
8 10/4/61 The not-so-welcome guest
9 17/4/61 The keyhole kid
10 24/4/61 The wreck of the Soppy Sue
11 1/5/61 Animal crackers
12 8/5/61 I'm in trouble - again
13 15/5/61 Fishing in troubled waters

Series Five

EpTrans.Title
1 27/11/61 Dig that crazy garden
2 4/12/61 It's my Mother's birthday
3 11/12/61 After the film was over
4 18/12/61 The kid who got the bird
5 25/12/61 Christmas day in the kid's house
6 1/1/62 Breaking in the new year
7 8/1/62 A snake in the grass
8 15/1/62 Too many crooks
9 22/1/62 The old man of the sea
10 29/1/62 The crime that never was
11 5/2/62 Lend me an ear
12 12/2/62 The day I told the truth
13 19/2/62 I've got them taped
14 26/2/62 Collecting trouble
15 5/3/62 Waiting at the church
16 12/3/62 I was a stupid Cupid
17 19/3/62 James - Mr Piano Clitheroe
18 26/3/62 Going to the dogs
19 2/4/62 Jimmy the kid
20 9/4/62 What a good boy am I

Series Six

EpTrans.Title
1 29/10/62 The house that Jim picked
2 5/11/62 What a guy
3 12/11/62 Sorry you've been troubled
4 19/11/62 Smile please
5 26/11/62 When Grandad papered the parlour
6 3/12/62 We all make mistakes
7 10/12/62 Accidents will happen
8 17/12/62 Charity begins at Jim's
9 24/12/62 Just the ticket
10 31/12/62 Jim's highland fling
11 7/1/63 Next door to trouble
12 14/1/63 Love me - love my dog
13 21/1/63 Too much to swallow
14 28/1/63 Dial Jim for trouble
15 4/2/63 Trouble from the kick off
16 11/2/63 Don't shoot the pianist
17 18/2/63 The patient's dilemma
18 25/2/63 One bad turn deserves another
19 4/3/63 The quiz kid
20 11/3/63 A dream of a holiday

Series Seven

EpTrans.Title
1 10/11/63 No holes barred
2 17/11/63 Tramp, tramp, tramp
3 24/11/63 Playing with fire
4 1/12/63 Love and marriage
5 8/12/63 Vote for Grandad
6 15/12/63 Three of a kind
7 22/12/63 Grandfather Christmas
8 29/12/63 A load of Chinese junk
9 5/1/64 The gathering of the clan
10 12/1/64 The ten pin terror
11 19/1/64 The tale of a coat
12 26/1/64 The man who came to lunch
13 2/2/64 One hundred not out
14 9/2/64 What's in a name
15 16/2/64 Back to the dressing room
16 23/2/64 The kid with nine lives
17 1/3/64 A right roman holiday
18 8/3/64 Nothing but the tooth
19 15/3/64 Never listen to a teacher
20 22/3/64 Gun crazy

Series Eight

EpTrans.Title
1 18/10/64 Anyone for tennis
2 25/10/64 An actors life for me
3 1/11/64 Trouble through the looking glass
4 8/11/64 James - the little gentleman
5 15/11/64 For love or money
6 22/11/64 One jump behind
7 29/11/64 James Bond junior
8 6/12/64 The kid makes history
9 13/12/64 Sing something stupid
10 20/12/64 Jim and the beanstalk
11 27/12/64 Double trouble
12 3/1/65 New year, old trouble
13 10/1/65 One quiet day
14 17/1/65 Help, it's a girl
15 24/1/65 It's a knockout
16 31/1/65 Swimming against the tide
17 7/2/65 Up the totem pole
18 14/2/65 Follow that car
19 21/2/65 Clitheroe's concert party
20 28/2/65 It's all in the mind

Series Nine

EpTrans.Title
1 10/10/65 Jim and the headless piper
2 17/10/65 The mystery of the haggis
3 24/10/65 For my next trick....
4 31/10/65 The evils of tomato juice
5 7/11/65 Another Mother for Ozzie (Higginbottom)
6 14/11/65 Grandad's mystery illness
7 21/11/65 The weapons of woe
8 28/11/65 The unlucky mascot
9 5/12/65 The case of the crooked parson
10 12/12/65 The unfair sex
11 19/12/65 English as she is spoke
12 26/12/65 It's the thought that counts
13 2/1/66 The Sunday I met Man Friday
14 9/1/66 One good twist deserves another
15 16/1/66 Give a little whistle
16 23/1/66 Penny foolish
17 30/1/66 Watch the birdie
18 6/2/66 Too many Sisters
19 13/2/66 Sliding into trouble
20 20/2/66 The best of Indian luck

Series Ten

EpTrans.Title
1 2/10/66 No room at the digs
2 9/10/66 A storm in a teacup
3 16/10/66 Forbidden fruit
4 23/10/66 Follow the Bride
5 30/10/66 What you lose on the swings
6 6/11/66 The ever-loving neighbour
7 13/11/66 As advertised on the television
8 20/11/66 Sales talk
9 27/11/66 History is a thing of the past
10 4/12/66 The scent of trouble
11 11/12/66 What a welcome
12 18/12/66 Don't forget the carol singers
13 25/12/66 Christmas crackers
14 1/1/67 Just a wee family party
15 8/1/67 Wet behind the ears
16 15/1/67 Get me to the shop on time
17 22/1/67 The prize fool
18 29/1/67 Come into the garden Jim
19 5/2/67 Jim's doggy bank
20 12/2/67 Nothing like music
21 19/2/67 One day last summer
22 26/2/67 No time for Higginbottom
23 5/3/67 What a performance
24 12/3/67 The price of silence - Two bob
25 19/3/67 The kid from Auntie
26 26/3/67 Beware of the bike

Series Eleven

EpTrans.Title
1 1/10/67 Stop crying, You're on holiday
2 8/10/67 Beware of the neighbour
3 15/10/67 Robbin' Jim and his merry men
4 22/10/67 A day on the movie go round
5 29/10/67 The day I met a Knight
6 5/11/67 Keep your gunpowder dry - Jim
7 12/11/67 Is there a Doctor in the........
8 19/11/67 Why boys leave home
9 26/11/67 The pianist and his fiddle
10 3/12/67 Mr Higginbottom - My best enemy
11 10/12/67 Have snake - will travel
12 17/12/67 Right in the chicken soup
13 24/12/67 It's a gift
14 31/12/67 Long John Jim
15 7/1/68 Two crimes are better than one
16 14/1/68 For love and money
17 21/1/68 Ours is a nice house ours is
18 28/1/68 Alfie Hall the smuggling twit
19 4/2/68 Storm in a fire bucket
20 11/2/68 No room at the table

Series Twelve

EpTrans.Title
1 13/10/68 Nothing like a holiday
2 20/10/68 The Scottish invader
3 27/10/68 Who sold Cock Robin
4 3/11/68 Keep the bonfire burning
5 10/11/68 Spots of bother
6 17/11/68 Do you suffer from guitar
7 24/11/68 Two hundred not out
8 1/12/68 Enters the robbers
9 8/12/68 Stop the wedding I want to get off
10 15/12/68 Half Nelson, half Alfie
11 22/12/68 Every dog has his Christmas day
12 29/12/68 Chinese crackers
13 5/1/69 Money for old junk
14 12/1/69 Right off the target
15 19/1/69 A love-in has been arranged
16 26/1/69 Anymore for the moon
17 2/2/69 The one that couldn't lose
18 9/2/69 Two sides to every story
19 16/2/69 My old man's a twister
20 23/2/69 The not-so-good old days

Series Thirteen

EpTrans.Title
1 17/8/69 It's quicker by dream
2 24/8/69 Take a running walk
3 31/8/69 Answer that phone!
4 7/9/69 Anymore for the beach
5 14/9/69 Private Alfie - general twit
6 21/9/69 Too many decorators
7 28/9/69 Never believe what you hear
8 5/10/69 Final score - one foul each
9 12/10/69 It shouldn't happen to a Grandad
10 19/10/69 Someone, somewhere wants a letter
11 26/10/69 There's something the matter with Glasgow
12 2/11/69 Clitheroe's castle
13 9/11/69 The kid who framed himself
14 16/11/69 Dr Jekyll and Mr Jim
15 23/11/69 If the dunces cap fits...
16 30/11/69 Tickets for the punch-up
17 7/12/69 Little boy - tall story
18 14/12/69 Heat the test-tube and run
19 21/12/69 The share-out
20 28/12/69 Once upon a pantomime

Series Fourteen

EpTrans.Title
1 17/5/70 Get well soon Grandad
2 24/5/70 Grandad for President
3 31/5/70 Good for money
4 7/6/70 The not-so-artful dodger
5 14/6/70 Not in front of the parrot
6 21/6/70 Out of the mouths of puppies
7 28/6/70 A funny thing happened at the fair
8 5/7/70 All at sea with a sailor
9 12/7/70 A slight case of whisky
10 19/7/70 Seated one day at the movies
11 26/7/70 Once more into the Vicarage
12 2/8/70 A right son of a gun
13 9/8/70 There was a farmer, a Scottish farmer
14 16/8/70 Keep Jim off the road
15 23/8/70 The best of birthday luck
16 30/8/70 Taken to the cleaners
17 6/9/70 James - the modest hero
18 13/9/70 No licence for Jim
19 20/9/70 A touch of competition fever
20 27/9/70 For singing out loud

Series Fifteen

EpTrans.Title
1 4/4/71 All I want is a room somewhere
2 11/4/71 Don't shout, I'm only acting
3 18/4/71 Go west old man
4 25/4/71 Once upon a cup-tie
5 2/5/71 Jobs for the ladies
6 9/5/71 Tennis just isn't cricket
7 16/5/71 Whatever happened to Grandad
8 23/5/71 History is a thing of the past
9 30/5/71 Is there a boss in the house
10 6/6/71 In at the deep end
11 13/6/71 Licked by a stamp
12 20/6/71 Gone fishing
13 27/6/71 Thinking about a holiday

Series Sixteen

EpTrans.Title
1 21/5/72 My Great Aunt's great
2 28/5/72 Why Mothers leave home
3 4/6/72 The day the fun fair hit town
4 11/6/72 If you can't keep a secret, sell it
5 18/6/72 The Swiss family Clitheroe
6 25/6/72 The romantic Higginbottoms
7 2/7/72 Why must the show go on
8 9/7/72 A letter from America - for Grandad
9 16/7/72 A far, far better school I go to
10 23/7/72 Money for old gold
11 30/7/72 Enough to make a kitten laugh
12 6/8/72 Where's the stage and what's the play
13 13/8/72 What's the Welsh for trouble?