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The Handyman

The Benny Hill Show
SKETCH-O-VISION
A VERY GOOD USE OF YOUR TIME.

The setup

A henpecked handyman escapes his nagging wife by chasing his employer's maids around a country estate, until he finds a drastic way to rearrange his home life.

Community rating

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The premise

Here’s the bit.

Played as a sped-up silent film, the sketch starts with Benny Hill's handyman being shoved out of bed by his formidable wife (Bob Todd in drag), who pours his coffee down his newspaper and irons his tie while he is still wearing it, so that he answers the phone with the hot iron. At the estate where he works he flirts with the maids, lets one sit on a freshly varnished bench, ogles a sunbather in a bikini and walks his employer's Afghan hound, while the wealthy old employer (Jackie Wright) and his manservant keep catching him and whacking him with a broom, ending in a chase across the gardens. Back home he presents his wife with a new dress printed with a bullseye, shoots her, and settles into his armchair as both maids move in with him.

The funny people

Meet the cast. 5

Behind the scenes

The people who made it.

A little extra

Notes from the archive.

According to the Benny Hill fan wiki, this is one of two sketches in the series that end with a man killing his wife; the other is "The Shadow" (1982).

The rabbit hole continues

One more couldn’t hurt.

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