Starring Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan
Announcer: Wallace Greenslade
Music by Max Geldray and The Ray Ellington Quartet
The Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott
Script: Spike Milligan
Producer: Peter Eton
Recorded: Sunday 10 October 1954
First Broadcast : Tuesday 12 October 1954 on the BBC Home Service
It is 1941. Despite the threat of invasion across the Channel, and the blackout rules, Henry Crun and Minnie Bannister, elderly gentlefolk of Bexhill-on-Sea, still take their evening constitutional walks along the cliffs. At this point, there is a sound like a gas door oven slamming, and shortly thereafter Minnie is struck from behind. Constable Neddie Seagoon is summoned, but they must wait until morning’s light to find out what struck Miss Bannister, because even lighting a match draws enemy artillery fire. Light of day reveals that Minnie was struck down by a batter-pudding. 38 batter-puddings are hurled at Miss Bannister in the months to come. Scotland Yard, in the person of Inspector Grytpype-Thynne, is called in. he only clue is an army boot in one of the puddings, and so Major Bloodnok’s 56th Heavy Underwater Artillery are inspected. In the meantime, another batter-pudding, this one cold, is hurled at Minnie, indicating that the dreaded hurler’s gas supply has been cut off. Seagoon visits the Bexhill Gas and Coke Works and examines the list of people who haven’t paid their gas bills, but to no avail. The next piece of batter-pudding for Miss Bannister arrives by letter, postmarked Africa. Now they have him cornered! Seagoon, his assistant Bluebottle, and Major Bloodnok’s regiment set sail for Algiers. En route, the troop ship is blown up by a mine, but Seagoon and Bloodnok find a passing lifeboat and drag themselves on board. In the corner is a gas stove, from which issues the smell of batter-pudding. They arrest the occupant, Chef Moriarty, as the dreaded batter-pudding hurler. But now comes a dilemma – they will starve if they don’t eat the batter-pudding, but if they do eat it, they destroy their only evidence. The show ends with a happy ending for those cretins who would like one.
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