Unnatural Acts / At Home With The Hardys
“Unnatural Acts”, (which later morphed into its more righteous title, “At Home With the Hardys”) was originally intended to be a sort of free-flowing sketchy sitcom centred around the pivotal persona of Jeremy Hardy, then a bright young thing thrusting his way through the alternative cabaret circuit at a stately rate of knots.
The pilot was more sketchy than storyline, but out of the writer/performer team of Jeremy, American comedian Kit Hollerbach (Jeremy’s real-life wife also) and Paul Bassett Davies, it was Kit who really hot on the idea of doing a genuine sitcom - perhaps from childhood memories of “Life With the Lyons”, fronted by Ben Lyon and American comedienne Bebe Daniels. For a while, being young and radical, we all convinced ourselves that what we were actually doing was spoofing the sitcom form, hence all the rickety old scene-transition jingles and the deliberant “comic” signature tune (a cha cha version of “The Third Man” by Edmundo Ros). In fact, it quietly became apparent that we were actually doing a rather fine conventional sitcom, and the writing and storylines stayed true to real sitcom forms through the three series. This is reflected in the title change for Series 3.
A well as Kit, Jeremy & Paul, the writing was augmented by the comic (and occasionally diplomatic) work of Pete Sinclair - later to create and write Jack Dee’s “Lead Balloon”. He also possessed the only working Amstrad daisywheel printer of the group. In the first series, Steve Punt and Dave Cohen (then sharing a flat with Kit & Jeremy) also contributed additional material.
The fourth member of the cast was Caroline Leddy, a brilliant and generous comic performer, playing the classic “daffy next-door neighbour” years before Seinfeld’s Kramer, who happily took her lines and delivered them with joy. Her instinctive understanding of her character usually led to her augmenting her lines on the day of the recording, hence her well-deserved writing credit.
A TV script was commissioned, but for various reasons, it never quite “happened”. In 1991, Paul - who had already won numerous accolades and Perrier nominations for his one-man stage shows such as “Brogue Male” and “Slave Clowns Of The Third Reich” - hit on the idea of adapting the show for the stage, and it had a sell-out run in Edinburgh, with a successful London transfer to the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith. The show was adapted from the plotline of Series 1 Show 4 - “A Day In The Country”, involving a secret nuclear facility deep in the heart of the countryside...
And here’s some old press quotes we found -
"The best new comedy series on the radio"
Daily Mail
"Radio 4's best comedy by miles"
The Listener
"It's a crime to miss it ..."
The Mail on Sunday
"The most intelligently conceived character comedy since “The Young Ones"
The Edinburgh Review
"A real treat"
The Independent
"... emphasises that Radio 4 continues to be a valuable proving ground for talented writers and performers"
BBC Annual Report 1987
Unnatural Acts / At Home With The Hardys
Series 1
Show 1
"Clubland"
First Tx: 28/3/87
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Steve Punt | |
Alison Renshaw | |
Jon Morrish | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 2
"A Death in the Family"
First Tx: 4/4/87
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Dave Cohen | |
Steve Punt | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 3
"Royal Fever"
First Tx: 11/4/87
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Steve Punt | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 4
"A Day In The Country"
First Tx: 25/4/87
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Steve Punt | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 5
"Chips With Everything"
First Tx: 2/5/87
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Steve Punt | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 6
"Ill Met My Moonlight"
First Tx: 9/5/87
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Steve Punt | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Series 2
Show 1
"Mean Streets"
First Tx: 19/3/88
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 2
"All the World's A Stage"
First Tx: 26/3/88
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 3
"April Fool!"
First Tx: 2/4/88
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 4
"Monkey Business"
First Tx: 9/4/88
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 5
"To Catch A Thief"
First Tx: 16/4/88
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 6
"Victorian Values"
First Tx: 23/4/88
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Series 3
Show 1
"Many Happy Returns"
First Tx: 12/5/90
After an absence of nearly two years, the hit sitcom "Unnatural Acts" is back, with a new title, a new arrival and six new hilarious adventures with Jeremy, Kit, Paul and Caroline. Now known as "At Home With The Hardys", the show features Kit and Jeremy's radio baby - Patty-Jo, who celebrates her first birthday in the opening show
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 2
"Surprise Surprise"
First Tx: 19/5/90
In the second instalment of "At Home With The Hardys", Jeremy Paul and Caroline are planning a surprise for Kit. Which of course, leads inevitably to trouble, from abseiling to Zeppelins. Plus, how to have an affair with someone while they're having an affair with you, but neither wants to have an affair with anybody.
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 3
"Vorsprung Durch Picknik"
First Tx: 26/5/90
Adverts make the heart grow fonder, as our four friends bring you a cleaner, brighter programme with built-in lemon freshness. Mmmm!
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 4
"Fatal Attraction"
First Tx: 2/6/90
This week, our four friends discussing their less-than-lovely neighbour, Mr. Larby. In fact, he's a complete reptile. As Kit says, he's the sort of person who wouldn't help an old lady across the road, unless it was the M4 ... So when Jeremy pops downstairs and finds old Larby dead - and not just in the Biblical sense - they realise that you can be just as much of a nuisance dead as you were alive ...
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 5
"As Time Goes By"
First Tx: 9/6/90
A famous line from a famous film may not amount to a hill of beans, but could be the end of a beautiful friendship ...
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Show 6
"Heavens Above!"
First Tx: 16/6/90
When Jeremy and Paul get starry-eyed, Kit and Caroline come down to earth ...
Starring | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
Caroline Leddy | |
Written by | Jeremy Hardy |
Kit Hollerbach | |
Paul Bassett Davies | |
with | Pete Sinclair |
Caroline Leddy | |
Produced & directed by | David Tyler |
Unnatural Acts / At Home With The Hardys
Hear the signature tune and get nostalgic. It's a cha-cha-cha version of "The Third Man" by Edmundo Ros.
Have a look at the Photo Gallery
And here's a scan of the original flyer for the stage adaptation of "At Home With The Hardys"
To read more about Jeremy Hardy you can click here or indeed here
This next website is done by a very knowledgeable fan, and it's jolly good. Apologies in advance for any pop-ups that come with it, were you to click here
Take it further ...
Facebook: | Stills gallery |