It Ain't Half Hot Mum is a British television sitcom about a Royal Artillery concert party based in Deolali in British India and the fictional village of Tin Min in Burma, during the final months of the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who had both served in similar roles in India during that war.
Fifty-six episodes were broadcast across eight series on BBC1 between 1974 and 1981, covering a real-time historical period of approximately thirteen weeks. Each episode ran for thirty minutes. The title originates from the first episode, in which young Gunner Parkin (Christopher Mitchell) writes home to his mother in England.[1] In 1975, a recording of "Whispering Grass" performed by Don Estelle and Windsor Davies in character as Gunner "Lofty" Sugden and Sergeant Major Williams (respectively), reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and remained there for three weeks.
The series, which attracted up to seventeen million viewers in its heyday, has been accused of racism, homophobia and a pro-imperialist attitude.[2][3] One specific criticism has been the casting of a white actor, Michael Bates, as an Indian character, with darkening makeup that some have described as blackface.[2][3]
Set in 1945, the series follows a Royal Artillery concert party during the final months of the Second World War. The main characters are performers in the base's concert party; their duties involve performing comic acts and musical numbers (similar to those seen in a music hall) for other soldiers prior to their departure for the front lines. The concert party prevents the soldiers from partaking in combat duty; thus, the soldiers love being part of the outfit. Some even daydream of becoming world-famous actors when they leave the army.
The main characters include Gunner "Lofty" Sugden, a short, pudgy soldier who wears a pith helmet and possesses a fine singing voice; Gunner "Parky" Parkin, a young recruit who, though eager, is slightly bumbling and has very little aptitude for the theatre; Gunner "La-de-dah"/"Paderewski" Graham, a bald-headed Oxbridge graduate, is the pianist; Gunner "Atlas" Mackintosh, a short-tempered Scotsman who specialises in feats of strength; Gunner "Nobby" Clark, an unintelligent soldier who does bird calls and whistling acts; and Gunner "Nosher" Evans, a soldier who does a paper-tearing act and tends to eat a lot, spraying food whenever he speaks. Rounding out the enlisted crew are Bombardier "Solly" Solomons, a soldier from London, who is Jewish and a former theatrical agent; and Gunner "Gloria" Beaumont, an effeminate, cowardly soldier who specialises in performing female roles in drag (as there are no women assigned to the concert party). Beaumont is later promoted to Bombardier after Solly is demobbed and sent back to Britain.
The soldiers are under the orders of Battery Sergeant Major Williams, a belligerent Welshman who has spent almost all of his life as a professional soldier. In turn, Williams reports to the two officers in charge of the concert party: Captain Ashwood and Lieutenant-Colonel Reynolds. Both Ashwood and Reynolds are characterised as coming from upper-class backgrounds. Ashwood, the younger officer, is rather stupid and slightly excitable, while Reynolds is older and more worldly-wise and sensible. While often bemoaning the rough conditions of Army life, both Ashwood and Reynolds realise that keeping their concert party administrative duties (and thus remaining behind friendly lines) is infinitely preferable to duty on the front lines.