Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off
David Tyler | |
Original release | 16 July 2002 – 19 December 2011 |
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No. of series | 7 |
No. of episodes | 30 |
Audio format | Stereophonic sound |
Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off is a BBC Radio 4 comedy written by Marcus Brigstocke, Jeremy Salsby and Graeme Garden, produced by Pozzitive Television.
Format and history
The show follows the travel adventures of title character Giles Wemmbley-Hogg ("Two Ms, two Gs", full name: Giles Peter St John David Habakkuk St John Wemmbley-Hogg), a nice but somewhat dim upper class former
Themes in this comedy are Giles's naïveté, and small-mindedness, with his frequent (and usually inappropriate) comparisons with life back in his native
.The show is sometimes available online in the 'Comedy and Quizzes' section of the BBC radio on-demand website. The series is often repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra.
In July 2007 Giles appeared on BBC Four television in Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes to Glastonbury, which contained a mixture of material from throughout the history of the radio show and from the similarly titled Radio 4 episode which had been broadcast only the week previously.
Series 4 was first broadcast on Radio 4 starting on Monday 14 December 2009 at 11:30am.
One of the special features on Brigstocke's 2007 standup DVD Planet Corduroy is a one-man lecture given in character by Giles Wemmbley-Hogg.
After an eight-year gap Giles Wemmbley-Hogg returned for a special Brexit episode broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 28 March 2019, the day before the United Kingdom was originally due to leave the European Union.[1]
Episode list
Series | Episode | Destination | First broadcast | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | The Sudan |
16 July 2002 | Giles' first trip sees him going off to Sudan for some fishing. |
2 | Beijing | 23 July 2002 | For his Duke of Edinburgh Award, Giles decides to rebuild the Great Wall of China .
| |
3 | Bolivia | 30 July 2002 | Giles goes on a jungle trek in search of a rare bird species. | |
4 | The Arctic |
6 August 2002 | Giles gets stuck on the ice cap and has to stay in a research station. | |
5 | Moscow | 13 August 2002 | With the Budleigh Salterton Donkey Sanctuary in mind, Giles plans to ride from England to Russia on a racing tandem, but his friend Toby pulls out... | |
6 | Thailand | 20 August 2002 | On a spiritual journey, Giles goes to Thailand to find himself... and his rucksack. | |
2 | 1 | Tanzania | 15 October 2003 | Now at university doing Canadian studies, Giles decides to go to Africa to 'Save the Giraffe'........... in a 14-foot giraffe costume. |
2 | Germany | 22 October 2003 | After his sister pulls a sickie, Giles decides to step in and go on a German exchange. | |
3 | Cuba | 29 October 2003 | As a part of Socialist Soc., Giles goes to Cuba to find inspiration. | |
4 | Egypt | 5 November 2003 | In a bid to twin Cairo with his native Budleigh Salterton, Giles visits the Egyptian capital to see if it is up to standard. | |
5 | India | 12 November 2003 | Giles has made the Durham University cricket team, and subsequently goes on tour with them to the home of "Native Americans". | |
6 | New Zealand | 19 November 2003 | To stop the love of his life from marrying someone else, Giles goes all the way to New Zealand in an attempt to stop the wedding. | |
3 | 1 | Scotland | 25 January 2005 | After gaining his degree in Canadian Studies, Giles looks for work, firstly on an oil rig. |
2 | Tokyo | 1 February 2005 | The next step in Giles' career sees him go to Tokyo and work in the stock market. | |
3 | The Alps | 8 February 2005 | Giles becomes a chalet girl in a French skiing resort. | |
4 | Russia | 15 February 2005 | Giles becomes fourth cultural attaché to Vienna, and accompanies a Geordie "dancing prodigy" across Europe. | |
5 | Haiti | 22 February 2005 | Giles helps build a home for CHAVS. | |
6 | Ireland | 1 March 2005 | In an attempt to become a journalist, Giles becomes a nanny, and takes the children to Ireland. | |
1 | Germany | 15 June 2006 | Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Geht zum Fussballweltmeisterschaft weg! - Giles returns to Germany for some peace and quiet, only to find that the World Cup is being held there. | |
2 | 22 June 2006 | |||
3 | 29 June 2006 | |||
1 | Glastonbury | 26 June 2007 | Giles goes to the Glastonbury Festival and attempts to sell pasties from around the world. | |
4 | 1 | Greece | 14 December 2009 | Giles goes to Greece to rescue a group of philosophy students. |
2 | Lapland |
21 December 2009 | Giles visits Lapland and has a mishap Involving his-mother in-law. | |
3 | Orient Express | 28 December 2009 | Giles takes four cross ladies on a septuagenarian trans-Balkan hen party. | |
4 | Las Vegas |
4 January 2010 | It's Viva Las Vegas as Giles accidentally gets three wives in a row and loses the jackpot. | |
5 | 1 | Local Hero | 28 November 2011 | When a mogul tries to buy up every last pebble in Budleigh, Giles decides to run for Mayor. |
2 | Iron Man | 5 December 2011 | Giles enters an Iron Man triathlon in Spain with only Neil Diamond and a donkey to help. | |
3 | Festival Of Yumsk | 12 December 2011 | When Giles tries to put Budleigh Salterton on the gastronomic map, he inadvertently serves up a full-scale biohazard lockdown instead. | |
4 | Rocket Man | 19 December 2011 | Giles gets himself into another spot of bother - a rocket-powered one. | |
1 | Article 50 |
28 March 2019 | Giles returns for a one off Brexit special. |
Availability
Four episodes from the 1st Series (not the episodes 'Moscow' and 'Beijing') and the entire 2nd Series are available on CD, and series 1-5 are available at the iTunes Store.
References
External links
- Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off at BBC Online
- Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off at BBC Online - Archived Radio 4 page
- Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off at British Comedy Guide
- Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off at RadioListings