Hamish and Dougal

Infobox Radio Show
show_name = Hamish and Dougal
You'll Have Had Your Tea


imagesize =
caption =
other_names =
format = Situation comedy
runtime = 15 minutes
country = flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
language = English
home_station = BBC Radio 4
syndicates =
television =
starring = Barry Cryer
Graeme Garden
Alison Steadman
Jeremy Hardy
creator = Barry Cryer
Graeme Garden
writer = Barry Cryer
Graeme Garden
director =
producer = Jon Naismith
executive_producer =
narrated =
record_location =
first_aired = 24 December 2002
last_aired = 25 January 2007
num_series = 3
num_episodes = 18
audio_format = Stereophonic sound
opentheme = Horn Concerto No. 4 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
endtheme =
website = [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hamishanddougal/ BBC website]
podcast =

"Hamish and Dougal" are two characters from the long-running BBC Radio 4 "antidote to panel games", "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" ("Clue"). One of the rounds in this show is Sound Charades, where a title of a book or film has to be conveyed from one team to the other by means of a story. The result of the story is usually a pun on the title in question.

Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden often tell their story as two elderly Scottish gentlemen, Hamish and Dougal. It is in essence a minute-long improvised sketch where each performer knows the other well enough to be able to set up joint jokes seamlessly.

A prototype Hamish & Dougal first appeared in a 1979 Christmas Special of 'Clue', doing 'Wee Freak Ings Of Orient Are', with John Junkin standing in for Barry Cryer. However, the characters didn't appear fully formed until the 1995 Christmas Special, when the duo gave the clue for 'The Queen's Peach'.

Each sketch is started with the line "You'll have had your tea", with which (un)welcome visitors who have a habit of dropping in at dinnertime are reputed to be greeted in Edinburgh, Scotland. (In the north of the United Kingdom, the evening meal, typically called dinner in the south, is usually called tea; this can sometimes lead to confusion.) This is done either to deter scroungers or because the speaker is quite tight-fisted himself.

In 2002, between the 24 December and 27 December, daily episodes of a sitcom starring the two character were broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The official title, read out at the beginning of each show, was "You'll Have Had Your Tea: The Doings of Hamish and Dougal". However, the series is generally known as just "Hamish and Dougal", and this is the title on the packaging of the official CD releases.

Episodes were 15 minutes long and were extensions of the one minute sketches. The main differences were the presence of a script, written by Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden, and of two other actors, regular "Clue" panelist Jeremy Hardy, and Alison Steadman. Steadman played Mrs Naughtie (pronounced "Nochty") the housekeeper, while Hardy played the local laird. The music for the series was arranged by John Garden, son of Graeme (and live performer with the Scissor Sisters) and performed by a four-piece ceilidh band. The programmes were produced by Jon Naismith.

In addition, the 2004 Hogmanay special featured guest appearances from Clue chairman Humphrey Lyttelton (as the Laird's butler Lyttelton), "Today programme" presenter Jim Naughtie (as Mrs Naughtie's long-lost son), Sandi Toksvig (as Sandi Wedge, a very tall golf champion) and Tim Brooke-Taylor and Colin Sell (as themselves).

The scripts were written very carefully, with barely a single line devoid of a joke. Often the fact that it was broadcast on radio was taken advantage of, with sound effects deliberately giving the audience the wrong impression. An example of this is the Laird asking Dougal whether he wanted a drink followed by a long drawn out sound of running water, then the laird saying "Ah that's better, now what would you like to drink?"

Sexual innuendo was also heavily relied upon, as it is in "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue". An example of this was the eternal buzzing of the pie grater Dougal bought for Mrs Naughtie. When someone comes to the door, you hear his strangulated cry as he finds a place about his person to hide it. (The joke is on the similarity between the phrase "pie grater" and the word "vibrator".)

Despite the risqué nature of a lot of the jokes (such as the dance of the seven voles: "Och, where's that little rascal got to"), it is a very gentle comedy, with the usual joyous disregard for storylines that often characterizes this type of material.

Several episodes concluded with the laird singing a song, to the delight of the audience. This was a continuation of a running joke from "Clue", in which Hardy was forced to sing, despite being a truly dreadful singer. The audience and remaining cast would usually join in the song, deliberately out of tune.

The third series started transmission in August 2006, with a special half-hour episode on Burns Night.

Episode list