# What Happened to Benny Hill? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608 "2011-08-22T02:20:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/1 "2011-08-22T02:20:21Z")
Hey, the Benny Hill show is really mild by some of the stuff that flies today. So, where has this show gone? You’d think it’d be popping up somewhere on cable? What’s the SD on this? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/2 "2011-08-22T02:23:54Z")
I’d love to see a Benny Hill revival. Unfortunately he’s kind of…umm, dead. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/3 "2011-08-22T02:25:49Z")
So it would be a true revival. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/4 "2011-08-22T02:29:20Z")
In chicago, channel 9.2 plays Benny Hill. I don’t know what the channel is called, but it’s like MeTV. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/5 "2011-08-22T02:31:00Z")
Wikipedia says it was running on BBC America up until 2007. And I remember it being shown on Comedy Central back when I was a teenager (1990s). So It apparently shows up in syndication at least occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/6 "2011-08-22T02:40:38Z")
They used to show it on PBS uncut in the 70s. Topless dancers and rape jokes were not unheard of in later seasons; what they show on cable now is pretty heavily edited. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/7 "2011-08-22T02:50:55Z")
[Antenna TV](http://www.antennatv.tv/shows/wgna-antenna-shows-benny-hill,0,6335579.story)also shows the reruns on weekends. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/8 "2011-08-22T03:30:43Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Wikipedia says it was running on BBC America up until 2007. And I remember it being shown on Comedy Central back when I was a teenager (1990s). So It apparently shows up in syndication at least occasionally. I remember this, too. I believe it was edited slightly for content, though. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/9 "2011-08-22T03:38:49Z")
I’ve seen it in the last few months, I think. It’s aged poorly, IMO. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/10 "2011-08-22T04:17:45Z")
I cannot tolerate that stupid, fast-paced theme song. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/11 "2011-08-22T04:35:32Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > I cannot tolerate that stupid, fast-paced theme song. Yakety Sax. ---
**Author:** ![monkeylucifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@monkeylucifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeylucifer)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/12 "2011-08-22T04:55:46Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > I cannot tolerate that stupid, fast-paced theme song. Then you’ll hate this site: [http://bennyhillifier.com/](http://bennyhillifier.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/13 "2011-08-24T12:26:32Z")
What is it with you guys and Benny Hill anyway? In the UK, it is widely regarded as the worst TV comedy show ever. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/14 "2011-08-24T12:36:02Z")
> [@Bakhesh](#): > > What is it with you guys and Benny Hill anyway? In the UK, it is widely regarded as the worst TV comedy show ever. Because it reassures us that not all of the British are classier or wittier than the average American. (Worse than **Heil Honey I’m Home**? I’m surprised. And American TV has even worse “comedies.”) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/15 "2011-08-24T12:43:34Z")
> [@Bakhesh](#): > > What is it with you guys and Benny Hill anyway? In the UK, it is widely regarded as the worst TV comedy show ever. For me, Benny Hill is kind of a nostalgia thing. When I was a kid, we weren’t allowed to watch it (our local station ran it in the pre-primetime slots, heavily edited) because my mom thought he was dirty. Which he was, but that’s why we WANTED to watch it. I look back on the rare evenings that I was home alone for a half hour or so at the right time and reveled in watching the show because it was a) dirty and b) forbidden, the two sure-fire desire-enhancers of pre-adolescence. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/16 "2011-08-24T12:43:46Z")
Yaketty Sax is getting _really_ old. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/17 "2011-08-24T12:54:08Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Yaketty Sax is getting _really_ old. Not when it accompanies another [Benny.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VjOK2pwOCQ) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/18 "2011-08-24T13:04:40Z")
> [@Bakhesh](#): > > What is it with you guys and Benny Hill anyway? In the UK, it is widely regarded as the worst TV comedy show ever. I assure you that many, many, (so very many) Americans feel the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/19 "2011-08-24T13:17:52Z")
> [@Bakhesh](#): > > What is it with you guys and Benny Hill anyway? In the UK, it is widely regarded as the worst TV comedy show ever. Then why was it on the air for a couple decades? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608/20 "2011-08-24T13:22:13Z")
UK Gold used to show loads of “classic” television but nowadays channels like it seem to mainly show reruns of shows from the '00s and the '90s, maybe stretching to the '80s. It’s interesting seeing stuff like Citizen Smith, The Liver Birds, etc. from the '70s because a lot of the humour is so dated they just serve as period pieces. It’s strange there isn’t a network that just shows programmes from the '50s/'60s/'70s. Maybe they recorded over all the video tapes of a lot of the shows? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-benny-hill/593608.md?page=2)