'Allo 'Allo!
French Resistance farce
'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, set in the small French town of Nouvion during the German occupation of the Second World War. Gorden Kaye stars as René Artois, a hapless café owner reluctantly caught between the occupying Germans, the Italians, the Resistance and two British airmen hidden upstairs. As he juggles secret affairs with his waitresses, a priceless stolen painting and a stream of disastrous schemes, René endures a parade of eccentric characters and mangled French accents. A knowing parody of wartime dramas such as Secret Army, the show ran for a decade and became one of Britain's most fondly remembered farces.
Start a quizAt a glance
- First aired
- 30 December 1982
- Last aired
- 14 December 1992
- Created by
- David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd
- Channel
- BBC One
- Series
- 9
- Episodes
- 85
- Set in
- Nouvion, German-occupied France
- Quizzes
- 3
'Allo 'Allo! quizzes
Listen very carefully, we shall ask this only once: how well do you know this wartime farce?
René, Edith and the whole cast of Nouvion, plus their famous catchphrases.
Running gags, secret plots and deep cuts for devoted fans of the wartime farce.
'Allo 'Allo! cast and characters
René Artois
Played by Gorden Kaye
The owner of Café René in Nouvion and a reluctant Resistance hero codenamed Nighthawk. He spends every episode dodging the Germans, the Resistance and his wife while carrying on with his waitresses.
Edith Artois
Played by Carmen Silvera
René's wife and the café's tuneless cabaret singer, whose performances drive customers to stuff cheese in their ears. She always believes René's excuses when she catches him with another woman.
Yvette Carte-Blanche
Played by Vicki Michelle
The café's head waitress and René's devoted mistress, who dreams of running away with him. She also 'entertains' the German officers upstairs.
Michelle Dubois
Played by Kirsten Cooke
Leader of the local Resistance, famous for "Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once." Her elaborate plans to smuggle the British airmen home nearly always backfire.
Colonel von Strohm
Played by Richard Marner
Nouvion's corrupt German commandant, who has stolen the painting The Fallen Madonna and bullies René into hiding it for him. He is a regular at the café, where the waitresses keep him amused.
Lieutenant Gruber
Played by Guy Siner
A German lieutenant back from the Eastern Front, with a 'little tank' and an obvious soft spot for René. He becomes the colonel's assistant and forges copies of the stolen painting.
Private Helga Geerhart
Played by Kim Hartman
The colonel's secretary and Herr Flick's lover, who bellows every visitor's name at the top of her voice. She is forever finding reasons to strip down to her underwear.
Herr Otto Flick
Played by Richard Gibson
The limping, leather-coated Gestapo officer who wants The Fallen Madonna for himself. Richard Gibson played him in series one to eight, and David Janson took over for the final series.
Officer Crabtree
Played by Arthur Bostrom
A British agent disguised as a French policeman whose French is so bad that "Good morning" comes out as "Good moaning". He joined the show in series two.
'Allo 'Allo! facts and FAQs
- When was 'Allo 'Allo! on TV?
- 'Allo 'Allo! was first shown on BBC One on 30 December 1982 as a one-off pilot, and the full series began on 7 September 1984. The final episode aired on 14 December 1992, and the cast reunited for a one-off special, The Return of 'Allo 'Allo!, on BBC Two on 28 April 2007.
- How many series (seasons) and episodes of 'Allo 'Allo! are there?
- There are nine series and 85 episodes of 'Allo 'Allo!, a total that includes the 1982 pilot and two Christmas specials (1985 and 1991). Series five was the longest, with 26 episodes shown between September 1988 and February 1989.
- Who created and wrote 'Allo 'Allo!?
- 'Allo 'Allo! was created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd as a parody of the BBC wartime drama Secret Army. Croft and Lloyd wrote the first six series together, and Lloyd wrote the last three with Paul Adam.
- Where was 'Allo 'Allo! filmed?
- 'Allo 'Allo! was filmed in England, with outdoor scenes shot in Norfolk, mainly at Lynford Hall near Thetford, whose stable courtyard stood in for Nouvion's town square. Studio scenes were recorded in front of an audience at BBC Television Centre in London, apart from series five, which moved to the BBC Elstree Centre.
- What is 'Allo 'Allo! about?
- 'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom about René Artois, who runs Café René in Nouvion, a small town in German-occupied France during the Second World War. He is caught between the Germans, the Gestapo, the Resistance and two stranded British airmen, while hiding a stolen painting, The Fallen Madonna, and his affairs from his wife.
- Who is in the cast of 'Allo 'Allo!?
- The main cast of 'Allo 'Allo! is led by Gorden Kaye as René, Carmen Silvera as Edith and Vicki Michelle as Yvette. They are joined by Kirsten Cooke (Michelle), Richard Marner (Colonel von Strohm), Guy Siner (Gruber), Kim Hartman (Helga), Richard Gibson (Herr Flick), Arthur Bostrom (Crabtree), Rose Hill (Madame Fanny) and Sue Hodge (Mimi).
- Who were the British airmen in 'Allo 'Allo!?
- The British airmen were RAF Flight Lieutenants Fairfax and Carstairs, played by John D. Collins and Nicholas Frankau. Shot down over Nouvion, they hide in Madame Fanny's room above the café while the Resistance tries, and fails, to get them back to England.
- Who was the Italian officer in 'Allo 'Allo!?
- The Italian officer was Captain Alberto Bertorelli, a womanising liaison officer played by Gavin Richards in series four to six and by Roger Kitter in series seven. He is known for "What a mistake-a to make-a!"
Awards and recognition
Placed 13th in the BBC's Britain's Best Sitcom poll (2004)
Spawned a successful touring stage show (1986-1992), including West End runs
Ran for nine series and 85 episodes, becoming a popular international export