Only When I Laugh

Season 4

Only When I Laugh is an ITV1 sitcom broadcast from 29 October 1979 to 16 December 1982 for four series with seven episodes each, and a Christmas special in 1981. The title is the answer to the question, "Does it hurt?"

A naïve middle-class man is admitted to an NHS hospital ward, shared with a working-class layabout and an upper-class hypochondriac. The trio never fail to cause a nuisance for the poor, unsuspecting staff.

Where to Watch Only When I Laugh • Season 4

7 Episodes

Blood Brothers
E1
Blood BrothersThorpe believes that Glover needs a blood transfusion and Figgis is the same blood group but Glover, being a snob, is not happy to be the recipient, especially when he hears that Figgis has received a transfusion himself from a West Indian.
Conduct Unbecoming
E2
Conduct UnbecomingThorpe becomes an unlikely sex object when nymphomaniac patient Fiona demands they run off together and has written a complaint letter to the hospital board, whose chairman is her father, unless he agrees to her demand.
All in the Mind
E3
All in the MindHaving borrowed a book on psychology, Figgis takes it upon himself to analyse his fellow patients, alleging that Glover has a persecution complex and Norman is sexually repressed.
In Sickness and in Health
E4
In Sickness and in HealthA most reluctant Norman is to marry the dull and plain Deirdre, rather than Jenny. Glover decides to flatter Deirdre in order that she might blossom but rather overdoes it so that she transforms into a glamorous, confident woman with no need for Norman.
Escape
E5
EscapeGlover is charmed by new admission Harry Bridgewater - until it transpires that he is a prisoner who has come in for an operation with a guard in attendance. Having tried to pass himself off as a hardened criminal, Bridgewater has to admit he is merely a getaway driver but asks the patients to cover for him whilst he escapes – for a night – to be intimate with his wife. They agree and persuade Thorpe to assist them but will the convict really return?
When Did You Last See Your Father?
E6
When Did You Last See Your Father?An elderly drunk named Charlie arrives, claiming to be looking for his son, from whom he has long been estranged. The assumption is that his son is Norman, though it turns out to be Glover, who, after initial disgust, starts to warm to the old boy, especially when Charlie promises to lay off the sauce.
The Reunion
E7
The ReunionThe patients are discharged on the same day – somewhat reluctantly given their lengths of stay – and decide to have a reunion the same evening in a restaurant. By chance, Thorpe is there with Hilary, who is emphatically not his wife, and when Thorpe goes to make a phone call, Glover, seeing her alone, moves in and succeeds in going home with her.