The Bowmans The Bowmans "The Bowmans" is an episode of the BBC television situation comedy programme "Hancock", the final BBC series featuring Tony Hancock, first broadcast on 2 June 1961. It was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The title is a retronym; the episodes were not originally identified separately. Hancock plays an actor in a fictional radio serial called "The Bowmans", a parody of the real BBC radio programme "The Archers". The theme tune to "The Bowmans" is a close variation by series composer Wally Stott of the real "Archers" theme tune "Barwick Green". Hancock plays Joshua Merriweather, a character
The Archers subsequently on the BBC Home Service (now Radio 4). Early afternoon repeats of the previous evening's episode began on 14 December 1964. The original scriptwriters were Geoffrey Webb and Edward J. Mason, who were also working on the nightly thriller series about the special agent Dick Barton. The popularity of his adventures partly inspired "The Archers", which eventually took over Barton's evening slot. At first, however, the national launch placed the serial at the 'terrible' time of 11.45am, but it moved to Dick Barton's former slot of 6.45pm from Monday, 2 April 1951. An omnibus edition of the week's episodes