Hi-de-Hi! released. Hi-de-Hi! Hi-de-Hi! is a BBC television sitcom shown on BBC1 from 1 January 1980 to 30 January 1988. Set between 1959 and 1960 in Maplins, a fictional holiday camp, the show was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who also wrote "Dad's Army" and "It Ain't Half Hot Mum" amongst other programmes. The title was the greeting the campers heard and in early episodes was written Hi de Hi. The series revolved around the lives of the camp's entertainers, most of them struggling actors or has-beens. The inspiration was the experience of Jimmy Perry, one of the writers.
Hi-de-Hi! being demobilised from the Army, he was a Redcoat at Butlins in Filey and Pwllheli during the holiday season. The series gained large audiences and won a BAFTA as Best Comedy Series in 1984. In a 2008 poll on Channel 4, "Hi-de-Hi!" was voted the 35th most popular comedy catchphrase. In 2014, Jimmy Perry confirmed that "Hi-de-Hi!" would be repeated, and it began a rerun on 2 February 2015 on BBC Two as part of Afternoon Classics, alongside "'Allo 'Allo!", "To the Manor Born" and "Open All Hours". It has started a re-run on 4th April 2018 on UKTV’s Drama