Hi-de-Hi! Channel at 1.40pm and repeated again at 6pm "Hi-de-Hi!" is set at a holiday camp in the fictional seaside town of Crimpton-on-Sea, Essex. Loosely based on Butlins, "Maplins" is part of a holiday camp group owned by Joe Maplin, with "Yellowcoats" replacing Redcoats. Cambridge University Professor of Archaeology Jeffrey Fairbrother, who had become tired of academia, has been appointed the new entertainment manager. He is clearly unqualified for the position. This has annoyed the camp host, Ted Bovis, who had expected the post. The job of camp comic is given to the naive but kind-hearted Spike Dixon, who wants an
Hi-de-Hi! cast performed the song on "Top of the Pops" that month. "Hi-de-Hi!" was one of the first BBC shows to capitalise on the merchandise market, with products such as board games, albums, books, toys and T-shirts available to buy. The location scenes of "Hi-de-Hi!" were filmed at a real holiday camp run by Warners in the town of Dovercourt near Harwich, Essex. However, the majority of filming was done at Mill Rythe Holiday Village on Hayling Island in Hampshire. The pilot episode (1979) and first two series (1980–1981) were all filmed during early spring before the holiday camp was opened