Only When I Laugh (TV series) Only When I Laugh (TV series) Only When I Laugh is a British television sitcom made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It aired between 29 October 1979 and 16 December 1982 and was set in the ward of a NHS hospital. The title is in response to the question, "Does it hurt?" It starred James Bolam, Peter Bowles, and Christopher Strauli as patients Roy Figgis, Archie Glover, and Norman Binns. Mr. Gordon Thorpe, their consultant surgeon, was played by Richard Wilson; and Gupte, the staff nurse from Delhi, was played by Derrick Branche. The show was one of many successes
James Bolam Bewes died in November 2017. Bolam is known for being guarded about his private life. He once remarked: "I'm having a man fix the track rods on my car. I don't want to know anything about him. Why should he want to know anything about me?" In 1976, Bolam returned to straight drama, as Jack Ford in the BBC Television series "When the Boat Comes In", which ran until 1981. Since then he has mostly appeared in comedies and comedy dramas, including "Only When I Laugh" (as Roy Figgis) from 29 October 1979 to 16 December 1982, "The Beiderbecke Affair"