HOW IT STARTED

The first episode

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Loosely based on Butlins, Maplins is part of a holiday camp group owned by Joe Maplin, with Yellowcoat replacing Redcoats. Cambridge University Professor of Archaeology, Jeffrey Fairbrother, who had tired of academia, has been appointed the new Entertainment Manager. 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 introduction to the world of show business. Many episodes involve Ted Bovis attempting to scam the campers as well as the well-meaning Fairbrother, who also has to avoid the romantic approaches of the chief Yellowcoat and Sports Organiser, Gladys Pugh.

The other main characters in the show are out-of-work actors and entertainers at the tail end of their careers. These include Fred Quilley, a disqualified jockey; Yvonne and Barry Stuart-Hargreaves, former ballroom champions; Mr Partridge, a music hall star reduced to performing Punch and Judy puppet shows, despite hating children; and Peggy Ollerenshaw, an eccentric but ambitious chalet maid who dreams of becoming a Yellowcoat.