Phillip Oakes

The scriptwriter and broadcaster Phillip Oakes was best known for his screenplay of The Punch and Judy Man, the 1962 bitter-sweet comedy vehicle for Tony Hancock. Oakes and Hancock were neighbours in Surrey in the early sixties and the comedian had given Oakes the idea for a screenplay. The film was fraught with production difficulties, not least Hancock's marital and alcohol problems. Slated on its initial release by critics, it is now widely regarded as a comedy classic. In 1975 Oakes went on to write a revealing memoir of Hancock. Oakes was born in 1928 at Burselm. His father died when Oakes was only four and his mother suffered from a brain tumour which left her incapacitated. He began a career in journalism at 16, making his name as a journalist on several papers including the Evening Standard and for many years was the film critic for The Sunday Telegraph. He devised and produced numerous television programmes, including The Sunday Break and Granada TV's Zoo Time and he was a regular guest on BBC Radio's Stop the Week, with Robert Robinson. He also published three volumes of poetry.