the quality of his script, complaining the other players have the best lines. Each episode starts with a prologue from Howerd – which is invariably interrupted by the doom-laden warnings of Senna, or the demands of his master or mistress. Thirteen 30-minute episodes were made, in two series (March – May and September – October 1970). In between there also was a 13 minute Up Pompeii segment in the 1970 Royal Television Gala Performance. In addition, it had been preceded by a pilot episode (1969) as part of Comedy Playhouse, and it was followed up with two later special episodes both called Further Up Pompeii, one in 1975 and the other, written by Brian Leveson and Paul Minett, in 1991 (the former with, and the latter without exclamation mark). The latter sparked speculation that there could be a new series, but Howerd's death in 1992 put an end to any such prospect. Apart from the change to the actor playing Ludicrus Sextus, there are some differences between the two series of Up Pompeii, the second series using noticeably fewer sets than the previous. This may have been due to the second series being commissioned, filmed and broadcast within four months from the end of the first. Films and sequels The show inspired three films. The first was also called Up Pompeii (1971) and added such characters as Bilius, Voluptua, Scrubba and Villanus. It ended with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which anachronistically (for AD79) included Nero (who added, "Wait till you see what I've up for Rome!"), and had a brief epilogue in which Howerd played a modern-day museum guide showing the petrified remains of the Pompeiian characters. It was produced by Ned Sherrin and retained only Frankie Howerd from the cast of the original series (Ludicrus, for example, was played by Michael Hordern in the film adaptation, Erotica by Madeline Smith and Nausius by Royce Mills). However, Aubrey Woods appeared in the TV series and the film, playing different roles. The two sequels were Up the Chastity Belt (1971) and Up the Front (1972) which transported Howerd's servile, cowardly character to Medieval times (as Lurkalot) and World War I (as Private Lurk). A few years later, the BBC made one final special called Further up Pompeii! (with exclamation mark) in 1975. The format of Up Pompeii inspired two later TV series, Whoops Baghdad (1973) and Then Churchill Said to