50 Fun Facts About On the Buses

Which On the Buses star made the first withdrawal from the world's first cash machine, in Enfield?

Reg Varney was photographed at the Barclays machine in June 1967 because he lived nearby, almost two years before he first played Stan Butler.

Which James Bond film did the first On the Buses film out-earn at the British box office?

Diamonds Are Forever took less in Britain than the bus depot comedy, whose box office gross came to nearly 28 times its budget.

Which British studio, famous for Dracula and Frankenstein horrors, made the three On the Buses films?

Hammer Films had not made a comedy for a decade when it took on Stan Butler, and the first film became its biggest British earner of the 1970s.

Which slang word does On the Buses use for the bus conductresses Stan Butler chats up?

Clippies are Stan's constant distraction at the depot, and his sister Olive tries the job herself in the series, without success.

In which fictional Essex town do Stan Butler and Jack Harper work the buses in On the Buses?

Luxton exists only on screen: the outdoor depot scenes were filmed at a real bus garage in Wood Green, north London, using borrowed buses.

Which creatures do Stan and Jack plant in the women drivers' cabs in the 1971 On the Buses film?

Spiders are only the start: the pair go on to spike the women's tea, all to protect their overtime after the depot drops its men-only rule for drivers.

Which real wildlife attraction hosts Stan Butler's disastrous trial bus tour in Mutiny on the Buses?

Windsor Safari Park closed in 1992 and its site became Legoland; in the film a broken emergency exit leaves Stan and Blakey at the mercy of lions and monkeys.

Which real holiday camp chain hires Stan and Jack as a tour bus crew in Holiday on the Buses?

Pontins let the crew film at one of its real camps, and a plaque was later unveiled at the gates to mark the film.

What happens to Olive in the first On the Buses film that never happens in the TV series?

She has a baby, Little Arthur, who grows up across the three films, while the television Olive and Arthur stay childless.

Why did On the Buses start faking its double-deckers with plywood top decks after a 1972 studio move?

The doors were too small at the new South Bank studios, so single-deckers were driven in and a mock upper deck was lowered onto them from above.

Which actor played Inspector Blake in On the Buses, made up to look far older than his 42 years?

Stephen Lewis had been a bricklayer and a merchant seaman before a night watching Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop led to an audition and a new career.

In which long-running sitcom did the actor behind On the Buses' Inspector Blake later play Smiler?

Last of the Summer Wine kept him in work from 1988 until ill health forced him to retire in 2007, a far longer run than his years at the depot.

In which soap did the actress who played Olive in On the Buses later turn up as Aunt Sal?

EastEnders made her the sister of Peggy Mitchell, a part played by her best friend since they filmed Carry On Camping, and she kept returning until 2017.

Which union post does conductor Jack Harper use against management in On the Buses?

Shop steward Jack abuses the post to thwart Blakey's schemes, though he is just as ready to steal his own driver's girlfriends.

Which Steptoe and Son star plays Bert, the Irish widower who charms Mum, in Holiday on the Buses?

Wilfrid Brambell was Irish himself, and had already played Paul McCartney's grandfather in the Beatles film A Hard Day's Night.

Which second-hand vehicle does Arthur Rudge buy and endlessly tinker with in On the Buses?

A motorbike and sidecar carries the whole family in the films too, and in Holiday on the Buses it loses their luggage in the same river twice.

In which earlier sitcom by the On the Buses writers did Stan Butler's actor play a foreman called Reg?

The Rag Trade was set in a London clothing workshop, and when it was revived in 1977 Olive from the bus depot joined the staff.

At which pub game do conductresses Iris and Jenny beat Stan and Jack in On the Buses?

Darts settle the bet after Iris distracts Stan with the promise of a date, and after his favourite set turns up in Olive's stew.

How is Inspector Blake punished at the end of Mutiny on the Buses, after a run of depot disasters?

Demoted to conductor, Blakey ends the film working Stan's own bus in place of Jack, turning passengers away just as Jack did at the start.

What job does Stan Butler end up with at the close of Holiday on the Buses, courtesy of Blakey?

Wrecking ball driver is the labour exchange's answer for a man who smashes everything up, and the clerk who hands the job over is the sacked inspector.

Which spin-off sitcom sends On the Buses' Inspector Blake to retire in Spain with his sister?

Don't Drink the Water ran for 13 episodes from 1974, with Pat Coombs as his spinster sister Dorothy.

Which American comic actor starred as Stanley Belmont in Lotsa Luck, NBC's remake of On the Buses?

Dom DeLuise played Stanley as a lost-and-found clerk at the bus company rather than a driver, and the remake was cancelled after one season.

How does Inspector Blake come to live with the Butlers once Stan has left On the Buses?

As their lodger, the inspector takes over the very bedroom of the driver he spent years trying to sack.

What kind of workplace in the north of England lures Stan Butler away in his last On the Buses episode?

A car factory job writes Stan out halfway through the seventh series, because the actor who played him wanted to move on to films and other projects.

Which never-explained event in Arthur Rudge's past is a running joke for Stan and Jack in On the Buses?

His hospital operation is never identified, which lets the scripts hint at whatever best suits a joke about his marriage to Olive.

Which relative of Inspector Blake does Stan Butler date, and plan to marry, in On the Buses?

His niece Sally and Stan break up after a disastrous tea with the Butlers, where she mocks his looks and insults Mum's baking.

What do two Swedish women take Stan and Jack for when the pair trial smart new uniforms in On the Buses?

Airline pilots is so flattering a mistake that the pair come round to the new kit, just as management scraps it because the other busmen refuse to wear it.

Which pet of canteen dancer Fatima gets loose in the Butler house in On the Buses?

A snake goes home in a laundry bag that Stan carries without knowing what is inside, and at first only Olive sees it, so nobody believes her.

How do the busmen fight a new early-morning schedule in The Early Shift, the first On the Buses episode?

An unofficial strike, with no strike pay, puts Stan on an early picket line, and a television crew arrives to give the walkout publicity.

What ruins Olive's stint as a conductress on Stan's bus in the On the Buses episode Olive Takes a Trip?

She gets travel sick from the exhaust fumes and the motion, so Mum takes over and promptly spills the money satchel and loses all the fares.

Which South African-born actress wore padding, a wig and thick glasses to play Olive in On the Buses?

Anna Karen modelled in her spare time, and the show's writers picked her for Olive after seeing her at work on their previous sitcom.

What is the rarely used first name of Inspector Blake, known to all as Blakey in On the Buses?

Cyril Blake outlived the sitcom: in the 1990s the character turned up regularly on Jim Davidson's version of The Generation Game.

Which colour are most of the buses in the three On the Buses films, unlike the green fleet on television?

Red buses are the quickest way to tell a film scene from a television one: only a single green bus turns up at the film depot.

Which Shearsmith and Pemberton anthology series hoaxed viewers with a fake On the Buses-style episode?

Inside No. 9 advertised a bus sitcom spoof with guest star Robin Askwith, then broadcast an episode disguised as a quiz show in its slot instead.

What finally happens to the tour bus Stan and Jack borrow for a night out in Holiday on the Buses?

The tide swallows it after the wheels sink into wet sand overnight; the pair wait for the beach to dry out, and are sacked when the sea arrives first.

Which Welsh-born actress played Mum in On the Buses from the second series and in all three films?

Doris Hare first went on stage aged three with her parents' portable theatre, and in 1960 she turned down the part of Ena Sharples in Coronation Street.

Which writing duo, nicknamed the Other Two Ronnies, created On the Buses and wrote most episodes?

Chesney and Wolfe met on the radio show Educating Archie, where Ronald Chesney was the harmonica player and Ronald Wolfe one of the writers.

What does Stan Butler make at home to save money in On the Buses, before arriving drunk at work?

Beer brewed at home turns out stronger than Stan expects, and he only keeps his job by fooling the breathalyser test that Blakey orders.

In which North Wales seaside town is the holiday camp of Holiday on the Buses?

Prestatyn hosted most of the location shoot, with further scenes filmed nearby at Dyserth, Rhuddlan and Rhyl.

What must Stan Butler drive on to keep his job in the 1971 On the Buses film, with Blakey stuck aboard?

A skid pan session starts with the inspector still on the bus, and the actor did part of the stunt himself, tied to the rear platform by a hidden rope.

Which comedy writer and broadcaster, as an ITV head of entertainment, commissioned On the Buses?

Frank Muir was a friend of the writers, who brought him the idea less than a week after the BBC had turned it down.

Which veteran musical comedy star played Mum in only the first series of On the Buses?

Cicely Courtneidge, born in 1893 and a stage star since her teens, took the part for one series only because a West End production was waiting.

Why were seven episodes of On the Buses' fourth series recorded in black and white?

A technicians' pay dispute saw ITV crews refuse to work with colour equipment from November 1970 to February 1971, so new shows went out in monochrome.

Which future co-writer of Yes Minister scripted On the Buses episodes with George Layton?

Jonathan Lynn had acted beside Layton in Doctor in the House, and later directed the films Clue and My Cousin Vinny.

Which actress, soon to play Miss Brahms on television, appears as a housewife in the first On the Buses film?

Wendy Richard began her long run as the Grace Brothers shop assistant the following year, and also appeared in the film of Bless This House.

Which real Essex bus operator supplied the green double-deckers seen on location in On the Buses?

Eastern National can sometimes be read on the side of a bus in the finished episodes, despite the fictional company's livery.

What is Stan Butler's bus company called in the three On the Buses films, unlike the television series?

Town & District marks the films out as a separate canon from the series, with a loose story arc running through all three.

Which new system fitted to the buses in Mutiny on the Buses do the police soon order removed?

Radio control lets Blakey keep the crews on time until Jack tampers with it and it cuts into police and airliner frequencies, an idea reused from a television episode.

How do Stan and Jack win Stan the well-paid tour job in Mutiny on the Buses, to Blakey's shock?

They blackmail the manager, Mr Jenkins, after catching him in the depot after hours with a conductress called Norah.

Which class does Blakey teach to guests when off duty at the camp in Holiday on the Buses?

Old-time dancing later serves as cover: Olive and Arthur join the class to keep the inspector busy while Stan and Jack repair the family's chalet.