
Citizen James
Citizen James is a BBC sitcom that ran for three series between 24 November 1960 and 23 November 1962. The show featured comedian and actor Sid James and Sydney Tafler with Bill Kerr and Liz Fraser appearing in early episodes. It was initially written by the comedy writing team of Galton and Simpson, who based the characters very much on the "Sidney Balmoral James" and "Bill Kerr, the dim-witted Australian" roles that they had played in Hancock's Half Hour. The first series was set around 'Charlie's Nosh Bar', a cafe in Soho, and centred around Sid's get-rich-quick schemes. He is helped by "Billy the Kerr" and quite often frustrated by the local bookmaker Albert Welshman. Liz Fraser played Sid's long-suffering girlfriend who has been waiting for seven years for Sid to set the date. Changes were made to the format after the first series. Sid James' character was changed to be something of a people's champion, campaigning for social justice. Bill Kerr and Liz Fraser departed and Sidney Tafler played a different character: Charlie Davenport. The location switched from Soho to Sid and Charlie sharing a house. Later episodes were written by then Morecambe & Wise writers Sid Green and Dick Hills.
- Created By
- First Aired on
Nov 24, 1960
- Popularity: 13.5252
- 5 votes
- Networks
- (GB)
- Status: Ended
Show Ended
3 seaons till Nov 23, 1962
Last episode: The Jury
Seasons & episodes
Total 3 seasons, 32 episodes

Season 1
Aired
Episode 1The Race25 min
Liz warns that she's not going to wait around forever as just a fiancée, Sid sees a chance to make a fortune on the back of a drunken stranger, and a bit of creative nobbling leads to odds of 100/1 for the waiters' race.
Episode 2The Elixir25 min
Bill knocks up the latest batch of miracle medicine to sell on the market, Liz comes to the rescue when the boys are picked up by the police, and a doctor from the hospital phones the station asking for urgent help.
Episode 3The Money25 min
Liz asks Sid to pay the takings from the club into the bank, Albert's faced with having to find £12000 when a 40/1 outsider crosses the line first, and Bill insists on authenticity while working on the details of a robbery
Episode 4The Rivals25 min
Albert bets that he can get a date with Sid's girl by the end of the week, Liz defends her right to go to the pictures with anyone she chooses, and using a stripper to make her jealous turns out to be an expensive idea.
Episode 5The Raffle25 min
Bill realises that he's helped himself to the Christmas raffle prize money, Sid panics and organises a bigger second raffle to pay for the first, and an attempt to sell enough tickets to cover it leads to the police station.