The first programme to use the title The Charlie Drake Show was a one-off 60 minute sketch and stand-up that aired on ITV on Sunday 31 August 1958 at 8.30pm.
However, during live transmission of the first episode a stunt involving Drake went wrong and he fractured his skull and remained unconscious for three days.
[1] In the stunt, Drake was to be pulled through a bookcase and then thrown out of a sugar-glass window, only to emerge from a door and belt out his catchphrase, "Hello, my darlings!"
The two actors who were with Drake, unaware of his condition, then, with visible difficulty, threw him out of the window, where he hit his head upon a weight.
[3] A few months after his accident, Charlie Drake announced his retirement whilst accepting the TV Comedian of the Year award.
Written by Drake and Lew Schwarz and produced by Colin Clewes, the six episodes aired from 28 September to 2 November 1963.
The tenth episode, titled "The World of Charlie Drake", was 35 minutes and was the BBC's entry into the 1968 Montreux Festival.