Hi De Hi character | |
---|---|
Barry Stuart-Hargreaves | |
Nationality | English |
Gender | Male |
Hair | Grey |
Job | Dance Instructor |
Actor | Barry Howard |
Appearances | |
First | Hey Diddle Diddle |
Last | Man Trap |
Barry's birth name was Bert Pratt, and he was born in Nottingham, the son of a bus inspector. By the late 1930s he was living in Sunderland where he met Yvonne and they began a brief affair, but she left him for another man. She later returned to him when she was pregnant and he proposed. He took Yvonne's last name for the sake of their careers. During the war he was conscripted into the Royal Navy and served as a stoker, though it is presumed he did not do this for long as he and Yvonne became ballroom champions in 1942. After the war, he and Yvonne continued dancing but their careers were drawing to an end, and in 1956 they joined Maplins as a last resort. He was often heavily criticised by Yvonne for his etiquette, which annoyed him intensely. Although his official jobs were to teach dance and give ballroom demonstrations, Barry was regularly chosen against his will to be the victim of the campers in the entertainment events, such as getting covered in water while dressed as a granny, having spaghetti stuffed down his trousers, and dressing up as 'Percy the Pixie' to entertain the children. Barry suffered from a bad back, and on one occasion during the 1959 season he was left unable to move after straining it. Yvonne called in Julian Dalrymple-Sykes to take his place in the ballroom until he recovered, though it was made clear that Barry already knew about Julian and his history with Yvonne. Barry left Yvonne and departed Maplins midway through the 1960 season, and it is unknown why he left or where he went. Throughout the series, several hints were made that Barry was actually gay, although this was never confirmed