Ranked joint 20th in the TV charts, along with Highlights of 1979 Series (1979), which also had an audience of 14.2 million.
The Little and Large episodes produced by Michael Hurll had the unusual practice of not listing any of the guest stars in the end credits. This is just one of two Michael Hurll episodes (along with 1980 Christmas Special (1980) ) to buck this trend.
Cliff Richard's song "Hot Shot" was not a big hit in the UK, only managing to reach No.46 on the singles chart. Staying just five weeks on the chart, it had left the Top 75 for a month by the time this episode was broadcast. However, the second song he performs on the show, "Carrie", fared far better, reaching No.4.
Although the humour in Little and Large could be "family friendly" almost to the point of childish, the earlier series are notably nearer the edge, featuring the scantily-clad "Foxy Feeling", and references to matters such as Syd's alleged lack of endowment. This edition is particularly notable for a pop sketch that mentions glue sniffing and LSD.
Little and Large had a live audience, but would often supplement some sparser moments with canned laughter. This is particularly notable in this episode, with an identical laugh that appears throughout.