With
Charlie Chester he was part of the
British Army's concert party troupe
Stars in Battledress. He continued to work with Chester after the war in the
BBC Radio series
Stand Easy (1946–49). Sometimes
Patricia Hayes would join them as a female tramp. In early episodes, the shows were played out on a theatre stage, and basic scenery and props were used where, for instance, the audience could see outside and inside a house, as there was no wall on their side. Later episodes had improved sets. The stars sometimes forgot (or did not bother to learn) their lines, and would
ad lib them. If someone fluffed a line, that would be used to get more laughs. Haynes and others sometimes failed to keep a straight face and occasionally burst into laughter. The shows would also feature musical guests, such as
the Springfields in 1963,
Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen and
the Rolling Stones in 1964, and
Joe Brown and the Bruvvers and
the Dave Clark Five in 1965. A number of the shows started and ended with Arthur Haynes driving a horse and cart along a narrow country lane, whistling and (unconvincingly) playing a harmonica. Some began with a cartoon workman using a road drill on the show's title. Haynes received the
Variety Club's award as ITV Personality of 1961 and appeared on the
Royal Variety Performance in the same year. The shows also made a star of
Nicholas Parsons, who had first appeared with Haynes in
Strike a New Note and
Get Happy and who tended to play supercilious neighbours and authority figures in the comedy sketches. Eventually, as the public began to recognise Parsons' skill as a straight man, Haynes decided to dispense with his services. Other stars also made early appearances: in 1962
Michael Caine played a burglar burgling the same house as Haynes's character. Haynes had a good singing voice, which he rarely used on TV, and in 1960 performed a sketch called
The Haynes Brothers, where he and
Dickie Valentine, wearing a moustache, sang together. In 1965, Haynes appeared in the
Rock Hudson/
Gina Lollobrigida film
Strange Bedfellows. While in Hollywood,
Cary Grant turned up with an entourage at a place where Haynes was staying and lavished great praise on him, calling him the greatest comedy star in the world. In 1966, he appeared as a patient in the British film
Doctor in Clover. ==Music==