Set in ancient Pompeii (pre-eruption) Howerd played a slave, Lurcio (pronounced Lurk-io). The other main characters were Lurcio's bumbling old master, Senator Ludicrus Sextus (initially Max Adrian and then Wallas Eaton), the senator's promiscuous wife Ammonia (Elizabeth Larner), his daughter Erotica (Georgina Moon) and his eternally virginal son Nausius (Kerry Gardner) (who wrote not very rude odes), along with the Cassandra-esque Senna the Soothsayer (Jeanne Mockford) and Plautus (Willie Rushton). Guest stars included a number of "Carry On" girls with Barbara Windsor, Wendy Richard and Valerie Leon all having parts.

The set-up was little more than a backdrop for an endless series of double entendres and risqué gags. Howerd was the key to most of the gags and he started each episode with a prologue — a "to camera" that would usually never get finished and rarely had anything to do with the episode plot.

Bill Cotton in an interview with author Graham McCann on 6th June 2000 said that the then director of the BBC Comedy, Michael Mills, prompted by the plays of Plautus came up with the idea for the show for Frankie Howerd. The musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, set in ancient Rome was also said to be an influence. Howerd had recently played the similar role of the slave Pseudolus in a London stage run of the musical, and there were parallels between some other characters.

There were 13 30-minute episodes in two series (March – May and September – October 1970). In addition there was a pilot episode (1969) and two special episodes entitled Further Up Pompeii, one in 1975 and the other in 1991. The latter sparked speculation that there could be a new series, before Howerd's death in 1992 put an end to any such prospect.

Apart from the change in actor playing Ludicrous Sextus, there are some differences between the two series of Up Pompeii, with the second series using noticeably fewer sets than the original. This may have been due to the second series being commissioned, filmed and broadcast within 4 months from the end of the first. Willie Rushton did not appear in the second series.

The series was filmed in front of a live audience, with which the actors interacted. This is highlighted by the relatively long duration between cuts, and the timing of the jokes and dialogue is obviously dictated by the audience reaction. For example, an episode which showed Ammonia in the bath, Lurcio lifted the supposed suds to reveal the actress wore nothing and was on a mattress but quickly put it down before the camera panned over! Also, Howerd made anachronistic comments like "I don't use that glycerine rubbish" or "The BBC told me..." when such things didn't exist. It is clear when Howerd addresses the audience, the characters he speaks with don't take notice. With all the leads being predominantly stage actors, this worked well. The second series is characterised with having more edits and close ups than the previous one, but not to the extent that it detracted from the intimate feel to the production.

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