'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?' thread

[Serge]

but an excellent exploration of Bewes' range as a performer.

It does make you wonder why he never really had any success after 'Likely Lads' - he is excellent throughout, easily the equal of Bolam, who has obviously gone from strength to strength since (well, ok, he's had the odd flop, but never anything bad enough to stop him from being a smallscreen favourite.)

[ajsmith]

It does make you wonder why he never really had any success after 'Likely Lads' - he is excellent throughout, easily the equal of Bolam, who has obviously gone from strength to strength since (well, ok, he's had the odd flop, but never anything bad enough to stop him from being a smallscreen favourite.)

Sinister Bolam - orchestrated industry blacklist?

[Ignatius_S]

It's interesting one. I suspect that the type of work they took outside the two series played a factor. Bewes really stuck to comedic and light entertainment roles, whilst Bolam looked more to drama.

Bewes was very much in demand after The Likely Lads. One notable job may not sound much, playing second banana to Basil Bush, but that show was monstrously popular and those who remember it, usually associate Bewes with it and very fondly too. However, I think the turning point was when ITV poached him for Dear Albert... Love Mother - a sitcom that he co-created, starred in and for good measure, co-wrote. I should say that I haven't watched any, I'm tempted to get it on DVD but it's a little pricey and am a little put-off but what I've read. A very frequent remark about it is that the show relied on Bewes' charm - that would hardly be the first show to do that but there's only so much goodwill that the audience will give. If audiences love you from a brilliant sitcom (and with Basil Brush), making three series of something that doesn't inspire as much hilarity or mirth might cause a cooling, If then you make a sequel to an earlier hit, people (the industry as well as the public) might decide you're a star in one role, but not others. After Whatever, telly and film work was more scanty. Interestingly, in that Likely Lads book I mentioned when Bewes is interviewed, there's a lot about his life before The Likely Lads but in terms of his career after the series, there's very little mentioned.

Also, there was often a feeling with the public that when a star jumped ship to ITV it was for more money but inferior shows. There's a lot of truth to that and Hancock and Emery are two excellent examples. Personally, I think this can mar someone's reputation in the eyes of the public.

My impression is that Bolam after The Likely Lads was more willing to take supporting roles than Bewes; after Bewes did so those roles, they tended to all by guest star ones on television. Add to the fact that he was doing less comedic roles, he was separating himself from Terry. After Whatever, Bolam played the lead in an epic drama, When The Boat Comes In, which he and the series were, very deservedly, lauded for and the part of Jack Ford is an iconic one.

After Whatever, the next sitcom role that I could remember Bolam playing was Only When I Laugh - after checking, I was surprised to see that I could only find one sitcom after The Likely Lads; that was was Inside George Webley and the part was as 'policeman', no doubt a nice role but a guest role removed from Terry. By that time, although Bolam was, and always will be, Terry he was also Jack Ford and had been in a heck of a lot of stuff.

Although Bolam has appeared in some clunkers as you say, he's always excellent (also, I would say that one flop, Andy Capp was actually very enjoyable) and there has been good shows and some brilliant ones like The Beiderbecke Trilogy.

Slight tangent but in Dear Albert... the main characters name was Courtney and I wonder if this was a reference to Tom Courtney, who was a great pal of Bewes (and I think they were flatmates). The sitcom is about Albert's life versus with what he's writing to his mother. Courtney and his mother wrote to each after the former left home and he produced a lovely book from them. Just a thought....

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Just about the only thing I can remember Rodney Bewes in after "The Likely Lads" is as a character in 'Dr. Who', circa 1984, exclaiming "I can't stand the confusion in my mind!". It may well have been the same episode in which top veteran actor Royce Mills played the voice of one of the daleks. I could also make some glib looky-likey remark about The Bewsester[nb]top nickname, eh? Sadly, it's quite likely that we are unable to refer to his bank account as 'Bewester's Millions'. [/nb] having a great deal of success and managing to look extremely youthful after he joined The Libertines, but I'm trying to cut down on that sorta thing.

[Serge]

Yes, I had forgotten that Bolam did 'When The Boat Comes In' - something I really should get around to watching. As you[nb]Ignatius_S[/nb] say, it would definitely have helped to stop him getting pigeonholed as 'just' a comedy actor.

I remember the Andy Capp sitcom quite fondly, something I should rewatch at some point.

The only post-'Likely Lads' thing I remember seeing Bewes in was 'The Spacemen And King Arthur', Disney's 'updating' of the Mark Twain story, though very much in a supporting role. He also appeared in Viz Comic in some fake adverts for a competition, which I thought reflected well on him. The less said about the nude photo he sent to a fan the better, though.

[ajsmith]

Yes, I had forgotten that Bolam did 'When The Boat Comes In' - something I really should get around to watching. As you[nb]Ignatius_S[/nb] The less said about the nude photo he sent to a fan the better, though.

!!! never heard that one.

He was also in Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky, just post LL.

[Serge]

Ha! Jabberwocky is so full of familiar faces that I often forget just who is in it.

Something else that struck me is that Bewes has had a reputation for fluffing lines, to the point where co-stars would get exasperated. Now, if you watch 'Whatever Happened To...', you will see line fluffs by both Bewes and Bolam throughout the series, but I suppose the worst of Bewes' might have been enough to ruin takes and have never seen the light of day. (If it was being made these days, they'd almost certainly be an extra on the DVD.) Maybe beyond that, Bewes has a reputation for being unprofessional, whereas Bolam seems to have precisely the opposite stature, and part of the reason for him continuing to get work whilst Bewes didn't is simply down to that? Probably massively unfair to Bewes, but all it takes is a couple of whispers in the wrong place...

[Ignatius_S]

Recent Bewes interview - worth a read: http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/likely-lad-rodney-bewes-pleads-6384363

*edit*

Interview from 2010 - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1252389/Whatever-happened-likely-lad.html In that he claims that he would get about £5,000 for each show repeated.

[Serge]

I think that Bewes might be slightly overstating Bolam's view of himself as a 'serious' actor - he went on to do more sitcoms ('Only When I Laugh' being the most obvious) and in recent years has appeared in the kids show, 'Grandpa In My Pocket', which hardly seem like someone struggling to free himself from a certain image. The fact that he has done serious roles which he has been acclaimed for - 'Boat', his portrayal of Harold Shipman, etc - seem to show a man more comfortable with his career than Bewes is.

[monkfromhavana]

I think that Bewes is a bit harsh on Bolam. Mainly because all anyone talks to Bewes about is The Likely Lads because that was his career pinnacle, and not many people can remember anything else he did.

[Ignatius_S]

Was looking at a Digital Spy thread and there was mention of Bewes being cast in a live-action version of Dan Dare. That rang a bell and found this - http://cinetropolis.net/the-great-unmade-dan-dare/

Also, on a thread there, someone commented: "WHTTLL was shown regularly until the mid eighties on the BBC. I even recorded some off air on Sunday afternoons." http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1415420  I have a feeling that the person was right about the BBC showing it then.

On the subject of repeats, this snippet has about how much they would get – but also a couple of things after the film that might have happened.

The Likely Lads are on UK Gold but they only pay about £30 whereas if it was on the BBC the repeat cheques would be about £7,000.

After the quarrel, which happened after the spin-off Likely Lads film in 1976, Bolam would not take part in the Royal Variety Performance or a stage version which Clement and La Frenais wanted to take on tour. He declined to be interviewed for a book about the Likely Lads (although his wife was happy to chat to the author). Hurtfully, Bolam refused to appear on Bewes's This Is Your Life in 1980. Could a third party – Sue Jameson, say – bring about a rapprochement?

"I doubt there could be a reconciliation now," says Bewes quietly. "Anyway, please can we talk about something else? This is making me depressed."
http://www.express.co.uk/expressyourself/341556/Oh-what-happened-to-you

Brill, thanks for filling all this stuff in for us.

Actually, I rather liked your idea!

I listened to Love and Marriage, the other night as by some quirk of fate it was being broadcast and it definitely ties into Talk of the Town. I'll need to re-listen to the latter as from what I remember, Duggie is a new acquaintance but in Love and Marriage, he's referred to as if they knew him for years. There's a nice line from Terry saying what a good laugh Duggie is and citing an example 'Last time we saw him, he knocked your teeth in!', which I think answers 'what happens next?' at the end of TofT.

Podge also made an appearance and played by Geoffrey Hughes!

Not all of these are golden, but i do wish you had the capacity to give them a listen Serge, you'd love a lot of the lines. Just the optimism of the opening credits is fun.

Friends and neighbours introduces us to Terry's grandad (introduced as "Mr. Pops"(!) although no-one refers to him as that during the episode... ). He has some nice early exchanges, especially with Bob ("I've always liked your mother." "So have i."). We get multi-faceted Bob here, with his preening metrosexual side when describing his fragrance ("It's an adventure in masculine freshness" :-D), his womanising side as he purrs to Lorna and his comical southern accent met by Terry's sharp response ("If i'd caught him his dancing days would've been over."). Then the true submissive Bob shines through at the end  ("You mean you're going back in there?" "Yes... tea's ready."). Again, no grand themes, but an excellent exploration of Bewes' range as a performer.

Lovely summing up – and spot on about Bewes.

I think that Bewes is a bit harsh on Bolam. Mainly because all anyone talks to Bewes about is The Likely Lads because that was his career pinnacle, and not many people can remember anything else he did.

How soon they forget! What about Bewes fronting a campaign for Findus (which IIRC, he said he penned the adverts for). Unfortunately, I could only find this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3oMCb-iyyo – on an Internet radio station, which plays old adverts (they do play other things!) there's the audio for a boil in the bag one, which has an informal, friendly but slightly patronising tone.

I think that Bewes might be slightly overstating Bolam's view of himself as a 'serious' actor - he went on to do more sitcoms ('Only When I Laugh' being the most obvious) and in recent years has appeared in the kids show, 'Grandpa In My Pocket', which hardly seem like someone struggling to free himself from a certain image. The fact that he has done serious roles which he has been acclaimed for - 'Boat', his portrayal of Harold Shipman, etc - seem to show a man more comfortable with his career than Bewes is.

Something I find interesting is that he starts by saying how he wants to be pals before proceeding to slag Bolam off.

[Serge]

Was looking at a Digital Spy thread and there was mention of Bewes being cast in a live-action version of Dan Dare. That rang a bell and found this - http://cinetropolis.net/the-great-unmade-dan-dare/

Ha! Before I even clicked on the link, I pictured Bewes as Digby...

[Alternative Carpark]

Yes, plenty of repeats of TLL and WHTTLL in the 80s and 90s.  The surviving episodes of the former got a showing in the 90s, and several episodes of the latter were shown around 1980 - 1, I know of at least one repeat of the Christmas special in 1992, and there was a complete run of both series of the latter in 1995.  There have also been occasional one-off repeats of episodes, especially the one where they're trying to avoid finding out the football results, that one's been shown on its own a few times, I'm sure.  There was a one-off repeat in 1986 too, although I'm not sure which episode. It still turns up on digital channels quite often nowadays.

[Serge]

Yeah, I remember the complete re-run in the nineties, as that was the first time I saw it from beginning to end. Usually they'd just repeat 'No Hiding Place' (I suppose it is the least continuity-heavy episode of series 1) or very occasionally 'Affairs And Relations', but to see the whole thing and put everything in context was great. Until quite recently, 'Dad's Army' aside, the BBC didn't seem to be repeating many old comedies at all for a few years - then they started to show some in the 3.30-5.30 slot, mostly piffle like 'Three Up, Two Down', but they did show (most of) 'Hi-De-Hi!' which I enjoyed. Maybe it was the rise of video and DVD which put paid to repeats of classic stuff on a regular basis.

[curiousbritishtelly]

Bleeding love WHTTLL and always surprised that it's never quite received the accolades it's deserving of.

I mean, you know, The Likely Lads holds up pretty well for a 60s sitcom considering most of them seem like a little bit of twoddle now, but WHTTLL is just amazing!

WHTTLL takes the Terry and Bob formula and refines it in every single aspect. Great gags, wonderful dynamic between Terry and Bob's different outlooks, tight scripts and wonderful, wonderful performance by James Bolam throughout.

[Sydward Lartle]

Quite enjoyed reading this thread in its entirety, Serge; thank you for linking to it.

Sad to say, though, as well-written and performed as it is, I always found Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? distinctly lacking in actual laugh-out-loud moments. Perhaps a large part of my apparent immunity to the show's admittedly manifold charms is that I don't find the character of Terry remotely appealing - I've known plenty of people like him, so it's not that I can't relate to him or identify the archetype, it's just that I think he's a prick. The way he sits there gloating when Bob reminds him of how he ruined his Christmas at the age of six by telling him Santa had been gored to death by his reindeer - that's a cunt's trick, and no mistake, yet Terry sits there with a supremely punchable face, obviously thinking 'Ha ha, I scarred you for life, you milky twat'. Granted, Bob is frequently the engineer of his own downfall on numerous occasions, but there's so much about Terry that I find genuinely grating - the casual homophobia, the racism, the womanizing, the constant carping, the military fantasizing - it's really no wonder even his own sister can't stand him, and the frequent bollockings he gets from his mother are presented as standard battleaxe sitcom nagging, even though she's obviously at the end of her tether with her son being a bone-idle sponging twat who won't even wash his dirty teacups because it's women's work.

All that said, I do like the 1976 film the Likely Lads. It has its problems, of course - the iffy sound mix as mentioned earlier, Bolam's voice sounding weirdly high toward the beginning, the screenplay running out of steam around the one-hour mark and embracing the manic tedium of trouser-dropping farce - but it's got a warmth that the series lacked, possibly because it's free of the harshly-lit cheapskate studio sets, the cackling audience and the oft-remarked-upon multiple line fluffs. The 'Radio Free Ferris' scenes with the promotional vehicle are glorious - Bewes's sudden, unexpected "Oh, bollocks!" being my favourite deployment of that particular curse outside of Viz and Bottom - and the disastrous holiday is proper tragi-comedy, with Terry getting his comeuppance for once as he realises his 'sexy girl from a boutique' is a bit too keen on the great outdoors for his liking. There's also the simple fact that the entire film just screams 'late seventies', and it looks so much like a photo album from my childhood come to life. Apparently the film was a flop on its first release, something Bolam suspected from the outset - when Bewes asked him if he'd like a percentage of the box office take, Bolam replied "No thank you - who wants twenty percent of fuck all?" Charming!

[Serge]

It's interesting, because for the most part, I think people - and when I say people, I mean blokes - probably tend to like Terry because of his carefree and guilt-free life. I can't remember who said it, but there's a line about 'we all thought we were Terry, but we were all actually Bob.' Clement and Le Frenais certainly see Bob as the hero, and so does Phil Wickham, who wrote the BFI book on the series (well worth checking out, too.)

Although I've never heard him say as much - and to be fair, as the bleeder rarely gives interviews, it's unsurprising - but I've always wondered if part of Bolam's disdain for the series now is in part because he's embarrassed by having played such a character. For me, it's part of the trilogy of great Bolam comedy roles, along with Figgis and Trevor Chaplin, though Chaplin is probably the only one you could say was a decent man. He's like Terry if he'd started to take responsibility and grow up a bit.

[Sydward Lartle]

During my childhood when my family were on holiday in Suffolk, and the family in the chalet next door to us were from Sunderland, with the expected thick accents. I got on quite well with them, but the thing that sticks in my mind is how much the father hated James Bolam. This must have been around the time of the Andy Capp ITV series, because I remember the father pointing at a picture of Bolam in the paper and saying "Ah can't staaand that blerk - he's a jam pot sucker."

I didn't know what 'jam pot sucker' meant, and as far as I've been able to discern, it seems to be either a regional variation on 'jammy' - meaning 'lucky bastard' or 'spawny get' - or derisory slang in certain mining communities aimed at people who couldn't afford meat for their sandwiches and so made do with jam instead, but it tickled my funny bone and I must have driven the poor sod half-barmy with my repeated insistence on him saying it again, just to make me laugh. To this day, whenever I see Bolam on telly, in anything, the first words that spring into my mind are 'jam pot sucker'.

[SamTylerComaDreams]

Some great views and personal stories that have really captured the essence of this amazing snapshot of Britian. I just wanted to thank the contributors for the depth of detail

[Nowhere Man]

In hindsight, although its pretty sad that Bolam and Bewes never rekindled whatever friendship they had, we should probably be thankful they didn't pull an Only Fools and do a couple of Christmas specials when the characters are getting on and still doing the same old same old.

[ajsmith2]

In hindsight, although its pretty sad that Bolam and Bewes never rekindled whatever friendship they had, we should probably be thankful they didn't pull an Only Fools and do a couple of Christmas specials when the characters are getting on and still doing the same old same old.

I don't necessarily agree, I think a 90s run could have been decent. Probably not as good as the 70s series but I bet it would have been nowhere as awkward as the 90s Liver Birds revival or something.  Maybe not though. But I mean the point of WHTTLL was that the characters were 'getting on' anyway so another more 20 years only adds more potential for pathos and poignancy.

[Nowhere Man]

Yeah I see what you mean, it would have to be the right script for it though, but I almost find it difficult to picture a (relatively) modern day version without treading on old ground too much. I'm happy with what we got either way.

[Ignatius_S]

Slight tangent, but I recently watched the episode of Public Eye, which had Bolam in and very good he was too!

Already posted, I'm sure, but this is worth a read as it's Bolam's side of the story: https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/there-no-fall-out-all-11565312

In hindsight, although its pretty sad that Bolam and Bewes never rekindled whatever friendship they had, we should probably be thankful they didn't pull an Only Fools and do a couple of Christmas specials when the characters are getting on and still doing the same old same old.

There's no reason to suppose that if they had been on good terms, Bolam would have agreed to play Terry again.

Bolam had no interest in working with Bewes again and when Clement/La Frenais approached him about Whatever..., made that clear. However, when the series was pitched to him, Bolam laughed so much at what he heard, so he agreed to do it. Also, there was a bit of a gap between the end of the series and the film – so again, Bolam was obviously capable of working with Bewes without personal friendship.

Possibly the proposed idea for another series (see below) may not have appealed to Bolam but being associated again to a role, which he's invariably asked about, was unlikely to be attractive. I think it's fair to say that not all Bolam's choices were great material (e.g. the TV version of Second Thoughts paled compared to the radio in terms of quality, but it was still very possible) but would say he's gone for variety.

Also, given how Bewes would regularly criticised Bolam's attitude to Whatever..., I'm not sure the combined effect would calculated to inspire a let's get the band together change of heart. As per the first page, Bolam wasn't the only person that Bewes criticised and personally, the more I've reflected on this, I've felt that there could be a cynical motive at play for such public utterances.

I don't necessarily agree, I think a 90s run could have been decent. Probably not as good as the 70s series but I bet it would have been nowhere as awkward as the 90s Liver Birds revival or something.  Maybe not though. But I mean the point of WHTTLL was that the characters were 'getting on' anyway so another more 20 years only adds more potential for pathos and poignancy.

Although Porridge was poor fare, the excellent Henry IX is a recent example of Clement and La Frenais showing what great sitcom writers they are.

Personally, from what I've read about the ideas of a Likely Lads reunion, think there was the kind of potential you mention.

A set-up that was touted was Bob going broke in the building crash, while Terry was in the money – either due to a big payout for being hit by a car (while he was drunk) or winning the National Lottery. However, a while ago – and think I posted it here – I read some more ideas. Quite vague, IIRC, but one thing I recall is that Bob has a son and a daughter – think the writers hadn't nailed down those characters, but one article suggested Bob had a difficult relationship with them.

[ajsmith2]

Only tangentially related, but BBC Breakfast showed a clip of Rodney Bewes and Basil Brush introducing The Kink on the  newly rediscovered 1968 Basil Brush show this morning. Skip to 54 m 30 s on this:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0btwm6n/breakfast-14122018

[ajsmith2]

Don't think it's been mentioned here before that 2 long-known-to-exist with-a-private-collector but officially missing episodes from series 2 of the original 60s run have finally been tracked down and are being released on the new movie DVD:

https://networkonair.com/features/2019/01/18/gems-rediscovered-the-likely-lads/

[notjosh]

Don't think it's been mentioned here before that 2 long-known-to-exist with-a-private-collector but officially missing episodes from series 2 of the original 60s run have finally been tracked down

How does one become in the know about such things? And can you tell me where to find Power of the Daleks pls, tx.

[Ignatius_S]

Don't think it's been mentioned here before that 2 long-known-to-exist with-a-private-collector but officially missing episodes from series 2 of the original 60s run have finally been tracked down and are being released on the new movie DVD:

https://networkonair.com/features/2019/01/18/gems-rediscovered-the-likely-lads/

Yes, it's fantastic news - although both episodes were believed to be have tracked down years ago; I wondered if they were going to see the light of day again.

[ajsmith2]

Just bumping this thread to say what a great read it is, marred only by my previously selves someone idiotic posts early on. Brilliant analysis of each episode.