Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?

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Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?

Bob and Terry receive a shock in Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?
Genre Comedy
Starring James Bolam
Rodney Bewes
Brigit Forsyth
Opening theme What Happened To You
Ending theme What Happened To You
Country of origin United Kingdom
Language(s) English
No. of episodes 27
Production
Producer(s) James Gilbert
Bernard Thompson
Running time 30 mins
Broadcast
Original run 1973 – 1974
Links
Official website
IMDb profile

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? was a hit British sitcom broadcast between January 1973 and December 1974, as the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit The Likely Lads. Both series were created and written, as before, by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. There were 27 television episodes in all over two seasons, including a 45-minute Christmas finale.

The cast later reunited for a BBC Radio adaptation that ran from July-October 1975.

Then, in 1976, the lads were back in action for a popular movie spin-off. Around the time of the movie's release though, the two stars, (Rodney Bewes) and (James Bolam), fell out over a misunderstanding involving the press and have genuinely not spoken since. This long-suspected secret was finally confirmed by Bewes while promoting his 2005 autobiography.

Contents

[edit] The Series

The show followed the resumed friendship, after five years apart, of two young working-class men, Bob Ferris (Bewes) and Terry Collier (Bolam).

Set in the North East, assumed to be on Tyneside but never really confirmed, the rich and witty humour was based on the war between fresh-from-the-army Terry's laziness and Bob's progression to the middle class via his new white-collar job, suburban home and impending marriage to his childhood sweetheart Thelma Chambers (Brigit Forsyth).

Since the end of the original The Likely Lads, in 1966, Bob has left factory life behind for an office job with his future father-in-law's building firm; although what Bob actually does is not a major factor in the show. It is the fact he's now a white-collar worker, joining badminton clubs and attending dinner parties and so on, which is important.

Terry, meanwhile, sees his extended army experience as giving him moral superiority over Bob. But he still finds it hard to adjust to all the changes that have occurred in the five years he's been away. As is also implied by the show's title, the series plays on a feeling of nostalgia for the days of the lads' innocent and reckless youth.

The word 'likely' in the title, which in some northern English dialects means 'likeable', in this context means "likely to succeed", because in the 1960s series the two lads were on the brink of making their way in the world.

The show's catchy theme song, What Happened to You?, was written by Mike Hugg (of Manfred Mann) and La Frenais, and was performed by Hugg's session band under the name 'Highly Likely'. It made the lower reaches of the UK Top 40 in 1974. Mike Hugg also wrote the theme tune to the 1976 film, entitled 'Remember When'.

The complete first and second series (including the Christmas special) are now available in the UK on Region 2 DVD.

[edit] Regular Cast

[edit] Trivia

Post 1974, the show was not repeated until 1995, when it aired in its entirety on BBC 2. The 20-year delay was allegedly down to James Bolam's reluctance to grant permission. It went on to become a short-term staple of cable channels, but has not featured on terrestrial TV in the UK since 2000. The movie spin-off usually appears at least once a year on TV, routinely around Christmas.

One of the most notable continuity points about the show is the idea that Terry has been away in the army for 'five years'. However, there was a real-life gap of six and a half years between the original series ending in 1966 and this one starting in 1973. Also, there are numerous references to the lads' shared adventures from around 1967, when in 'real life' Terry wouldn't have been around then.

The boys work mentor from the original 60s series, Clough, does not feature. It is mentioned in the first episode though that he now runs a newsagent's shop.

Terry's full name is Terence Daniel Collier, born February 29th, 1944. Bob's full name is Robert Andrew Scarborough Ferris, born a week earlier. These dates can be worked out from dialogue in the episode 'Birthday Boy'. The 'Scarborough' in Bob's name comes from the fact that he was allegedly conceived there, but this is contradicted slightly in the opening flashback sequence of the 1976 movie. Terry's 'silver tankard' joke in his best man's speech at the end of Season 1 also seems to infer that he, not Bob, turned 21 first.

Thelma's full maiden name is Thelma Ingrid Chambers.

The lads attended Park Infant School, Park Junior School and Park Secondary Modern School. Thelma was with them for infants and juniors, and then went to 'the grammar school'. Notable school romances for the boys included the revered Deirdre Birchwood. The lads also were in the Scouts together.

Bob's immediate neighbours at his new home are the Lawsons and the Jefcotes, again never actually seen in the show. A couple called the Nortons are also later referenced as living next door.

Two running jokes throughout the show are never fully explained: Terry's supposedly injured leg and his aggressive preoccupation with being referred to as 'wiry' rather than 'thin' or 'slim'.

Terry's never-seen West German wife was called Ute Baumgarten. They married in November 1969 and split seven months later in June 1970 when West Germany defeated England in the football World Cup. Confusingly, Terry later says they were married for two years, on and off, which further clouds the continuity issue of Terry's time away.

It is revealed that the boys used to be in a skiffle group called Rob Ferris And The Wildcats. Other group members included Maurice 'Memphis' Hardaker, named after a real-life friend of the show's co-creator and co-writer Ian La Frenais.

Thelma's father, played by Bill Owen, is called George Chambers. Her younger sister is Susan, who lives with her accountant fiancé in Toronto, Canada. Terry is younger than his sister Audrey, and their mother is called Sylvia Collier. Terry's father is not featured in either colour series; neither is Bob's as before. Terry's dad is not dead or absent, though: he is continually referenced, but not actually seen, throughout this series and also during the 1976 movie.

Bob lost his virginity to a 'Wendy Thwaites' according to an episode in Season 1 - she scored 8 stars out of 7 on his scoring system.

Pubs frequented by the lads include The Fat Ox and The Wheatsheaf.

The leather-bound photograph album that Bob gives Terry on his wedding day is the same one seen in the show's opening credits.

Terry's address is given as 127 Inkerman Terrace, but external shots clearly show a different house number. Bob lives at Number 8 on an unspecified avenue in the Elm Lodge housing estate.

The two stars alternated 'top billing' on each episode. Therefore, some episodes begin with "Starring James Bolam....Rodney Bewes", and some with "Starring Rodney Bewes....James Bolam". On the closing credits the names are reversed with whoever's name came second in the opening credits,coming first on the closing credits.

Friends of the lads who are regularly spoken of but not seen include Frank Clark (Bob's original choice for best man) and Nigel "Little Hutch" Hutchinson, a sex-mad pal who always has a racing tip ready for Terry. Bob's new middle-class friends we hear of but don't meet include Hugh and Janey, but a new pal we do meet is affable Londoner Alan Boyle, played by Julian Holloway.

Christopher Biggins makes several appearances as Podge Rowley, a friend of the boys.

The 1974 Christmas Special's titles bill the show as just 'The Likely Lads'. The episode's opening sequences are set in late September, on the day of Terry's successful driving test.

Exteriors for the show were filmed on Tyneside and around the North East, while interiors were done in London.

[edit] Episode guide

[edit] Season 1

1. Strangers on a Train - The duo are reunited by chance aboard a homeward bound train. Why don't they recognise each others voices in the 'dark' sequence though?!

2. Home Is The Hero - Terry finds it hard to adjust to everyday life in the 1970s.

3. Cold Feet - Due to a misunderstanding, Terry causes havoc between Bob and Thelma, leading Bob to get cold feet about the wedding.

4. Moving On - A miserable Terry decides to go round the world with Hughie McClaren, an old army friend

5. I'll Never Forget Whatshername - Terry, now settled back home again, looks up some of his old flames. His lack of success with them makes him self-pitying, and Bob smug, until a suspicion arises that Terry may once have had a drunken fling with Thelma.

6. Birthday Boy - A surprise birthday party for Terry goes predictably wrong, when someone else is accidentally invited to the party instead of him. Terry's big mouth later runs away with him,too.

7. No Hiding Place - The lads try to avoid learning the result of an England football match before the TV highlights later that evening. Brian Flint (Brian Glover) tries to spoil it for them in order to win a bet. The central conceit of this one is flawed though: Flint bets them a total of £10 that they won't get through the day without hearing the result. They get to the TV highlights none the wiser about the score except Terry glancing a newspaper stall saying "England F...." Flint then barges in to Bob's house, and angry Terry pays him off with £10 so he'll leave. Flint hasn't won the bet though, Bob and Terry have.The match though turns out to have been postponed...

This episode was remade by Ant & Dec for ITV in 2002, and featured Rodney Bewes as a newspaper vendor.

8. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? - Terry joins Bob and Thelma at a posh dinner party.

9. Storm In A Tea Chest - Thelma hypocritically forces Bob to throw out his childhood junk.

10. The Old Magic - At a fancy restaurant, the lads test out whether they can still 'pull' or not.......and end up with someone they certainly didn't expect.

11. Countdown - The duo get set for Bob's wedding, and we meet Thelma's dad George (Bill 'Compo' Owen), a staunchly working-class socialist builder.

12. Boys Night In - The night before the wedding. Bob refuses to have a old-fashioned stag night, preferring cocoa and Ludo. Terry tries to get him in the party mood nonetheless.

13. End Of An Era - Bob and Thelma finally marry. Things will never be the same again: old ways, old days, gone for ever... Or are they?

[edit] Season 2

14. Absent Friends - Terry looks after Bob's house while he's on honeymoon, and romances Thelma's younger sister Susan. This picks up some of the threads from the episode "The Old Magic".

15. Heart To Heart - Bob and Thelma return home, and Susan leaves Terry to return to Canada.

16. The Ant And The Grasshopper - A run-down Bob grows increasingly tired of funding Terry's lazy lifestyle. There's no dialogue in this episode for the first three minutes, which is unusual. A Slade song can be heard in this montage though, the only occasion an original song was ever used in the show.

17. One For The Road - Bob is caught drink-driving and Terry, in the same cell for football violence, attempts to help him out.

18. The Great Race - The lads relive their active youth with a crooked bicycle race to Berwick and back.

19. Some Day We'll Laugh About This - Terry romances Bob's bored neighbour while Bob and Thelma go skiing. Also features a cheeky milkman called Les (Tony Haygarth) and people falling through floors.

20. In Harm's Way - Terry reluctantly takes a job as a hospital porter and causes a series of disasters. The victim of every one of them is Bob.

21. Affairs And Relations - Our heroes, gone fishing, catch Thelma's dad 'playing away' with his blonde secretary in a country hotel. Then Thelma turns up unexpectedly and for no good storyline reason, and thinks the blonde is there with Bob.

22. The Expert - The follow-up to "Affairs And Relations", with Thelma leaving Bob yet again.

23. Between Ourselves - Terry moves in with a depressed Bob, and amusingly plays housewife in Thelma's absence.

24. The Go-Between - Terry tries to fix things up between Bob and Thelma, but Bob ends up with his head in a gas oven. This brings to a conclusion the 'on/off' storyline which began in "Affairs and Relations" and has been running across four episodes.

25. Conduct Unbecoming - Both lads end up in court on separate assault charges involving the same local ruffian, Duggie Scafe, played by Alun Armstrong. Armstrong also plays Terry's milkman in the 1976 movie, although it is unclear whether that character is supposed to be Scafe.

26. The Shape Of Things To Come - Frightened that Terry is ruining his life, just like Terry's recently-deceased Uncle Jacob did to others, Bob decides to sever their ties. As ever, he finds he can't escape, marking a down-beat and low-key finish to the season.

In 1974, all 26 episodes from series 1 and 2 were repeated on BBC 1 in a continuous six month run which culminated in a new Christmas Special.

27. Christmas Special - Amongst other adventures including Terry passing his driving test asnd Bob growing a 'scary' beard, Terry takes Bob and Thelma to a Christmas fancy dress party as their cab driver. (First broadcast: 24 Dec 1974)

[edit] The Radio Series

The 13 episodes of series 1 were adapted for the radio, using the original television cast, and were broadcast in 1975 from 30th July to 22nd October.

[edit] Feature Film

In 1976, a feature-length movie was released, directed by Michael Tuchner. By this time, both lads have moved house (Bob and Thelma to a detached house and Terry to a high-rise with his parents) and Terry also has a Finnish girlfriend called Chris (played by Mary Tamm).

The movie sees the lads lament their favourite pub getting knocked down and then moves on to a caravanning holiday farce. The fun ends with Terry and Chris splitting and Terry signing to re-join the army.

Bob and Terry sneak one last late-night drink together aboard Terry's Bahrain-bound ship in the harbour, but Terry has second thoughts the morning after and elects to stay at home. Bob, however, awakes hungover aboard the ship as it sets sail.

Any future ventures, although never formally announced, were scuppered by Bewes and Bolam's subsequent falling-out. One notable bit of trivia regarding the movie is that Ian McDiarmid, who would go on to play Palpatine/Darth Sidious in four Star Wars movies, made his film debut here, playing a vicar. Future 80s sitcom icons Vicki Michelle and Linda Robson also crop up. Michelle had already featured, as a different character, in the second season of the BBC show.

[edit] In popular culture

  • In 1997, British band Snuff included a cover of the series' theme tune, titled Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? on their fifth album, Potatoes And Melons Wholesale Prices Straight From The Lock Up. It is available for free download at Fat Wreck Chords. The band plays the song at most of their gigs.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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