Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?

Very few comedies stay the test of time: I’m afraid this is one of them.

I love the Beiderbecke series - it was filmed around Horsforth, Leeds, where my in-laws live.
Current comedies are poor in comparison, e.g. Alma’s Not Normal. It portrays Bolton in a bad way and is smattered with unnecessary swearing. Not funny.
The only excellent recent comedy is Gavin and Stacey.

There was the premiere of the Likely Lads film in Newcastle and Bolam is reported to have said he couldn't wait to catch the train back to London. I think, because he is a very private person and doesn't like being surrounded, he just wanted to go home,

I recall a story about James Bolam making an unfavourable remark about the North East - not sure if it's true though.

Thats TV channel (on Freeview) is presently showing WHTTLL, Rising Damp too, another classic comedy. It might also pop up on Gold at some point. And well done GrandmaKT for recalling Beiderbecke, Bolam AND the wonderful Barbara Flynn, a gem. [Re the alleged Bewes/Bolam 'feud', I read somewhere that was largely blown way out of proportion. Bewes didn't have nearly such a vibrant career, and wanted to do more of the same, whereas Bolam had lots of other work, and didn't want to get typecast?]

Yes, it was a great comedy.

I laugh when things like an Italian restaurant, a colour television and a bottle of wine are classed as big luxuries, which they probably were in 1973. People take things like this for granted now.

Sorry Calendargirl, of course it was!

James Bolam yes

Hellogirl1

I loved the episode where they were in a caravan with Terry and his latest girlfriend, playing a game of cards. Thelma was getting very frustrated with Terry. After a while he went outside, and the sound could clearly be heard of him having a wee. His girlfriend looked embarrassed and apologised, but Thelma said "Please don`t apologise, it`s the first time all evening that I`ve known what he has in his hand!"

That was the film.

I loved the episode where they were in a caravan with Terry and his latest girlfriend, playing a game of cards. Thelma was getting very frustrated with Terry. After a while he went outside, and the sound could clearly be heard of him having a wee. His girlfriend looked embarrassed and apologised, but Thelma said "Please don`t apologise, it`s the first time all evening that I`ve known what he has in his hand!"

Actually I think it was fogged off.
Several times they half saw headlines and f made them think “failed “ and other words I just can’t remember.
It was a triumph as usual.

The Likely Lads, Porridge and Steptoe and Son.... why don't we have similar comedies today?!!
They were truly hilarious.
The Likely Lad episode where they were hiding all day from knowing the match score for the football that they were going to watch in the evening... they hadn't realised that it had been rained off!

Cumbrianmale56

Any fans on here of this classic Geordie sitcom that for all it only lasted for two series, every episode was a masterpiece in comedy, social comment and the class system? I really loved how wannabe middle class Bob Ferris was often shown up or thwarted by his staunchly working class best friend Terry Collier. Also great was the late Brigit Forsyth as Bob's prim and proper wife Thelma.

yes we love it, always have and watch the whole thing every couple of years or so.
When you watch it again it's surprising the things you notice that you had forgotten , I don't mean the story or the brilliant acting, I mean things in the background that you would never normally notice but you can remember from those days .For instance it might show soap powder long since retired from the range, Christmas decorations like paper chains, how people always had teapot and sugar bowl on the table.Rooms kept for best. Wallpaper of the day. ..and Shock horror...kids actually out playing on the streets.It's very poignant and sometimes makes me sad for that way of life, so I think the comedy is very satisfying for lots of reasons and it's a piece of social history .

The great race is my favourite episode ,where Bob challenges Terry to a cycle race to Berwick so funny.

I loved it! I saw every episode years ago!

James Bolam is now 89 and Rodney Bewes died in 2017 aged 79.

There will never be another Terry and Bob!

I still enjoy watching the re-runs,

But listening to Bob's secretary speak always makes me cringe. Maybe that's just me.

One of the best comedies ever!

I loved it, then went off to uni and met a guy called Bob Ferris who was on my course. He was nothing like Bob in the programme but we were mates in our first year, but then he dropped out. I remained friends with his best friend - called Terry - but not Collier! This thread has brought back happy memories.

I have this book, which was written with the writers of the series, Clement and La Frenais. According to it Rodney Bewes was generally found difficult to work with, and James Bolam had to be persuaded to make a second series with him. It also said that after a certain point they never spoke to each other again.

I suspect that when James Bolam later said there had been no rift, he just didn’t want to talk about it. In a similar way, when people saw him in the street and called out, ‘Where’s your mate?’, he would call back, ‘He’s dead!’ This was before Rodney Bewes died. Not true, but it got him out of talking about Bewes.

I was very sad to read about this, as I had always imagined that they were friends in life as well as in the series.

www.amazon.co.uk/Whatever-Happened-Likely-Richard-Webber/dp/0752818155/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&crid=30V0A8TUW1HR8&keywords=Whatever+happened+to+the+likely+lads%3F+Book&sprefix=whatever+happened+to+the+likely+lads+book%2Caps%2C93&dib_tag=se&tag=gransnetforum-21&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.LqzI7nkhddfwW7P7vwh_qLcIiZziULqnsWsKCT_g5aMj42DsC5wht8cI42Mqnror.pKHU9wJhgfszR6dM7qaE340PmEMvKRi4LXhZH2gfJjU&qid=1729433580&sr=8-1#immersive-view_1729433627233

Looking back, this is one of the best series ever - great writing and acting, and really funny - not something you can say about most of today's so-called sitcoms.

I’ve got the theme tune playing in my head as I type. DH loves it ! Been watching it every time he sits down.

I often watch it too. Great fun and true to life as it was then.

Looking at the end credits showing the River Tyne I think that's my Dad's coal ship. He took coal from the Tyne to Battersea Power Station.

Usedtobeblonde

One of the very best episodes for me was when Bob and Thelma took Terry to a dinner party at the home of an old school friend with the snobbiest aspirations.
Her parents had had a fish and chip shop I think, or else they lived above one.
The way they showed up her pretentiousness to her southern husband was classic comedy

That's the one where Alan, the Southerner, says he supports Chelsea and Terry goes off on a rant about how he hates London clubs and then is equally tactless when Alan says he likes classical music and Terry says he can't stand it.. Realising he is close to offending Alan, Terry says" but Beethoven, he's all rght".
I think the posts about the fall out between Bewes and Bolam were exaggerated. What happened was Bolam wanted to move on from The Likely Lads, had other equally sucessful roles, but Bewes had nothing as big and kept telling the papers how beastl y Bolam was to him, when in reality all that happened was Bolam wanted to move on. Also Bolam admitted in a rare interview theee wasn't really a falling out and the actors drifted apart.

One of the very best episodes for me was when Bob and Thelma took Terry to a dinner party at the home of an old school friend with the snobbiest aspirations.
Her parents had had a fish and chip shop I think, or else they lived above one.
The way they showed up her pretentiousness to her southern husband was classic comedy