samkydd

It would be great to see a new series of The Likely Lads, or even a one off special.
I heard somewhere that a few years ago it had been suggested but one of the actors, I think it was James Bolam, had said "No way!". If he changed his mind it could be a big pay day for them both and decent entertainment for us lot!

Now in advanced middle age Bob and Thelma would be grandparents living on an executive version of The Elm Lodge housing estate, an Audi A4 on the block paved drive, laminated floors throughout and IKEA furniture, but with a smattering of chintzy cheeriness, and in the rear garden a gas barbecue and expensive garden furniture. Bob would be chairman of the local Roundtable and Thelma would be down the gym everyday trying to keep the cellulite at bay.

Terry would be lodging with his now divorced sister Audrey, and he would be doing car boots every weekend in an ex GPO LDV van, and drawing incapacity benefit for his leg ("I never talk about it!") and still moaning about giving up 5 years of his life in the army!

Terry would still be a socialist but leaning ever more to the right, moaning about how trendy Newcastle had become; The Fat Ox now a themed wine bar, expensive tickets just to see Newcastle United play, and the only place in town where you can still buy a pint of mild and bitter is The British Legion.

Bob and Thelma would have embraced the Internet age, and as well as shopping via the Net they've also bought a timeshare in Tuscany with Tiscali, and traced the Ferris family tree all the way back to Darlington in the Domesday Book!

So basically, nothing would have changed, and Bob would be the stereotypical middle class valued materialistic boring one, and Terry would still have a huge chip on his shoulder, the same ne'er do well of old, blaming everyone but himself for his shortcomings and failings!

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

Hackett

It was going to be updated a few years ago but Boland said no. I recall the storyline was going to have Bob as a bankrupt and Terry as a property millionaire. They met up again after years apart when Terrys son and Bob's daughter fall in love. Great idea, shame Bolem didn't think so.

samkydd

Perhaps its better left alone. I read the book "Whatever Happened To..." when I was at school and it was very funny, and in those pre-VCR days it was like reliving the TV series. Perhaps the series went out on a real high and so we all remember it fondly, as with Fawlty Towers, The Good Life etc

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

Peter Greenhill

Nice to see that BBC are releasing all surviving 60s episodes of "The Likely Lads"on DVD on 27/02/06.

There is some confusion as some seem to believe that they are releasing all 20 episodes. That would be a dream come true but I don't think so.

DB7

How many remain? Was it between 6-8?

The only episode I'm missing was the Xmas special.

Capture King

I also thought they had managed to track down all episodes somehow, as it says Complete Series 1 - 3" but I don't think even play.com would sell the complete 3 series for £10.99.

Peter Greenhill

I think it's 8 and the DVD will include the Christmas special from 'Christmas Night With The Stars'

Would be nice if we had a complete 'Whatever happened To.....' released.

Pete

Peter Greenhill

Assuming that the 12 lost episodes are definitely gone, it would be good if Clement and La Frenais published the scripts in book form including those for the lost episodes. All the Porridge scripts have been published so why not 'The Likely Lads'.


Who should I contact?

Jack Gurney

I think they should have done an update as a one-off, as maybe part of a whole season of updates of classic comedies. It would also be nice for Paul Nicholas and Jan Francis to do a 'whatever happened to Penny and Vince' type of thing, or to find out whatever became of the other characters in DEAR JOHN, like Kirk and Ralph. Maybe Rory McGrath could do CHELMSFORD 2006....

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LIKELY LADS might well be the best sitcom of all time- I even harboured intentions to live in Newcastle for ages after collecting all the repeats in 1995, until a friend of mine from there pointed out that it was 'nothing like that anymore'. Which of course I knew in my heart of hearts anyway. But if we never have an update, then maybe we can persuade ourselves to think that Terry Collier travelled south to Leeds, changed his name to Trevor, developed a love of jazz, became a woodwork teacher and moved in with Barbara Flynn!! There's synchronicity for you.

Bolam, who had a fairly impressive run at British horror movies as well (CRUCIBLE OF TERROR, STRAIGHT ON TILL MORNING) and has played two serial killers convincingly in SHIPMAN and THE STALKER'S APPRENTICE, was also great in ROOM AT THE BOTTOM, a series sadly now only remembered for its infamous cockup shown in perpetuity on ALRIGHT ON THE NIGHT. Rodney Bewes, on the other hand, seems to have vanished altogether!! It would be nice to see him get some work. And Bridget Forsyth is only a couple of years away from being prime Miss Marple material. Buyt it would be nice to see them together again in something.

"Whatever happened to Fay Wray?"

Marky B

I remember reading part of Rodney Bewes' serialised autobi. and he mentioned about the first series not actually being set on Tyneside,but in Middlesbrough - over the river from where I live. I believed it boiled down to find medium between James Bolam's wearside accent and Bewes' Yorkshire tones.
Ta Ta

I am special. The heavens always open for me.

MrDrakesDuck

Some bloke on Ebay knocks out copies of the the whole lot:- Lads, Whatever & the film.

Surprised he gets away with it.

"I thought I had to shoot Germans, not chew 'em"

Peter Greenhill

Have just dug out my copy of the paperback 'The Likely Lads" by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais published in 1967 by Rapp and Carroll. James Bolam is credited with helping to adapt the scripts into book form. It contains adaptations of nine episodes across the three series. The stories are not in series order in the book:

1 Entente Cordiale series 1 existing episode
2 The Talk of The Town. series 2 Missing episode
3 Older Women are More Experienced series 1 existing episode
4 The Suitor series 1 existing episode
5 The Other Side Of The Fence series 1 existing episode
6 Outward Bound series 3 sound only exists
7 Love and Marriage series 3 Missing episode
8 Brief Encounter Series 3 sound Only exists
9 Where Have all the Flowers Gone Series 2 Missing episode.

What make the book exiting of course is the existance of three completely lost episodes in book form.

I picked it up on ebay for £20 a while ago. It sold for 5 shillings back in 1967,but for me it's worth the money. Haven't read it yet but will do over the Christmas and New Year period.

Pete

arty-dave

sounds..like..a..good..read..PG

Jack Gurney

I was always under the impression that in the first series they were from West Hartlepool. They'd definitely moved to Tyneside by the time they came back, though. It's barely mentioned, but references do crop up- they refer to an Indian restauranteur as being a 'second generation Geordie', Bob wears Toon Army stripes in bed, they talk about 'getting a train back to Newcastle' at the end of the cycling episode, and at the start of the first episode they're travelling to 'Newcastle or somewhere near there'.

They're obviously on Tyneside, hence the views of the bridge- but their exact location is never really specified, and the geography seems a bit skew whiff- the Elm Lodge Housing Estate's proximity to Terry's area varies from episode to episode for one thing. By the time we get to the film, the Colliers seem to have been relocated- hence the line 'If Omar Sharif lived in Gateshead, I doubt he'd be Omar Sharif'

The football team they support is also an enigma. You would think it would be Newcastle United (as pointed out, Bob wears the shirt occasionally) yet they talk about the abject misery and dejection of their team's fortunes, and the Toon were doing brilliantly at the time the series was made, as were Sunderland. Obviously they're not Boro people, as Terry refers to them in one episode as 'a bunch of cloggers', so that narrows it down to Hartlepool (but they were quite a good team at the time) Darlington or maybe even Blyth Spartans!!

All part of the wonderful enigma that is the Likely Lads, I suppose. Anyroad, I must howay...

"Whatever happened to Fay Wray?"

Capture King

Well according to play.com's updated entry for The Likely Lads, they ARE releasing ALL 20 Episodes for £9.99 on the 27th Feb, so somehow they have managed to find all the missing episodes.CLICK HERE