The Likely Lads

thumpingrug · November 2017

I can only vaguely remember the likely lads but recall that I thought it was very good at the time. Always wondered why it hadn't been repeated. Interesting if this is the case.

ESBlonde · November 2017

thumpingrug said:

I can only vaguely remember the likely lads but recall that I thought it was very good at the time. Always wondered why it hadn't been repeated. Interesting if this is the case.

Yea whatever happend to them?

Anyway I heard R4 repeat an interview by James Bolan recorded a year or two back on some lesser BBC radio show and the interviewer asked the question about frienship, the spat and repeats. Bolan said he enjoyed the series as it was well written and they worked well together, but it ended and they'd moved on. When asked if they had the chance to repraise the sitcom he said the writing was everything and the original scriptwrites Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais had gone to the USA so weren't available. Bolan said he didn't want to do it if it was unlikely to be as good and preferred to leave it as was.
In terms of his friendship with Bewes he said they got on during the series' but had both then moved on as actors do.
The tone felt a little uncomfortable to me as a listener and the fact that Bolan has not publicly (to my knowledge) issued any kind of Eulagy or words of sympathy for the loss of his one time partner in that most succesful series suggests there is still some bitterness.
We may never know and probably have no right to thire personal thoughts.
Could it be that they were more like thier on screen charactures after all?

usedtobe · November 2017

Philly_Q said:

Emp_Fab said:

What am I missing here ? What bit of that is offensive or insulting to Bolam ? The only thing I can think of is that it implied that Bewes was 'more of a man' if he managed to create triplets compared to Bolam's one child - but even then I'm stretching the limits of my imagination. It would be pretty juvenile to take offence to that IMO.
If it's not that, then what is it about the above that Bolam took such offence to that he never spoke to Bewes again for the rest of his life, despite Bewes's repeated attempts to make friends again ?

I've remembered a bit more about this now. It wasn't the actual content of the story which caused the problem, it was the very fact that Bewes told it to the press - Bolam is, apparently, an intensely private person and on top of that when Bewes told the story, back in 1976, it wasn't even known to the public that Bolam's wife was pregnant.

Bolam didn't like the fact that his personal life had been discussed in public, hence the falling out. Hell of a long time to hold a grudge, though.

Yup, that’s my understanding of it. Still, Bolam doesn’t come out of it well, imho, I got the impression it was a genuine slip, and Bewes felt terrible about it.. Sad business..

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