Actorturnedauthor Karl Howman
Crimewriter FrancisDurbridge
THEMASTER CRAF TSMAN best in
“The best in ‘pop’ entertainment” e writer
SATURDAY CLUB
Yesterday
Remembered
14 PAGES OF READERS’ REAL LIFE STORIES
INTO SOMETHING GOOD Herman’s Hermits, stillrocking
AWAY OF LIFE
Documentary photographer HomerSykes
Almosta decade ago, the BBCcelebratedt he pa st , presenta nd futu re of televi sion comedy with theL andmarkSitcom Season.Itwas,I’m sorr ytosay,ah it andm issa fa ir.A lt houg hit wa sgood to seea recreation of am issi ng Ha ncock’s Ha lf Hour episode, theremakeofa mi ssingTill Deat hUs Do Pa rt episode andasequeltoPorridge, st arri ng Kevi nBishopa sF letcher’sg ra nd son, on ly remi nded viewershow much they mi ssed Wa rren Mitchell andRon nie Ba rker
Te high lights of thesea sonwere a6 0s-set episodeofGood night Sweethea rt ,which sadlyd id n’tleadtoa newseries, andt he pi lotofschoolr un comedy Motherla nd,which did. And wh ileA nnaMax well Ma rt in andDia ne Morgan as Ju liaa nd Li zweret hatshow’s st ars, therewereplent yof brea kout
charac ters includ ingLuc yPunch as “a lpha mu m” Amanda,a nd Ph il ippa Du nnea sher factot um/doormat ,A nne. It ca me as qu itea su rpri se to di scover that aspi n-of,A ma ndaland, wa si nt he
of ng ,w it hPunch,Dun ne andJoa nna Lu mley (a sA ma nda’smot her, Felicity) reprisingt heir roles. Li ke that sitcom season,spi n-of scan be very hita nd mi ss af ai rs;justbecau se acha racter stolea scenei nt heir pa rent series,it doesn’tmea nt heycan ca rr yhal fa n hour on thei rown.
However, Amanda la nd ha st hat wi nn ingcombi nation of good writ ing andact ing, wh ichhas made it an in st ant hit. Asecondserieshas al readybeen comm issioned,a nd Ican imag ineit goingontodobet tert ha nt he show that spaw nedit. Tere arefew comedy spin-ofs that have ma nagedsuchafeat. In fact ,t he la st spin-oftodosowel lwas probably George andM ildred,a nd that ’s al most 50 yearsago.
AsRober tBrown ing wrotei nh is poem Home Toug ht sf romAbroad –“Oh,tobei nEng la nd, nowt hatApril ’s there…” Whet heriti srememberi ng Wi ll ia m Shakespeareorcom memoratingSai nt George,t here’s someth ingabout the shower ymonth that does seem to su m up Eng la nd
Te legend of Sa intGeorgei st hat he wa saGreek-descended sold ieri n thea rmyoft he By za nt ineemperor Diocletian andwas ma rt yred forh is fa it h. Toug h, of course,opi nion svar y on al most al loft he foregoing.
Te VenerableBedementioned Sa int George;K ingA lf redt he Greati ncluded achu rchded icated to hi mi n Dorset in hi sw ill,sowek nowour ancestorsof over at housandyea rs agok newabout hi m. He on ly beca me thepat ronsai nt of Englanda fter theReformation when Edwa rd VI di spen sedw it ht he serv ices of Edwa rd theCon fessor (h is ancestor). Oneoft he frst places Sa intGeorge
wa svenerated wa sLydda in Israel whereh is rema in sweresaidtobe, so he beca me amajor fg uretot he Or thodox fa it hs of Sy ria, Leba nona nd Pa lest ine. From there, hi scultspreadtoGeorg ia in theCauca su s(wheret here aresupposed to be 365chu rchesded icated to thei r nation’s sa int).Fromt here he spread to Ru ssia andBulga ria, from thereto Bosn ia,Serbiaa nd Monteneg ro.From Ru ssia he spread to Lithua niawhere George is thesecondmosti mpor ta nt sa int.
Hi svenerat iona lsom ig ratedsouth to Et hiopia andwesttoMalta and Gozo.Acrosst he Mediterranea nhe wa sadopted in Aragon,Cat alon ia andValencia, then to Port ugal.From Port ugal it wa st hent aken to Brazil.
In theM iddleEastt houg h, near Beth lehem, therewas ashrinetoSai nt George at Beit Ja la that wa smuch veneratedbyC hristian sa nd Mu sl im s al ike. As Ma rJir ji shewas adoptedby theMusli mfaith whohavea whole sepa rate cycleoflegends abouth im
defy ingat yrantofMosul,where the mosque of Al-NabiJir ji s(wherehewas supposed to be bu ried)stood unti l dest royedbyI slam ic St ate.
Te pa rt of thelegendofS ai nt Ge orge th at we al lk now, re sc ui ng thepri nces s from thed ragonh as di sput ed or ig in s. In pa rt in spired by cl as sica lc ar vi ng s of aT raci an hors em an encounteri ng as er pent in at re e; in pa rt derive d from Pers eu sres cu ingA nd rome da; thet alem ay or ig in al ly have belonged to Sa intTeo dore whow as supp os ed ly ma rt yred in wh at is nowTurke y. By the mid-13th cent ur yt houg hitw as fr mly at tached to Sa intG eorge. When the ta le reache dEng la nd it be ca me pa rt of thepagea nt s, andt he la st complete civicsnapd ragoni spre served at Norw ichC as tleMus eu m.
It is themulticu lt ural natu re of the love of Sa intGeorget hatmakes me th in khei st he perfec tpat ronsai nt for modern England.
Next issue: Spangles
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Aselec tion of recent gems anda preview of auctions to come
Photograph:ITV/Shutterstock
Achatwithactor turned author and flm-makerKarlHowman.
Crime
CrimewriterFrancis Durbridge, avir tuoso of thered herring.
Franc a v the red
TheEditorwelcomeslet ters forthissection.Pictures areappreciated.Let ters maybeeditedsothatwecan includeasmanyaspossible
Dear Simon,
Iwas very pleased to see your mention of the greatJames Burke (happilystillwith us at 88) in your editorial (March). He is aman who wasable to use television to bring subjects to its audiencethatmight have other wise appeared of-putting, yet without dumbingthem down. He often
Dear Simon,
appeared on our screens from the mid1960s,and Irecall his frst Connections series mak ing agreat impression on me Regarding Cardinal Cox’sremark about Rick Wakeman also being agreat raconteur,Itoo have found thatsome musicians areasinteresting when they aretalk ing as they arewhen playing,a fewactually seeming to enjoytalk ing
Thank youfor your interestingarticleon Hillman motor cars (Rootes of Success,Februar y).
It broughtback manyhappymemories.Myfirstmemor ywas of our green Hillman Minx, registration number APP 530 in the 1930s.Myfather owned agarage and so acar wasessential.We had manyhappy trips in this car,sometimeshehad to travel to London and,ifwewerefree, we wouldgo withhim.Ifwewere late coming home, then my brother and Iwould snuggle up to my mother on the back seatunder arug to keep warm.The car didn’t have aheater, so on acoldnight,a rugand hot water bottle were essential,also an icescrapertoclear thewindscreen. Therewas no radio,sowewould sing songs on long journeys. It also had arms thatshot out of each sideasdirectionindicators as the car didn’thaveconventional flashing indicators. Usually, indication wasmade with ahandsignal out of the driver ’s window, which wasrather cold in the winter
Like all cars then, it hadrunning boardswhich my brother and Iused to standonand ride which wasgreat fun.
Du ri ng Wo rl dWar Twowes old the Hi llman an db ou gh ta moree co nomic al Au stin 7w hich had ac ra cked win ds creen , presumably my fa the rcoul dn’t re pla ce it due to glass shor tages.The Au stin probably used less fuel bu to bv ious ly wa sn’t suitable as it wa ss oon sold ag ai na nd ou ro ld fr ien d APP 530 bough tb ack .
My father built our first caravan and APP 530 would towit to Hayling Island forour holidays.Atfirst,wewouldcampon the seafrontasthereweren’t anycamping sites. Soon, aMrWay used his field as acamping site where we would go and make lots of friends.When warbroke out, we were unable to go to the seaside,sowewentlocally to Hurley on the Thames where we had alot of fun playing on theriver.One night, adoodlebug came over and its engine cut out over head.Wesat,worried as to
morethan playing.Onthe otherhand, some appear distinctly uncomfor table when not actually per forming and forced to interact with an audience. This always seems ashame,asthey maywellhave some greattales to tell
Allthe best, Martin Broadribb
whereitwas going to land,but luckily it wasina field nearby,so all waswell
When Iwas about 12, Ilearnt to driveinthis car on private land.The carhad ahand choke/throttle so Icouldset it to a speed without using the accelerator.This wasgreat fun, and I droveofficially for73years having givenuptwo years ago at the age of 91.
Afterthe war, APP 530 wassold,and more Hillman cars were bought. When Igot married,westill had Hillmans,ver yreliable When we couldn’t buy them anymore, we went forthe good British Morriscars.
Inow have my number plate APP 530 hanging in my kitchen bringing back memories.
Do keep the ar ticles going in BoB, so very interesting.
Best Wishes
Valerie Reeves Brocton, Staford
Dear Simon,
Ijoined my local supermarket, in 1984, as apar ttime cashier. We had apublic address system by which,ascashiers, we could call forassistance forprice checks,damaged products or change to name but afew
Calls,ofcourse,could also be made forother things Thetwo thatbring back the fondest memories are “Customer ser vice99” and “Customer ser vice100”. A99was forasuspected shoplifterand the 100was foradefiniteshoplifter. When either of these calls went out, the male members of staff and sometimes thefemale members,woulddropwhat they were doing and rush to the frontofthe store. They would leap over the security barriers or jump the checkouts
Dear Simon,
and chase the shoplifterdown the road
If necessar y, they would bring the shoplifterdownand sit on them until the police arrived. In those days,the policetreated shoplifting as acrime and would attend the scene.Like Colin Macleod’s supermarket (Postbag: A Hidden Hero, March), we had plain clothes storedetectives and Ilike to think they playedtheir par tinkeeping shoplifting to aminimum.I still work in retail,although for adifferentsupermarket,and unfor tunately,things arever y differentnow
Many thanksfor Best of British. Ilook forwardtoits arrivaleach monthand the memories it invokes.
Regards
Sue Sparkes Walton- on-Thames,Surrey
Iamwriting to tell youofhow ashipwhich sank in WorldWar Onereunited me withan old school friend.
Therewerelots of WorldWar One events commemorated from 2014-2018 when it was100 years sincethe GreatWar and Iwrote to alocal publication, the Black Countr yBugle,telling themofthe sinking of twoships in Januar y1918. Theships were HMS Narboroughand HMS Opal.They were not sunk by enemyaction but by Mother Nature, so Idid notthink they would be mentioned in the commemorations
On 12 Januar y1918, thetwo ships ran aground in thePentlandSkerries near Scapa Flow during aviolentgaleand snowstorm and 188 seamen died.There wasone sur vivor.Myfather ’s best friend Edward “Ted”Price wasone of those who perished,and my father washear tbroken when he heardofthe tragedy.Heoften mentionedhis dearfriend in later years
Thenewspaperresearched the event and printedmyletter which wasseen by my long lost friend.Margaret Clarkand I were best friends at BroadLanesSecondar y
Dear Simon,
Many thanks forthe bio on the actorand director, Lionel Jefries( TheAmazing Mr Jefries, Februar y).
To me,hewill alwaysbe the scientist Professor Cavor in the 1964 movie version of HG Wells’First Meninthe Moon. Ioncewrote to him,
ask ing forhis autograph. He sentmeaphotograph (since lost,sigh) he had of himself in agarden, gazing into the distance. He really went the extramile forme. What anice guy.
Best wishes, John Lockwood Washington DC, US
School,Coseley,but lost touchwhen we were in our teens.Westar tedwork, had boyfriends, made new friends,and just driftedapar t. As Ihad quoted my maiden name in my letter to the paper,Margaret read the ar ticle and got in touch. So,after more than 50 years, we were reunited.
We areboth 80 now.
Sincethen,wehavemet up acouple of times each year and speak on the phone at least onceaweek.Margielives in Kingswinfordand IliveinSouth Staffordshire
and aredependentonbuses to enable us to get together,usually in Wolverhampton whereweenjoyapub lunch and much chatting.Distance separates us but,after years of wondering whathad happened to each other,weare best friends once again.
Iamsoglad thatIwrote thatletter to a local week ly publication which enabledme to meet upwith my very dear friend
PatLilley Bilbrook,South Stafordshire
Dear Simon,
On 14 Februar y1885, several British newspapers published a letter from MajorJames Gildea ask ing thepublic to suppor tthe wives,widows,and children of soldiersand sailors who were killed or wounded through ser viceto queen and countr y.
This wasthe foundingofThe Soldiers’,Sailors’, and Families’ Association, which in 1919 added airmen to its title,and later became SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity.
Mark ing its 140th anniversar yin2025, SSAFAhas come a long waysince thatletter.I thas avolunteer andstaff network covering muchofthe world, and arich history of ser vicehelping around 54,000 peopleannually
Dear Simon,
Ibegan reading the Februar yissue with Treasures in the Attic,which brought back memories of buyingBrooke Bond teaand collec ting dividendstamps.Why wasshopping then so much morefun than now? We looked forwardtohaving enough to exchange forsomethingwe wanted.Who could forget Green Shield Stamps and aspecial shop to exchange them in?
Also in Treasures in theAttic,I remember Robin Starch which my mum used to use,and her birdpastr ypie.She had several of those pie funnels. Did they make the pies tastebetter?
Ialso enjoyedthe interview with former ac torG ar yWarren( TheR ailway Child). Iloved TheR ailway Children and Ialso went to the cinema (a rare occurrence) to see the wartime set sequel Maybe I’mstill achildathear tdespite being nearly 90.
On the Food &Drink pages,Don Alcott ’s letterabout banana bread caughtmyeye Istill make this tastyloaf forthe vegetarian lunch to which Isometimes go.You don’t have to go to America, Don.
Colin Baker ’s Back in Time column reminded me of whenIwas smalland my dad had an Austin 7. On Sunday afternoons,the family,with me sittingon Mum’slap,wentdownfor adrive towards Albur yorShereinSurrey(pictured). We didn’t alwaysget thereasquiteoften the car broke down, either thereor on the wayback,and the RACman hadto towus home
Maisie Dance Purley,Surrey
To commemoratethis,Iaminviting your readers to contribute to our archive. They can send stories,photos, video messages,or anything thathighlights their or afamily member ’s experienceof SSAFAasa volunteer or as abeneficiary,and from anytime Submissions maybesentto140.anniversar y@ssafa.org.uk
Yours sincerely
AirMarshal Sir Simon Bollom KBE,CB, FREng
National Chair SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity 4StDunstan’s Hill
London
EC3R 8AD
DerekDeadman, pictured right, andWindsor Davies really seemed to sparkoffeachother in thesitcomNever theTwain
Dear Simon,
Iwas delighted to see themention of Neverthe Twain inMarch’s RetroT VTimes and DerekDeadman in Twenty Questions on the Puzzles page in the same issue.Surely one of Thames Television’s longest-running sitcoms at 11 series across 10 years,Never the Twain wasone of my favouritetelevisionprogrammes in the 1980s and IT VX has enabled me to enjoyit all over againover the past year
Donald Sinden and Windsor Davies were aformidable partnershipasthe twolead characters but the success of the showwas not just down to superbacting by the duobut also greatwriting and superbper formances by the suppor ting cast, including DerekDeadman as dim-wittedshopassistantRingo, “helper ”toOliver Smallbridge (Windsor Davies).
Istill remember from35-40 years ago my disappointment when it became clear Ringowas not going to be in the episode as the best ones alwaysfeatured him.Derek Deadman appeared in 40 of the67episodes,with just the one appearanceinseries one, and then either twoor threeappearances in each of thenex tfiveseries.After five appearances in series seven,hewas back downtoone in the following series,finally becominga permanentfix turefor the lastthree series.M ostofDerek ’s sceneswerewith Windsor Davies and they really seemed to sparkoff each other.I twas noticeable thatany scenes hehad with Donald Sinden did not enjoythe same rappor t.
Allinall,Never the Twain wasafantasticshowand it ’s great thatall 67 episodesare availableonITVXassadly some sitcoms of thesameera areeither notthereatall or have only alimited number of episodestowatch
Themention of colour and black and white television sets from David Rudman in TheCollector (February)reminded me of when my parents’black andwhitetelevision set gave up the ghost well into the 1980s.I twas aSundayafternoon and the three of us were watching an episode of Bonanza. LittleJoe had just galloped on to screen when theset packed up.I twas only then that my parents boughtacolour television set.Never did find out whathappened to Little Joe in thatepisode of Bonanza.
Jon Harris
Iamtrying to fnd aJef Green, my frst husband’s brother,fromWok ing in Surrey.Myfrst husband (Les) andhis other siblings areall deceased as far as I know,but it would be nice to catchupwith Jefifheis still around,presumably no longer in Woking.Hewas married to Jenny, with at least twochildren, butIk now they were divorced(in the 1970/80s) and he remarried some years later. Would be in his early 70s,Ithink.Iwas then Doreen Green. Dee Gordon, 34 Waters Edge,ShorefeldRoad, Westclif-on-Sea SS0 7RH Email: deegordon@ btinternet.com
Wanted: 78rpm recordsby Boband AlfPearson, Vera Lynn, SteveConway, Jessie Matthews, and Elsie and DorisWalters,including vocal refrains with dancebands etc. Theo Morgan, Tel: 07990 072700 Email: theo. morgan@gmail.com
Iwould like some penfriends to writetowho like classic reggae,calypso,ska and worldmusic.I’m aged 60 and would also like to writetopeople who like classic television, drama and comedy flms,and like listening to Radio Caroline Colin Grifths,5Chaston Place, Kettering, NorthamptonshireNN16 9TF
Is thereanyone outthere who took par tinthe Essex Senior Scout 4th European Expedition to Germanyin the summer of 1959? If so,I would love to hear from you; Ihaveanumber of photos but no other paper recordsof
ourfrst ever visit abroad David Sansom, Email: davidwsansom@yahoo. co.uk
Does anyone have any information of aDutch football team called KMVZ, aclubfromAmsterdam. In par ticular,therewas a tour hosted by KMVZ and including my local team, Barkingside FC, in 1966, along with Witney FC. Any information on KMVZ and this tour would be greatly appreciated.
Rob Meyers,123 Ashurst Drive, Barkingside,Ilford, EssexIG6 1HA
Information and photos aresoughtonthe families who oncelived in the Layerthorpe area of York, an area thathas changed beyond recognition. If you onceresided or worked in this area or had relatives who did,weare look ing to add to ourarchiveand at the same time preser ve these photos forfuturegenerations
Jane Burrows– Tang Hall LocalHistoryGroup,Tel: 07522 402945 Email: tanghallhistory@gmail.com
Iwould like to hear from anyone who attendedthe TRex concer tatHastings Pier Pavilionon25July 1975. Programmes from this or other Rexgigs would also be invaluable as well as information about the running order of songs.If anyone has an original ticket available,Iwould welcome it, having lost mine manyyears ago
David Rudman, 8Carramup Circle,Por tKennedy, Western Australia Email: davidjon4@gmail.com
Requestsfor information, friendsand family searches andreunion announcementscan be included here free of charge.Sendany requests,written as conciselyaspossible,toCan YouHelp?, Best of British, MortonsMedia GroupLtd,Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle,Linconshire LN96JR or by emailto info@bestofbritishmag.co.uk
Dear Simon,
Idid enjoyreading Neil Hewitt ’s memories of being amilk monitor (YesterdayRemembered: Monitoring the Milk,Januar y). In fact, it made me have alook in theold photoalbumsfor a photograph of milk being delivered in the 1940s.I foundthe photograph Iwas seek ing of the milk“foat ”delivering milk in Turrif, Aberdeenshirein1943-44.
I’mthe weechappieinfront of the floatstanding next to my next-door neighbourDugald.You can see onthe back ofthe floatthe churnfilled with milk.The woman (whose name Ican’t remember) had aver ylong-handled ladle which wasused to get the milk out of the churn. Irecallitwas measured to distribute one pintofmilk.She ladled it into whatevermymother provided andthatisthe waymilk wasdistributed then(at least it waswhere Ilived). Youmust remember this waswhen WorldWar Twowas raging and things were different.
Thank you, Simon (and Neil). Thearticles in Yesterday Remembered in par ticular andBest ofBritish in general so often
De ar Simon ,
Idid enjoy reading the Yesterday Remembered ar ticle by Neil Hewitt headlined Monitoring the Milk in the Januar yissue. When Iwas very young,Icould notwait until theschool holidays when I would go and help our local milkman. Thever ysound of the horse’s hoovesand therattle of the milk crates wasmusic to my ears as he appeared in thedistance. When he had fnished the round,the horse would wanderontoagreen andthe milk man would disappear into apub opposite.
remind me,and people like me,ofthat“make do and mend” period in life. We sur vived –and thatwas all thatmattered.
Colin Macleod Beauly,Inverness
Dear Simon, Have alook at the foxesinmy garden. Before yousay :“Don’t they look cute”, let me tell youa little about them.
When Ihad the internet installed,the supplier put acable across the garden from the road to the frontroom of my house to whereIhavemycomputer and telephone hub,and then another cable along the side of the house and up the wall to my bedroom whereI have an additional TV thatIcan watch beforegoing to sleep.
Many years later, my first job wasfor Express Dairies,abig milk companyatthattime.They had manyoutletsand big depots whereIwouldgodelivering produce. Therewas also another job thatIwould do, being the youngest and last star ter. Iwould go out with the lorr ytoFinchley,nor th London where we would fetchaload ofmanurefromthe bigstable that Express Dairies had.
AfterIhad loaded the lorry,wewould startback and,onthe way, pop into acafefor our dinner. Believeitornot,wewere neverstopped from eating there. Idon’t know whyasmymother could alwaystell when Ihad been to Finchley when Igot home afterwork.
Yours
BobbyKnottley
Newthorpe Common, Nottingham
Thefrst thing thathappened wasthatsomeone who does some gardening formeaccidently snipped through to cable while work ing away pruning bushes.Igot thatfxedand then the foxesfound the wireand chewed it.The internet provider couldn’t understand this.I t’sgot no nutrition in it he said.I t wasrepositioned several times and,onthe adviceofa friend, Ismeared the cable with mustard. He said his dogs didn’t like mustardsoperhaps thatwould work.Ialso left some surpluscable on the garden forthe foxestoplaywith on the assumption thatthatwas whatthey were doing rather than tr ying to eatit.
Iwentonholidayand asked my neighbour to keep an eyeon the house.Hedid andwhen Icame back, he said he’d hadtoput some cable in my refuse becausesome youths must have thrown it over the wall.Iput some moreloosecabledown.
It ’s been OK fora while now, so I’mhoping the problems are behind me.Ifyou stillthink thatfoxes arecute, would like them in your garden? If so,you arewelcome to them
Don Alcott
Shirley,Solihull, West Midlands
Dear Simon,
Despitehaving been aloyal reader of BoBfor around 15 years, Ifoolishly missed your 30th anniversar yissue (November) and hadtosendfor it
This proved worththe wait by featuring the ever-attractive Hannah Gordon (LovingHannah). Forme, her first definitiverole wasthe 1972 Bafta-winningsitcomMyWifeNextDoor, written by RichardWaring and co -starring John Alderton, in which a newly divorcedcouplemoveto thecountr y, only to find that they nowoccupyadjoiningcottages.
Aworkmatecommented in 1979 that KennyEverett (Inthe Best Possible Taste, December)made the most of his medium –meaning television –and Iagree with him. At school in the 1960s,afriend who wasafan of Kennyand Cash on Radio London sentaletter,ask ingifKEcould writesomething for our “pirate” school newspaper.Everett wroteback,ask ing us to give him afew weeks.“ Yeah, right,”I thought, but Kennywas as good as his word and senthis written submission. Ihave alwaysbelieved that, with such earlyattention to his fans,Kenny deser vedhis latersuccess
Thewindowcards (Top of the Bill) in your Januaryissue, in poster format,are imbued with such atmosphere.Iactually sawthe 1964 pop tour with Brian Poole,Dustyand Peter“Herman”Noone when it came to KetteringGranada. Where, now, could youwatch three chart-topping acts at alocal theatreonthe same night?
Paul JMedford(ASparkIntoaFlame,Februar y), as one of the selectband of original EastEnders,also appeared in aparody of the soap which Iwrote and drew forthe Britishversionof MAD Magazine in 1985. Some twenty years later, acolleagueinmy“day job”recalled the spoof,and asked me to signhis copy of the issue.
Keep up the greatwork, David Robinson
Peterborough, Lincolnshire
In the Marchedition of Best of British, Iread with great interest about an exhibition at Peterborough Museum and Ar tGaller yentitled TheWonder fulWorld of the Ladybird Book Ar tists.Iown acollection of over 300 Ladybird books, some fction, others non-fction.
As asmall child in the late 1960s therewerealways Ladybirdbooks around our house.The earliest Irecall was called Puppies andKittens (1956). Over my childhood years Iacquired many more of these fascinating books.Nowadays Ilovetolook at the wonder ful pictures thataccompanythe texts. These exquisiteillustrations areinstantly familiartome, even allthese yearslater.Titlesthatare really special to me are: TheStory of Ships (byRichardBowood,illustrated by Rober tAyton), Exploring Space (byRoy Worvill, illustrated by BKnight and BH Robinson), TheLadybirdBook of Trees (byBrian Vasey-Fitzgerald, illustrated by SR Badmin) and What to look forinSpring, Summer,Autumn and Winter (Four books by EL GrantWatson, illustrated by CF Tunnicliffe).
With Ladybird books therewas atitle foreveryone inthe family.Myolder brother wasinterestedin birdlifeand historical figures,whereas Ipreferred spaceand rockets.
Ourown children have enjoyedthese books too. Idon’t feel my Ladybirdbooks arevaluable money-wise,but they areofgreat nostalgic value. Youcan’t put aprice on that. I nowneed to book atrain ticket to Peterborough.
Lyndon Parker, Knaresborough, Nor th Yorkshire
Talking Pictures TV talk ingpicturestv.co.uk
SKY328 |FREEVIEW82 FREESAT306 |VIRGIN 445
Just William’s Luck (1948) (Tuesday1April,7.30am)
Comedy.Director: ValGuest.Starring: WilliamGraham, Garr y Marsh and JaneWelsh. Based on thepopular bookswritten by Richmal Crompton. While playing in a“hauntedhouse”, William and his gang,the Outlaws,stumble across agroup of fur thieves
TheSmall Voice(1948) (Wednesday2April,12.15pm)
Drama. Director: Fergus McDonell.Starring: Valerie Hobson, JamesDonald and Howard Keel.Acouple come across acar crash wherethey discover thatthe occupants are armed
Devil’s Bait (1959) (Thursday3 April, 6.20pm)
Drama. Director: PeterGraham
bbc.co. uk/iplaye r
Arena
All the World’sa
Scott.Starring: Geoffey Keen, Jane Hylton and Gordon Jackson. Abaker leads policeonafrantic search forthe unluckyownerof bread accidentally laced with poison.
RunawayRailway (1965) (Saturday5April,10.25am)
Adventure. Director: Jan Darnley-Smith. Starring: John MoulderBrown, Kevin Bennett,LeonardBrockwell,Sydney Tafler and Ronnie Barker.Agroup of children reopen an old branch line while foiling agang of crooks
TheBig Job (1965) (Sunday6April,9.05am)
Comedy.Director: Gerald Thomas Starring: Sidney James,SylviaSyms, Dick Emeryand Joan Sims.Agang of crooks arecaughtona big job Fifteen years laterthey find their loot is nowburied under apolicestation.
Train of Events (1949) (Sunday6April,6pm)
Drama. Director: SidneyCole, Charles Crichton and Basil Dearden. Starring: Jack Warner,Susan Shaw and GladysHenson. Four different stories aretoldinflashback as a train is heading fora crash into a stalled petrol tanker
films shown on BBC Televisionsinceitreopened aftera seven-year gap caused by WorldWar Two.
Allthe World’sa Screen: ShakespeareonFilm
Screen: Shakespeare on Film From the silent days of cinema, Shakespeare’splays have oftenbeen adapted to the big screen. Forthe first time in asingle documentar y, Arena explores the rich, global histor yofShakespearein thecinema, with atreasuretrove of film extracts and archivalinter viewswith theircreators.
Early Doors
Sitcomseries set in aManchester pub.Fag ends in theurinals and the arrivaloftemporary traffic lights cause chaos in TheGrapes
First-Year Flashbacks
“Good afternoon, everybody.How areyou?Doyou remember me, Jasmine Bligh?” First transmitted in 1946, these arehighlightsofthe
George and Mildred
George and Mildred Roper plan amovetomiddle classsuburbia. Mildred is anxious to impress,but George is happytoremain work ing class
TheSweeney
DI Jack Re gan (J ohn Th aw )a nd Ge orge Ca rter (D en nis Wa te rm an) have as impl em ission, to ca tc hv illai ns –a nd they don’t carei ft hey have to tread on their super iors’toe so r ignorep ol icep ro ce duretod oi t.
ManAbout theHouse (1974)
Comedy film based on the hit sitcom starring Richard O’Sullivan. Robin, Chrissy,Joand the Ropers battle an unscrupulous proper ty developer threatening their homes
Doomwatch(1972)
(Sunday6April,7pm)
FREEVIEW41, SKY148, FREESAT137, VIRGIN 149
Dr DelShaw(Ian Bannen), par tofthe government ’s investigative environmental organisation Doomwatch,travels to the island of Balfetoexamine the potentially adverseeffectsofa recent oil spill. Thevillagers areall suspiciousofShaw, especiallythe menfolk, who seem to have transformed into near-Neander thals.After teaming up with alocal teacher (Judy Geeson), Shawdiscovers that the transformation of themen is due to adisease called acromegaly
Biggles (1986)
(Tuesday8 April, 3pm)
New Yorker Jim Ferguson (AlexHyde-White) is spontaneously transported back in time to the sk ies of 1917 and finds himselfinthe middle of an aerial battle during WorldWar One.I ttranspires thatheis thetime twin of RoyalFlying Corpspilot James “Biggles” Biggleswor th (Neil Dickson), meaning
Neil &Mar tin’s BonVoyage (Tuesday1 April, 9pm)
thatwhenever one of them is in trouble,the other is transpor ted through timetocometotheir aid
Nightofthe Big Heat (1967) (Sunday20April,8am)
Afreak heatwavesends the temperatures soaring on aremote island.DrVernon Stone (Peter Cushing) and JeffCallum(Patrick Allen) tr ytouncover the mysterious reason forthe sudden change in climate.But the arrivalofCallum’s former mistress (Jane Merrow)forcesthe atmospheretoboiling pointand it falls to Professor Godfrey Hanson (Christopher Lee) to discover that the rising heatisthe star tofanalien invasion.
SKY110, VIRGIN 124, TALKTALK 310, NOWT V
MenBehaving Badlystars Neil Morrissey and Martin Clunesreunite to fish fortheir supper off the coast of Biarritz, participate in an eccentric“festival of corn’, and traveltothe peaks of the Pyrenees
IDidn’t KnowYou Cared (Thursday10April,5pm)
TheWay My Wife looks at Me PeterTinniswood’s 1970s sitcomset in aworking- class household in South Yorkshire. Carter (Stephen Rea) and Pat(Anita Carey) returnfromtheir honeymoon, and their mothers arekeen to hear all thegossip.However,Car ter’smore interested in retiring to the pub foradrink.
FREEVIEW/YOUVIEW/BT/ TALKTALK 20, SKY143, VIRGIN 130, FREESAT158
At Home With the Braithwaites (Thursday10April,4pm)
Lively comedy drama about achaotic family becoming overnight millionaires,starring Amanda Redman and PeterDavison.
Taggar t (Saturday4April,12.20am)
Funeral Rites Explorethe mean streets of Glasgowwith this atmospheric policedrama series.Taggar tand Jardine investigate a charredcorpse and find signsofblack magic.
TheScarlet Blade (1963) (Wednesday23April,2.55pm)
English civil waradventure directedby Hammer veteranJohn Gilling and starring Lionel Jeffries and Oliver Reed.After King Charles I(Rober tRietty) is captured by roundheads ColJudd (Jeffries) and Captain Sylvester (Reed), it falls to asmall group of locals,led by acharacter named the Scarlet Blade,tomount arescueattempt
WarbirdWorkshop (Tuesday1April,4pm)
FREEVIEW/YOUVIEW/BT/ TALKTALK 27, SKY155, VIRGIN 129, FREESAT159
Waterbird Theepic battle to rebuild the Waterbird, the RoyalNavy’s first seaplane.Filmed over 12 years, the labour-intensiveproject tests veteranengineer Gerr yCooper
James May’sToy Stories (Monday 7April,9pm) Scalextric
James May continues his quest to showwhatis possible with old-fashioned toys –herehe tries to build the world’s biggest Scalextric track at nearly three miles long
WatchD ave, U&W, U&Yesterdayand U&Drama shows on demand with U(u.co.uk) andcatch up on your favouriteprogrammes.
Channels maybeunavailable in certain regions.Ifyou arehaving trouble viewing channels,gotofreeview.co.uk/ freeview-channel-checker or call the Freeview Advice Line on 03456 50 50 50 (Mondays to Fridays,9am-5pm).
Th eU K’sb ig ge st li ve ac ti on ou td oo rs ho w re tu rn sf or it s10 th an ni ve rsa ry se as on th is su mm er.Kyn re n: An Ep ic Ta le of En glan d (013 88 43 6030 ,11a rc he s. co m) –a br ea th ta ki ng jo ur ne yt hr ou gh 2, 00 0y ea rs of En gl is hh is to ry, my th an dl eg en d– is a9 0- mi nu te pr od uc ti on pe rf or me db ya th ou sa nd -s tr ong vo lu nt ee r ca st an dc re w. Re tu rn in gt oi ts pu rp os e- bu il t pe rf or ma nces pa ce in Bi sh op Au ck lan d, Co un ty Du rh am ,f ro m19J ul yu nt il 13 Se pt em be r, th is ye ar ’s su mm er se as on ,w il la ls of ea tu re a sp ec ia lcel eb ra ti on of th e200 th an ni ve rs ar yo f th en ea rb ySto ck to na nd Da rl in gt on Ra il way–th eb ir th pl aceo ft he mo de rn ra il way. Ra nked 5* on Tr ip ad vi so r, th es ca le an dcom pl ex it y of th ep ro du ct io n, fr om th es pe ct ac le of th e co st um es an dt he se ts to th em in d- bl ow in g st un ts an df lawl es sc ho re og ra phym akeKyn re n am us t- se ee ve nt
ef
An op en -air mus euminD er byshirehas be en pres ente dw ith aH er it ag eR ailw ay Asso ciatio nAward fo rthe restor atio nof an ar td ecotramc ar.Crich Tr amwayV illa ge (01773 85 4321, tr amway.co.uk),the ho me of th eN atio nalTramw ay Muse um , wasp rese nted with th eaward in th eD iese land El ec tr ic Lo co moti on cate gor yinrecogniti on of th eres to rati on of th eLond on Co unty Co un cil(LCC) No 1tramc ar,w hich is af ec ti onatel yk nown as Blue bird .T he jo ur neytores to re this striking tr am carb egan in June 2014,w he nite ntered th e co ns er vati on wo rk sh op at th eN atio nalTramw ay Muse um Over th ef ollowing 10 year s, ateamof en gine er s, vo luntee rs , an de xter nalspe cialis ts wo rked to br in gB lu eb irdb ackto li fe,e nsur in g ever yd et ail re main ed tr ue to it so riginal design
“Thismagnifcent tramcar, with itsart deco elegance and timeless charm, will undoubtedlybea highlight forour visitors,” said Crich curatorKateWat ts. “Wecan’t wait for youtostepaboard andexperience atruepiece of histor y.”
The19th centuryNewhavenFortinEastSussexhas reopened followinga 12-month,£7.5m restoration.
AhistoriclandmarkinEastSussexhas reopened itsdoors followinga transformative £7.5mrestoration.After 12 months of closure, visitors to Newhaven Fort (01273 517622, newhavenfort.org.uk) cannow explorepreviouslyhidden partsofthe site includinga newlyaccessibleBat tery ObservationPostthatofers panoramicviews of theSussex coastline.Hosting avibrant programmeofevents, including work shops, guided tours, exhibitionsand talk s, new developments at the19thcentury fort include an adventure playground,interac tive exhibitions anda 1970s-themed escape room.The Romney Hutinthe fort ’s parade square has been reclad andinsulated,providing aversatile eventspace forschoolactivities, weddings,community events,corporate hire andmore. Followingthe restoration, allstandardtickets will be validfor 12 months during seasonal openinghours, ofering unlimited return visits throughout theyear.
Ap aintin ggiven to Wins to nChurchill to li ft hisspirits during Wo rl dWar Two hasg on eo np ub licdisplay fo rthe fr st time.T he newly restored po rtrait of th e1st Duke of Marlbo ro ugh, Sir Wins to n’sances to rand he ro,has go ne on disp layatChart we ll (01732 86 8381, nati onaltr us t.org.uk /char twell),the wartim ep rime minister ’s ch er ishe d Ke nt hom e.
Initiall ythou ghttob ea19th- ce ntur y co py of an earlie rp aintin g, it sp oo r co nditio n, in clu ding seve re faking paint, ma de it di fculttoclean with ou t risk in gf ur th er paintl oss .H owever, ag en erousd onatio nof£ 25,0 00 has allowe df or restor atio nand te chnical anal ysis ,revealing that th ep ainting datestothe late 17th or earl y18th ce ntur y, an disaver si on of ap or tr aitin th eU fz iColle ctio ninFlo re nce, which wase ngrave dinthe earl y18thcentury by Pi eter vanG unst .
Research hasshown that th e painting waso fe re dtoSir Wins to no n 15 Fe br uary 19 42,adaten ot ab le fo r th eFallofSin gapo re,w hich he de em ed
In the MayIssue of Best of British
“the wo rst disaster an dlargest capitulati on in Br itishH is to ry.” Th e painting ’s prev io us ow ne r, Lo rd Saltoun, wasm oved to donate it by a“de ep pe rs onal de bt to th ePM”,inten ding as ah eart fe lt gesturetolif tSir Wins to n’sspirits during ap ar ticularl ychall en ging pe ri od of Wo rl dWar Two. It also se rved as aremin de rofSir Wins to n’sown resili en ce an d lead er ship,drawing parall elsto an an cestor with wh om he ha da greatafnit y.
SirW inston Churchill’sf amil y co nn ec ti on to th eD ukeof Marlbo ro ughw as wi de ly kn ow n an dw as ce me nted furthe rafter th ep ub licati on of hisf ourvo lume histor yofthe Duke of Marlbo ro ugh, wr it te nlarge ly at Char twelldur in ghis “w il de rn ess year s” in th e1930s .T hisw as late r cite damo ng th ewor ks fo rw hich he wasaward ed th eN ob el Pr izein Lite rature.
Visito rs to Char twellc an now se ethe Marlbo ro ughp or tr aitinthe ve ry se ttin gw he re SirW inston fo un d so la ce an dinspirati on,gainin ga de ep er
ALotta Bottle
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Remembering thecelebrated dramatistand scriptwriter
ShapeUpand Dance
Ashort-lived exercise craze
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un de rst an ding of th ep er so nal stru gglesand tr iump hs of on eof Br it ain’sm os tcel eb rate dl ea de rs
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On sale from 24 April
InAug ust1973, IT Vaud iences were treatedtoanew sitcom, Ma nAbout theHou se.Te show,which hadbeencreated by Johnn ie Mort imer andBrian Cookewas ba seda roundt he then ri sque notion of ahandsomeyou ng ma n (playedbyR icha rd O’Su ll ivan)sha ri ng a bedsit with twoatt ract iveyou ng women (Pau la Wi lcox andSal ly Tomset t).But engagi ng as th is prem isewas,aud iences soon foundt heir at tent ioni ncreasingly focu sedont he trio’s midd le-aged la nd lord s, George andM ildred Roper, whol ived down st ai rs.M ildred wa s played by Yoot ha Joyce, wh ileher hu sband, George,was port rayedby Bria nMur phy. ForMur phy, whod iedi n Febr ua ry 2025,att he ageof92, George Roperwou ld provetobet he defn ing role of hi scareer.
AlthoughG eorgehimselfseemed older,Murphywas just 40 and making endsmeetselling tickets for theRoundhouse Teatre when Man
About theHouse frst propelledhim to stardom. He and Joycehad frst met manyyears before at Joan Little wood’s Teatre Workshop and werethusableto establish an instantrapport on screen.
“Teproducers didn’t realisewe alreadykne weachother,and they weretaken abackbythe chemistr y between us when we instantlyfellinto our roles,”Murphyremembered.Te Ropers themselveswere, of course, totalopposites .G eorgewas proudly working-class but also lazy,work-shy and thoroughly henpecked,while Mildred wasthe dominantone:ferce, assertive, socially ambitiousand,unlike her husband, still thoroughly interested in sex. “When we performedit,”said Murphy,“theaudiencereaction wasso good and so warm that we thought ,well, that’s it ,thisisahit .Itwas exciting .You looked forwardtogoing to work.”
Man About theHouse came to an end aftersix series in 1976. Butthe Ropers provede venmorepopularwhen starring
in their ver yown sitcomsequel, George and Mildred(1976-79), whichattracted audiences of 20 million viewers during itsfve series run. Mortimer and Cooke’s spin-of sawthe couple moving to nearby upmarketHampton Wick where Mildred’srenewed social ambitions –which includedattempting to impress their snobbish next-doorneighbours , theFourmiles–wereagain endlessly thwarted by George with hismotorbike and sidecarand socialistpolitical opinions .“Ithink it wassopopular becauseitwas auniversal theme, the warring husband and wife,” Murphy said later. “Ittranslatesintoany language.” By theend of the1970s ,itw as de cide dthata si xthser iespropose dfor 1980 would be thelast. In fact ,itnever
Top: Having frst metwhile membersof TheatreWorkshop, Yootha Joyceand Brian Murphy became householdnames thanks to theirroles in ManAbout theHouse,and George andMildred
Ph ot og ra ph s: La st of th eS um me rW in e( BB C) ,( Ri le y/ Sw ee ne y) IT V/ Sh ut te rs to ck ,( G& M) Sh ut te rs to ck
happ ene d. Murphy sometimesrefer re d to Yo otha Joycea shis “second wife”but thoughhenoticed her re cent weight loss and had visited her in hospital, had no ide ahow ill shew as or thar shehad be en dr inking ab ottleofbrandy aday forover adec ade.Her sudden, shocking de athf romcir rhosis of theliver at the age of 53 in August 1980c ame less than amonth af terthe rele aseofthe disapp ointing bigscreenversion of Ge orge and Mildred.
BrianTrevor John Murphy hadbeen born on theIsleofWight in September 1932.His parents, Gerald and Mabel, became restaurantowners.His older brothers,Ken andEric, werebothkilledin action during WorldWar Two. Stationed at RAFNorthwood during hisown period of National Serviceduring theearly 1950s, Murphy,who had enjoyedperforming one-man showsasaboy,befriended another aspiring actor, RichardBriers.
Back in Civ vy Street ,Murphysecured aplace at Rada but wasforcedtodrop out aftera year due to lack of funds. His earlyperformances with whatwas then thedramatic societyof theB orough Polytechnic Institutenevertheless impressed.
“Old men, young men, oddmen and drunken men, smartfellowsand brokendown creatures, BrianMurphycan play them to perfection,”wrote Te Stage.He then appliedtojoin Joan Little wood’s
George Roperhas made me ahousehold name,Idon’t have to worr yabout howI’m goingtopay thebills anymore.
highly infuential Teatre Workshop at StratfordEast. “Myaudition wasgreeted by deadly silence,”Murphyremembered manyyears later. “Ten Joan Little wood climbed up on thestage and said Iwas clearlytalentedbut that ,at22, Ineeded abit moreexperience of life.”So, he was astonished to receive atelegramofering him aplace afew days later.
He sp okehighly of Little wo od: “She ne ver wanted you to act, she wanted you to be come thep erson youwerepretending to be.Ifshe wa sdisappointe dorang ry with our defciencies, she’dhurlabuse at us .If shew as ple ased with us ,she would hurl her hatinthe air.She wa smorelikea fo otball manager than adirector.”
In addition to meeting theyoung Yootha Joyce, Murphy took rolesinOh, Whata Lovely War! and appeared in the stage and flm versions of Stephen Lewis’s Sparrows Can’tSing (1963), whichwas directedbyLittlewoodherself. Murphy took theusual small TV rolesinthe 60s (TeAvengers,ZCars, DixonofDock Green) and played an apothecary in Ken Russell’sTeDevils(1971). But,bynow, moneywas again becoming an issue.
“I had ayoung family,and I’dput some mone yintoarevival of Oh, What aLovelyWar!thatIwas part-producing , so thingswerea bit tight ,” he recalled. “I got on to my agentand said maybe Ishould consider selling insuranceor something? Ten,Man About theHouse fell into my lapand turned ever ything
around.”Hecontinuedtoact on stage during his70s TV he yday playing Sweene yToddand joiningYoothaJoyce to play theUglySisters (Mildred and Georgina) in theLondon Palladium’s 1976-77 pantomime, Cinderella. Richard O’Sullivan played Buttons . Murphy ’s frst marriage in1957 to CarolGibsonresulted in two sons but endedindivorce.In1995, he married LindaRegan, an actressbestknownfor therole of theYellowcoat April, Spike’s love interest in thelater series of the popular Eightiescomedy Hi-De-Hi!
AfterGeorgeand Mildred,Murphy played abumbling escapologist in Te Incredible Mr Tanner (1981) and a driving instructorinLfor Lester (1982) but neitherofthese sitcoms took of Much moresuccessful wasOnYour Way, Riley(1982) astage musical by Alan Plater basedonthe marriage of Arthur Lucanand Kitty McShane, thecouple behind Old Mother Rileyand Daughter, across-dressing music hall and flm double actofthe 1930s whichMurphy hadonceseenasa child. Murphy and Maureen Lipman reprised their rolesfor a TV version of theplayin1985. Murphy ’s performanceled to aBafta nomination
Morestage workfollowed: JB Priestley’sWhen We AreMarried (1986) and Te Sunshine Boys (2002) with Ron Moodywereamong thehighlights. Tere wasalsolotsofT V: rolesinBoon, Te Bill, Casualty,Brookside, Holby City, Benidorm, children’s show Wizadora , One Foot in theGrave and Jonahan CreekasMurphymovedintoold age. Between 2003 and 2006, he appeared in thethree BoozeCruisecomedy flms forITV.His most enduring late TV role, however,was as Alvin Smedleyin73 episodes of Last of theSummerWine between 2003 and 2010. Following the deathofCompo actor, Bill Owen, in 1999, Alvin efectively took on therole of being infatuatedwiththe formidable Nora Batty(KathyStaf)
Murphy ne ver retiredand worked into his90s but always remained best knownfor therolehehad playedat whatturnedout to be thehalfway stage of hislong life. Acertain amountof typecasting wasine vitable, butMurphy always remembered thecharacterof George Roper fondly.“He hasmade me ahousehold nameand Idon’t have to worry about how I’mgoingtopay the billsanymore,” he said. “I love him.”
Last of the Summer Wine is available to stream viau.co.uk
SimonStabler
For most youngactors, the chance of goingstraight from dramaschoolto work ingw it hone of the most in fuential fl mmakers of al lt imesou nd sl ikea drea mcome tr ue.For Norman Eshley,who is best know na sest ateagent Jefrey Fourmi le in thesitcomGeorgea nd Mi ld red,
t hi sbecamea real it ywhenhereceived thephone ca ll:“OrsonWel leswants to seeyou in Madrid.”
“I’dnever fownbefore,”recalls Norman. “I wenttoMadridand was pickedupinthe carand wenttomeet thegreat man himself. Iwas told not to be ayes man, so when Wellesstarted talking to me aboutthe play wright Jean Anouilh and Ikne wnothing about him, Istarted arguing with Wellesand he startedlaughing .Hepusheda button under hisdesk, hisstafcame inand he said: ‘Give theguy some doughand let him go seethe town.’
“So, they took meout and said: ‘You’vegot it .” Isaid: ‘G ot what?’ Ididn’t know whatIhad,and it wasn’t until I got back that thescript arrived, and it wasTeImmortalStory,afour-handed flm with Wellesdirecting and starring ,
Top: Pictured with Yootha Joyce, Norman played Jefrey Fourmile,Georgeand Mildred’snex t- door neighbour, arole he wasrecommended forbythe title stars. Left:Straightout of dramaschool, Norman wascastbyOrson Welles in the flmThe Immortal Stor y.
thriller BlindTerror, AK ASee No Evil.Right:Normanenjoyed playingDSRober tHargreavesinThe Sweeneyepisode TheTaste of Fear.
Jeanne Moreau,aFrenchactor called Roger Coggio and me.So, my frst job wasinbed with Jeanne Moreau,directed by Orson Welles.
“Itwas all downto theone teacher, and Inever wentand thanked him. Ididn’t realise until years laterthatI should have thanked him.”
Tatteacher wasHerbert“Bert”Payne, “who sawsomething in me”,and cast Norman in playsduring his junior and senior years at BristolGrammar School.
“Ten, one day, he came to me with formsfor theNationalYouth Teatre,so Isignedthem and Iwentfor anaudition whenthe ycame downtoBristol. And I gotin. AndIwas amazed
“I wentuptoLondon and therewere people likeTim Dalton, Helen Mirren, all sorts of people like that.And Ijustfeltat home with them all. My daddidn’t like me doing all this sort of thing,hewanted me to go to thebank.So, Iwentintothe LloydsBank and workedwiththem for awhile. Bert,meanwhile, setupa Bristol youththeatre,and he putonPeerGynt, theIbsen play,and he cast me as Peer.
“Unbeknowntome untilmuchlater, he’dinvited theBristol Old VicSchool to seemethereand they ofered me a scholarship and, much to my father’s dislike, Itookthe scholarship and loved it.TeminuteIwalked throughthe door, thesepeople from allover England, Wales and ever ywhereand one from Belgium, one from Australia, we really talked the same language, and Ijustfeltathome.
“Asastudent, I’ddone one playwith thecompany calledTeQuare Fellow with PatrickStewart in it.But then Ialso wasgiventhe contractwiththe OldVic companyand we toured America doing threeShakespeareplays. So,I’d leftdrama school at 21, and by thetime Iwas 22, I’ddone theflm with Wellesand three playsonBroadway.I’d hadthe most extraordinar ystart that anyone could ever,Iwas ver ylucky.”
Tose threeplays on Broadway wereRomeoand Juliet, Measurefor Measureand Hamlet, an “extraordinar y” experience.
Brianand Yootha ef fectivelychanged my life forthe bet ter.
“Moneywise, it wasextraordinaryas well, becauseI wasanASM (assistant stage manager) playing small parts and understudying two leads, and in England I wasgetting something like£10 aweek. Te Americanminimum was$180 aweek. At threetothe pound, Iwas getting £60 per week.Isent£20 home to Mumand Dada week and they carpeted thehouse.”
Having been part of thecastofEarly Morning ,the last play to be bannedby theLordChamberlain’s Office,Norman played RobertDudley in anothernew work, Robert Bolt’s Vivat! VivatRegina!, whichmade itsdebut at the1970 Chichester Festival.
“Itwas strange doing anew play,” recallsNorman, “thereisabig diference. Becausepeople can’tjudge you on previousproductions .”
With Eileen Atkins as Elizabeth Iand Sarah MilesasMar y, QueenofScots , Vivat! VivatRegina!got good re views andfollowing atransfer to theWestEnd, anotheroferofworkfor Norman.
“I had another of thoseextraordinary phone callsfrommyagent, who told me to go and seea guycalled RichardFleischer. So,Iwentalong to this hotel, and he said: ‘Hey,Norman, caught your show last night,Ithought it wasterrifc.How’d you liketodoa flm oppositeMia Farrow?’”
Filmedinthe UK,whereitwas released under thename BlindTerror, alot was riding on thesuccess of SeeNoEvil.
“I had acontract with theflm company, and Iwas to makethree more
flms,and I’ve neverseensomanydollar signs.Itwas amazing ,and it all depended on my notices from America. And when thenotices came out,the best one said themostattractive thing in this,apart from MiaFarrow. were thehorses.Sothat wasthe end of my career as aflm actor, just about.”
Like manyactors of hisgeneration, Norman’s earlytelevision workincluded episodes of theanthology series such as Play forToday,Triller and TirtyMinuteTeatre.
“I think theone that really changed ever ything ,a lot ,was thePlayfor Today, writtenbyJohn McGrath,itwas called Te Bouncing Boy. Ijustwishthere wassomething likethataround now for young actors ,e veryonewantedapartin Play forToday,the ywereall desperate to do it and Iwas lucky.
“I got theleadinone with thelovely Patricia Brake. It wasasix-weekshoot , and theonly thing that Ididn’t geton ver ywellwithwas thedirector, who said on thefrst daytoPatriciaand me: ‘You’renot whatI wanted,but you’llhave to do.’Itwas abeautifully writtenpiece, which got rave re views.”
Acouple of years earlier,Norman appeared alongside Dudle ySutton in episodes of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and DepartmentS
“Dudle ywas sucha wonderfulman. Oh, thestories .Weplayeda couple of villains in acouple of things, and then he took me to astudio, and he knockedon thedoorwhen thelight wentdown. He went in and said: ‘Where’sthe director?’ And he walked over,and he said: ‘My name’sDudley Sutton. TisisNorman Eshle y. We’vecomewhoring forwork.’ And we both got apartina flm(1969’s Crossplot).Hewas outrageous but he wasawonderfulman.”
In late 1973, theproducers of thesitcom Man About theHouse werelooking for someone to play Chrissy’s(PaulaWilcox)
newboyfriend, IanCross,“a womanising, dreadful, married man”. DerekSeaton, one of Norman’s friendsfromthe National YouthTeatrewho wasmarried to Wilcox, suggested him forthe role.
“I wentinand did it,and Iloveddoing it.Iwas verynaive; Ididn’t realise they’d have astudio audience. Ten they asked me to play Norman Tripp, Robin’s (Richard O’Sullivan) brother,who would go on to marry Chrissy.”
Te success of Man About theHouse ledtotwo spin ofs, Robin’s Nest,starring RichardO’Sullivan, and George and Mildred,featuring theshow’s breakout characters,Georgeand Mildred Roper, played by BrianMurphyand Yootha Joyce. Another actorhad been in theframeto play snobbish estate agentJefreyFourmile, theRopers’ newneighbour. However, “Brianand Yootha wanted me because we all got on so well. So,theyefectively changedmylifefor thebetter.”
Norman hasnothing butfond memoriesofBrian Murphy whose recent funeral he spokeat.
“I read thousandsoftributes to Brian, and everyone just said how wonderfulhe was. And he was. Avery, very intelligent man, totally oppositetothe characterhe played.Hewas verykind to me.Wedid a littlething on stage in Monmouth about ayearand ahalf ago with him and Nicky (Nicholas Bond-Owen) who playedmy son, and just Brianand Linda(Regan) together,itwas just wonderful.”
Iwondered if this wasthe frst time that Norman and Nicholas had seen each other sinceflming.
“No, no, no, we’ve been in touchever since. He’s now 56, I’mnearly80. He alwayssortofgivesme ahug and akiss; he’salovely lad.”
One of ITV’smostpopular sitcoms, George and Mildred ranfor fveseries, plusaflm whichincluded Norman’sold sparring partner DudleySuttoninthe cast Sadly,a plannedsixth series wascancelled following Yootha Joyce’salcoholismrelateddeath.
“Wehad no ideathatshe wasdrinking that much.Weusedtogoout formeals and, yes, she’dhaveaglass of wine and abrandy at theend of it,but we didn’t realise whatshe wasdoing.Terewas an old actorwho movedintostaywithher forawhile. Hisshoppinglistwas likefags everyday and abottleofbrandy,and Isaid: ‘Why on earthdidn’t you saysomething to someone?’ and he said: ‘Well, shewas putting me up,’and that wasfair enough.”
At 6ft3ins ,Norman wasoften cast as policeofficers, appearinginshows
suchasDangerfeld, Tief Takers , and theDawnFrenchcrime comedy Murder Most Horrid. Perhapshis most memorable policerole wasasthe troubledDSRobertHargreavesinTe Sweene yepisode Te TasteofFear.
“TeSweene ywas suchawonderful script ,and it wasdirectedbya guy calledDavid Wickes, who Istill see occasionally.And John [Taw]and Dennis[ Waterman], they madeyou so welcome. It wasa ver ystrange feeling .Itwas thefrst timeI had it , and it happenedlater with George and Mildred.Teshow belongedto ever ybody; it wasafamily. Iwas madeto feel ver ywelcome, and Iloveddoingit.”
In addition to hisT Vwork, Norman continuedonthe stage with rolesin playsasLady Chatterley ’s Lover,Te ImportanceofBeing Earnestand the Royal ShakespeareCompany ’s production of Aphra Behn’s Te Rover.However,a successful career wascurtailedduring a 1993 holiday to theDordogne.
“I drove all theway throughFrance and theguy whose caritwas said:‘OK , I’ll drive thelastbit’, and this bloody great38tonne lorry came around the corner,itwas going fartoo fast and smashed into us .Bill managedtopull thewheel to theright and, unfortunately, as Iwas in thepassenger seat ,Igot it , and thecar wasthrownintoafeld. Te y cutmeout from thecar,Ihad multiple injuriesand ever ybodythought Iwas going to die.
“I didn’trealise at thetime,I had athing calledfrontal lobe syndrome andI canremember thingsway back to my childhood,but Ican’t learnnew stuf.I fnditver ydifficult whenI meet ne wpeople. Itried to do aplay
in Nottingham, sometime afterthat. Martin Cluneswas directing .And I got to thefrst night and Icouldn’t remember aline. And,tomyshame, I walked out .
“But Icouldn’t remember,and that wasthe end of my stage career.Idid a couple of ver ysmall partsontelly after that .But Icouldn’tlearn ne wstuf. And that wasthe end of thecareer.
“I couldn’t think straight ,Ishould have gone into either directing or teaching or something .But Idid the stupid thing of hitting thebottle. Ihad to go into rehab, eventually.And Ijust didn’t seeany future.Tething that I loveddoingwas takenawayfromme. And then, 15 years ago, Iwas in Bristol, living with my mother, caring forher. And Iwentintomylocal wine barfor my lunch. Imet Rachel and we’ve been married nearly 10 years now,she just changedmylife.
“I wastalking to MarkLesterfrom Oliver! aboutthe actors that had played theArtfulDodger.And Iwas driving home, and Ithought :‘ Well, Iwonder whatactually happenedtothe Artful Dodger.’ And Ilookeditup, and Iwas 90% certainthathewas transported for stealing asilver snuf box.
“I thought Ikne wtransportation, so Ilookedthatup, and Ikne wnothing And Ithen wrotethisscreenplaycalled theDreamtimeofthe Artful Dodger, becausethe Aboriginals call life dreamtime, and it’s hislifeinAustralia. And Ishowed it to DavidParftt, who wonthe Oscarfor ShakespeareinLove. He wasachild actorwhenI workedwith himwhenI came into aserieshewas doing with Wendy Craig ,…And Mother Makes Five.
“Hesaid this would makea greatsixpart series forNetfix. Igot together with afriend of mine, Liz, and we wrotethe book .Tefrst companywesentitto, they published it ,and it’s had numerous fve-star re viewsonAmazon. Aflm companywas interested but they ducked out becauseDisne yweremaking aflm about theArtfulDodger. But yeah, it’s all there, it really would make agreat series .”
Te Dreamtime of the Artful Dodger by Norman Eshleyand Eliz abeth Revill is publishedbyOak Tree Book s (oaktreebooks .uk/dreamtime-of-theartful-dodger)
Te Sweeney: Te Taste of Fear is availabletostream viaITVX