Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? is a British sitcom which was broadcast on BBC1 between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974. It was the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit The Likely Lads. Like its predecessor, it was created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and starred Rodney Bewes and James Bolam. There were 26 television episodes over two series, and a subsequent 45-minute Christmas special was aired on 24 December 1974. The show won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Situation Comedy in 1974.
The cast was reunited in 1975 for a BBC radio adaptation of series 1, transmitted on Radio 4 from July to October that year. A feature film spin-off was made in 1976. Around the time of its release, Bewes and Bolam fell out over a misunderstanding involving the press, and never spoke again. This long-suspected feud was recounted by Bewes in his autobiography in 2005. Bolam was consistently reluctant to talk about the show, and vetoed any attempt to revive his character. Following Bewes's death in November 2017, Bolam maintained there was never any rift.
Plot Set in Newcastle upon Tyne in north-east England, the show follows the friendship, resumed after five years apart, of two working-class young men, Bob Ferris (Rodney Bewes) and Terry Collier (James Bolam). The word "likely" in the title referred, in the 1960s series, to those showing promise, but also to those likely to get up to well-meaning mischief. The humour was based on the tension between Terry's firmly working-class outlook and Bob's aspirations to join the middle class, through his new white-collar job, suburban home and impending marriage to the prissy librarian Thelma Chambers (Brigit Forsyth).
Since the ending of the original series in 1966, Bob has left factory life behind and now works for his future father-in-law's construction firm, something which makes him even more desperate to curry favour with Thelma and her family. At Thelma's urging, Bob is also joining sports clubs and attending dinner parties, which Terry views as Bob aspiring to join the middle class. This results in Terry viewing Bob as a class traitor and believing his own army experience and solid working-class ethos gives him moral superiority. To a considerable degree the comedy is built on class warfare. Whereas Bob, Thelma and Terry's sister Audrey have adapted to the various changes, Terry's failure to adjust to the changes that have occurred during his five years in the army result in him being left behind, a relic of the attitudes of the mid-1960s.
As implied in the lyrics to the programme's theme song, the 1970s series plays on both lads' feelings of nostalgia for the lost days of their reckless youth. Both of them are depressed by the demolition of so many of the landmarks of their childhood, though Bob, who works for a construction firm, sometimes sees it as progress. Bob has also bought his own house on a new estate, further distancing him from his and Terry's pasts. Reflecting the distinctions now separating the two young men, the opening credits show Terry waiting for a bus in the older and more industrial parts of the city, with Bob seen outside his new home with his own car in the modern surroundings of the Elm Lodge housing estate.
The conflict between what Bob has become, and what he sees himself as, makes him impulsively inclined to follow the lead set by the more headstrong Terry, who leads them recklessly into one scrape after another. Bob usually blames his drinking, poor diet and reckless behaviour on Terry, a view with which Audrey and Thelma only too willingly agree. This may be true in part, but Bob needs little persuasion to stay out drinking with Terry or to behave accordingly. Bob does not actually move into his new house until after his wedding to Thelma due to fears of being judged by his new neighbours (although, in the final episode of the first series, both Bob and Thelma make it clear they have an active sex life), and for the first series lives with his mother. Terry lives with his parents (his father is never seen) in a 19th-century terrace, which he claims has far more character than Bob's new house, where "the only thing that tells you apart from your neighbours is the colour of your curtains".
Many of the thirteen episodes of the first series, aired in 1973, have a loose narrative thread. The early episodes focus on Terry's return to civilian life following his discharge from the army, whereas later episodes focus on the planning for Bob and Thelma's wedding. The second series, aired the following year, opens with a focus on the growing romance between Terry and Thelma's sister Susan, partially continued from the first series. A four-episode storyline concerning Bob and Thelma's brief separation begins near the later half of the series, and there are also several self-contained episodes.
Theme song The show's theme song, "Whatever Happened to You", was written by Mike Hugg (of Manfred Mann) and La Frenais and performed by Hugg's session band, with session singer Tony Rivers supplying the lead vocals; released as a single under the name Highly Likely, the song reached number 35 in the UK Singles Chart in 1973. Hugg also wrote the theme tune to the spin-off 1976 feature film, Remember When.
Changes in format and style from The Likely Lads Although Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? was a continuation of the earlier series and featured many of the same characters, the style and format had changed. Unlike the original show, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? was made in colour. Also, The Likely Lads had been quite "stagey" (in the theatrical sense) in its format, being studio-bound with little in the way of location filming. The 1970s series made extensive use of location filming in and around the north-east. In terms of humour, the two shows are very different. The Likely Lads had been a broad comedy, full of jokes and obvious gags, whereas Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? used much subtler humour, derived from the dialogue and characterisation, often interspersed with sentimentality and even touches of pathos as the lads mourned or reflected on their lost past. Nostalgia was a strong thread running through the show. The lads frequently did ask each other the question in the show's title, "Whatever happened to us?", particularly during their more mellow moments in the pub.
Cast Regular cast James Bolam as Terry Collier Rodney Bewes as Bob Ferris Brigit Forsyth as Thelma Chambers (later Ferris), Bob's fiancée, whom he marries at the end of series 1 Sheila Fearn as Audrey Collier, married name unknown, Terry's elder sister.
Recurring cast Bill Owen as George Chambers, Thelma's father Joan Hickson (Series 1) and Noel Dyson (Series 2) as Mrs Chambers, Thelma's mother Anita Carey as Susan Chambers, Thelma's sister, who lives in Toronto, Canada, with her accountant fiancé Peter Olive Milbourne as Edith Collier, mother of Terry, Audrey and Linda Robert Gillespie, police officer Barbara Ogilvie as Alice Ferris, Bob's mother Ronald Lacey as Ernie, Audrey's husband Elizabeth Lax as Wendy, Bob's secretary Stephanie Turner as Mary, Terry's friend in Birthday Boy Christopher Biggins as "Podge" Rowley, Bob and Terry's friend Julian Holloway as Alan Boyle, Bob's friend; originally from Surrey Juliet Aykroyd as Anthea, Thelma's assistant at the library
Unseen characters Cyril Collier, Terry's and Audrey's father, who appeared in the 1960s series Leslie Ferris, Bob's father (in the 1960s series, it was established that Bob's father is deceased) Linda Collier, Terry's and Audrey's sister Frank Clark, Bob's original choice for best man Nigel "Little Hutch" Hutchinson, a sex-mad pal who always has a racing tip for Terry Norma Braithwaite, a childhood schoolfriend of Thelma who passed on Bob's letters of apology to her Cloughie, a workmate of Bob and Terry from the 1960s series. It is mentioned in passing that he now runs a newsagent's shop. Jutta Baumgarten, Terry's estranged West German wife. She was due to appear in the last episode of Series 1, played by April Walker, but after filming her first scene, the writers decided against having both male characters married and released Walker from her contract. Despite this, Walker remains on the end credits despite not appearing in the episode. Maurice "Memphis" Hardaker, a member of the lads' skiffle group, Rob Ferris and the Wildcats. He was also mentioned in the original 1960s series as colleague Morrie Hardaker. Deirdre Birchwood, an ex-girlfriend of Bob with somewhat loose morals. The frequent references to her became a running gag (with the line "Don't mention Deirdre Birchwood!" becoming a catchphrase). Wendy Thwaite, another ex-girlfriend of Bob, with whom he had his first sexual experience Bryony Hood, another ex-girlfriend of Bob, who became a topless go-go dancer in Sunderland
Episode guide
Series 1 Episode NumberEpisode TitleSummaryAir date1."Strangers on a Train"The lads are reunited by chance, after five years, aboard a homeward-bound train. Unfortunately for Bob, he inadvertently becomes stranded at Doncaster railway station, with fiancée Thelma waiting for him on the platform at Newcastle.9 January 19732."Home Is the Hero"Terry, newly demobbed from the army, finds it hard to adjust to all the changes that have occurred in Newcastle during his time in the army.16 January 19733."Cold Feet"Due to a misunderstanding, Terry causes havoc between Bob and Thelma, leading Bob to get cold feet about the wedding.23 January 19734."Moving On"A depressed Terry decides to go around the world with his old army pal, Hughie McClaren, who lives conveniently in Berwick-upon-Tweed.30 January 19735."I'll Never Forget Whatshername"Terry looks up some of his old flames. His lack of success makes him self-pitying and Bob smug, until it emerges that Terry had a drunken fling with Thelma on a coach trip. Bob is also revealed to have a hidden history with the ladies.6 February 19736."Birthday Boy"Terry becomes depressed when he thinks everyone has forgotten his birthday. A surprise party organised by Bob goes wrong when someone else is accidentally invited to it but when Terry finally arrives he manages inadvertently to offend most of the other guests.13 February 19737."No Hiding Place"The Lads try to avoid learning the result of an England football match before the TV highlights are shown that evening. Flint (Brian Glover) tries to spoil it for them, with a bet of £10, that they will not get through the day without learning the result. The lads are at the point of viewing the TV highlights, none the wiser about the score, when Flint tracks them down to Bob's new house. An angry Terry pays him off (with £10 borrowed from Bob). After all that, the match turns out to have been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.