Absolutely love James Bolam. Just watched The Beiderbecke trilogy, totally brilliant! I loved him as Terry in whatever happened too....and thought he was bloody lovely when he was younger. These two worked well together but it doesn't mean they had to be best friend's, its a job!
The first broadcast just before University and on going EVERYONE wanted me to teach them Geordie. I am from Middlesbrough NOT a Geordie. Durham Miners Accent is closer. Mike Neville, BBC Look North News then worked on a mini-series called "Lern Yer Sel Geordie" . I found the Book at Beamish Museum in the early 80s.@@davehoward22 James Bolam one of the finest UK TV actors. Sad, today, David McCullum, another great UK TV actor passed away. David was the second highest paid TV actor in the USA of all time. $500,000 per episode BUT only half of Hugh Laurie in "HOUSE". Still UK One & Two. Hope that James and his Wife Susan James have a long life still ahead of them bringing so much joy across the decades.
James Bolam also played the EXCELLENT lead role of Jack (John), Ford in 'When The Boat Comes In' - one of the finest series (there were four series of over forty episodes), on television. Bolam's wife Susan Jamieson also starred, but Bolam's character was perfect in every degree. The series continued with very high ratings throughout. I highly recommend it for any ex Veteran of the armed forces (especially the Army).
Jack Ford was his finest work of his career. I can’t stop watching it and I’ve had the box set for about 15 years now. Also I watched the originals when they were on Tv from 76 to 81.
When the Boat Comes In also starred Alun Armstrong another wonderful Actor. They worked together in New Tricks where James Bolam real wife, Susan Jameson played the wife of Alun Armstrong. Odd that Alun could work with Both James and his wife but Rodney couldn't and James had many successful series while Rodney didn't. Think a bit of jealousy?
Yes that’s right. They were actors, acting a script brilliantly! Such a shame the new wave of actors push their ideologies….I miss good actors that can act any character.
Together these two men, and Brigit Forsyth in the second phase, produced one of the greatest of British sitcoms. The twelve episodes of the 1970s version make great comedy out of the tragedy of two men whose friendship is disrupted by one of them wishing to settle down. This is universal and this brilliant tragicomedy is why we are still watching all these years later.
To me the best episodes was (maybe the Christmas special) when Terry did his driving test and became a cabbie and when the 'lads' tried to avoid the England match result so they could watch it later...to find out it was "flooded out!".
Likely Lads and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads When the Boat Comes In New Tricks Beiderbeck Trilogy, (Tapes, Affair & Connection) EDIT, missed out: Only When I Laugh, along with with Peter Bowles All of these were Long Running Roles plus many one off roles including Midsommer Murder I think that shows what "chazsach6594" has pointed out I am not sure that I have seen Rodney Bewes as anything except as "Bob"
@@FeckWoke He doesn't know me He's never seen me So he's at a disadvantage he has nothing to back up anything he would say anyway So I'm not bothered People who do know me do speak highly of me and that's enough for me He speaks very badly about you tho after you met in Muppet Land Just outside divsville
Not only one of the funniest sitcoms ever, but also an accurate representation of life in the North East in the 1970’s. I went to Park Juniors myself so I should know (two years behind Bob and Terry).
My favourite episode, original Series (B&W), was when Terry was learning to ride a Scooter and Bob told Terry that to practice his emergency stop Bob would jump out at Terry. Bob promptly jumped in front of a different Scooter and ended up in Hospital, blaming Terry.
@@trevorhart545 Ive got that on the DVD set, interestingly , although its the 60’s ‘The Likely Lads’ ..Not 70’s whatever Happened to…its when we hear the first fleeting mention of Thelma, Terry says to Bob that the only reason he’d want a Scooter as well is to try and impress “that Thelma Chambers” and wizz of with her on the back of it, something like that, been quite a while since I watched it tbh, and that is the one and only mention of her…until of course ..‘Whatever Happened to….’ Great series !
These guys were just workmates. They were such great actors that people believed they were friends in real live. It's the same as if you work in a office or factory, you can be great mates but as soon as someone leaves, you never hear from them again.
So 2 people who worked together over 40 years ago and didn't really have much in common drifted apart after some petty incident nd didn't speak again ,not much to it really is there , I mean it's called acting for a reason, they weren't really best friends ! Who keeps in touch with everyone they have ever worked with ?
Obviously taken from an American viewpoint as it misses some superb acting from Bolam in ‘When the Boat Comes in’, ‘Only When I laugh’, the and classic and much under-rated Beiderbecke trilogy and most definitely the long running ‘New Tricks’.
Ironic that a classic and very popular 60's and 70's comedy, which was built around the close friendship of two guys, was portrayed by two actors who didn't really like one another. It's a mark of their acting ability that they carried the series as far as it went. Being feared of being type cast, especially when its tied with another actor, is something which does occur frequently in the entertainment business.
Mixed msgs about that, as there are versions that they got on fine but there was bound to be tensions as they were both the protagonists of the show being more or less a duo role as oppose to an ensemble cast, but ppl in the know have stated that they got on fine with each other.@@TheWacoKid1963
Rodney Bewes was brilliant in the Likely Lads, as was the entire cast and script. But you saw him in very little else. James Bolam is in a different league altogether. He appeared in too many productions to mention. A brilliant and very versatile actor.
This isn't really news for anyone vaguely familiar with them. They were two completely different people who just happened to play beloved roles that made us all wish the dynamic between them on screen had been real, but of course it wasn't. The media used to love asking them about it and while Bewes saw this as an opportunity to wheel out the old stories, Bolam was busy and successful and just wanted to get on with what he was doing. You can see why it would become annoying as the years went by. Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads, more so than the original Likely Lads, was an outstanding piece of comedy. The story of two old friends trying to cling together while life tore them apart is timeless and laced with tragedy. In life, the actors, ironically, were more like the characters the other man played in the show. As the famous theme song said 'what happened to you, whatever happened to me....'; a question so many of us ask as we pass through life. It was great, it still is great. Time to leave the Lads alone and just enjoy their work.
My wife and I are in the middle of rewatching WHTTLL. Absolutely excellent acting and brilliant scripts. Still laughing out loud all these years later. And no rude words apart from “Bloody Hell! Bloody Hell!”
I was a fan. One of the best comedy series ever made, but it wouldn't have been anything without Brigit Forsyth as Thelma (always something sexy about her). I think Rodney Bewes was limited in his acting and was jealous of Bolam. I think Bolam got more giggs as TV became more working class and he was the working class hero, whereas Bewes played the middle class dandy in the series. I was though quite surprised that since he'd already written a successful TV series, why he was relying on others for his acting parts. The likely lads, as much as other comedies had run it's course. There must have been a downside to his character as he wasn't chosen for a number of successful series afterwards eg Terry and June, All creatures great and small, Yes Minister or The Good Life or the numerous cop shows - even The Bill. Maybe a lack of a good manager hampered him. Who knows. It was a shame he is portrayed as so bitter.
Bob was the sort of person the 'real' Middle Class despise and the Working Class see as a traitor. He wanted a better life, like many did in the 1960s, and all you had to do was work hard to achieve it. 🤨 It was an idea TV was willing to push until, for some reason, staying with your 'own kind' became the mantra. TV types hate the Working Class, these days.
James Bolam has stated before that they were never personal friends as such and were merely Work Colleagues. How many people remain in touch with those that they worked with 40 years ago? Anything to stir op a story where there isn't one.
Bolam is still an arsehole when he flatly refused repeats to be done which at the time would have given them approximately 3K apiece per episode. Bewes was strapped for cash so if that was not rubbing the salt in i don't know what is. Incidentally all the cast would have gotten that amount so he bolloxed it up for all of them in his endeavours to stitch Bewes up.@@malcolmhouston7932
You can always trust the yanks to stick their noses in and make a drama over nothing, please leave our great actors alone and stop stirring stuff up that doesn't exist, us Brits are not like you!
the likely lads and whatever happened.. are still brilliant. Sometimes you have to accept that they were two actors who worked great on a job together and then just moved on. It's not always easy to keep in touch with old work mates when you move on and in different directions. One party can sometimes feel more of a bond than the other. That's life.
One of the most overlooked theme tunes that resonates with people of the likely lads era was the theme of “Whatever happened to the likely lads” by highly likely. You can hear it on RU-vid .
Ian Ogilvy in his autobiography said Bolan was a great actor but could also be very prickly. He didn't like being upstaged or improvisation even if it was just larking about during a curtain call for the audiences amusement.
Dreadful video. Little more than lazy repackaging of old clips and second-hand rumour, with nothing new to say and not a peep from any of the protagonists. And the programme name was The *Likely* Lads (note stress on second word) - not The Likely *Lads*.
A great social documentary as well with the house clearances and new estates and roads going in the 1970’s. Well worth a watch for the glimpse of the past as well.
I don't exactly know the reason for Bolam's privacy obsession but it could be because his wife Susan Jameson, herself an actress, most famous for the series 'Take Three Girls', earlier in her career had a brief affair with actor Richard O'Sullivan, star of the sitcom 'Man About the House' from which she had a child rejected by both parents as Richard O'Sullivan seemed to have a phobia about commitment and Susan Jameson was embarrassed by having an illegitimate child. The child, a son, looked very like Richard O'Sullivan. He once met Susan Jameson, who went on to marry and have a daughter with James Bolam. She told her son at that meeting that she didn't have any maternal feelings for him and did not want to meet him again. This is according to what her son said.
They sound like a perfect match. Obviously have very high opinions of themselves and bloated egos. Career, status and money meant far more to them than family friends and not being ashamed of their humble beginnings. I never knew all this until recently. A good actor he may be, but sounds as though he has treated many people on the way up with contempt and is rather unlikeable. Interesting Rodney Bewes isn't the only actor who has written about Boland's selfish and mean spirited ways. I had no idea that his wife Susan Jameson had a son with Richard O Sullivan but gave him up and never wanted anything to do with him. That's made me see these pair in a completely different light, after all these decades of watching their work. I won't be watching them now with the same enjoyment. They have sullied those memories. I feel for Rodney he was obviously the better human
Rodney Bewes and I spent a very nice hour and a half in a railway waiting room. He really was very good company and yes, tales of his life and work quickly tumbled out, but he was attentive and pleasant and he even shared a small bottle of whiskey whilst we waited. A chance encounter that I thoroughly enjoyed and was a shame when his train pulled out. He waved as he departed and I like to think we both had enjoyed the brief shared time.
@@FactsVerseUK I’ve met several people who had met Rodney Bewes, they all said the same thing about him, he was an extremely pleasant gentleman who loved to converse with anyone, very polite and genial to whoever you were.
James Bolam was the exact opposite VERY curmudgeonly. A friend of mine was at a barbecue in the 90s and Bolam was there. A young boy of about 9 years asked him for his autograph and he said ‘Bugger off’. Bolam also blocked any move to have the Likely Lads repeated on TV ( this would have given a hard up Bewes much needed money). I don’t deny Bolam was talented and compared to Bewes his career after LL was meteoric and he became very wealthy ( makes it all the more sad he actually went out of his way to ensure his erstwhile friend remained in financial hardship until he died).
@@gerardmackay8909 Bolam did not have the ability to block repeats. In interviews in his final years Rodney Bewes would often claim that James Bolam had vetoed repeats of the series. The reality, however, was that, since the series finished its run in 1974, episodes from both versions of the sitcom had been repeated on BBC One or Two in 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004, plus 2013 and 2015, in addition to countless re-runs on the satellite channels, as well as numerous repeats of the BBC radio adaptations, and have remained an option in terms of subsequent mainstream repeats.
@@MarkHarrison733 interesting, we all rely on written information from various sources, some better than others (I’ve seen that reported by more than one source but I’m happy to concede you are better informed). He remains, however, a decidedly unlikeable man and as a young Geordie boy growing up in the 70s and 80s I was a huge fan so it’s always disappointing when your heroes have feet of clay.
Spring and Port Wine (1970) was the only film i seen Bewes in with Susan George James Mason and Diana Coupland and more, As for Bolam when the boat comes in made him it was a drama series, out of the likely lads Bolam was the only one born in the north east Sunderland while Bewes was from Bingley in Yorkshire
The better actor, a matter for debate. Certainly doesn't sound like the better man going by the negative feedback from all the people who have had the misfortune to meet or work with him 😢@@michellefalleur9608:31 8:31 8:31
This documentary (and many of the comments) seem very pro James and anti Rodney. The truth is James Bolam could be moody and difficult, and perhaps takes himself a little too seriously. Not unlike the relationship between Wilfred Brambell and Harry H Corbett from that other great 60s/70s series Steptoe and Son. Dn't forget either the antipathy between Jimmy Jewell and Hylda Baker in Nearest and Dearest. For old Jimmy was a very difficult man, who could start an argument in an empty room.
Thank you for putting this interesting programme together. I think the Likely Lads film was released in 1976 so not that long after the 1973-74 TV series of Return of the Likely Lads and the Radio Series was July - Oct 1975 so do not think there had been a big gap between the actors working together.. Presumably, it was the same year as working together on the film that the alleged phone call and falling out happened in 1976.
I am from Middlesbrough so when I went to Liverpool students would ask me to teach them Geordie. I am Yorkshire and Geordie comes in 2 forms to me. Northumberland and Newcastle region. Sunderland was Durham Miners Accent NOT Geordie, VERY different. Manchester and Liverpool VERY different accents. It is like calling a Sloane Ranger the same as an Eastender.
There are so many inaccuracies in this sloppy, ill-researched farrago that I can't be bothered to waste either time or space to point them all out. Worst of all, the "writer's" inability to distinguish James Bolam from Malcolm McDowell makes this a truly ludicrous effort. Bolam had no role in Oh Lucky Man! The two actors don't even resemble each other. This might be one of the worst examples of a wannabe film-maker screwing things up through carelessness, ignorance and lack of even elementary research.
I was never really a Fan of the Likely Lads/Return Of, One thiing I remember James Bolam in was "The Missing Postman" and THAT was Absolutely Brilliant
what a load of tosh you didnt know them your just speculating what you think happened.. ever thought that one may have said Ive had enough you go it alone ???
I am in the upper 60s and from the North East. Rodney played himself, that was all he could do. James went on to a variety of roles. That was the key difference, one had talent and the other had jealousy. Likely Lads was the 1960s, Black and White.
Maybe it was a case of James Bolam being ambitious and desperately wanting to be known as a serious actor, but Rodney Bewes like many of us easy going and fairly content with what he already had.
I always loved both The Likely Lads and Whatever Happened to but longed for a Whatever Happened to Whatever Happened to The Likely Lads with Bob still married now with children (All female of course) and Terry still single both slightly envious of each others lifestyle. Sadly it's all too late now and I pray that they don't try to remake any of this with different actors (Yes I'm looking at you Ant and Dec!)
I was a kid but always found Rodney Bewes character really irritating. James Bolam however was great. No idea why I thought this I’m not anyone special… sorry Rodney
In interviews in his final years Rodney Bewes would often claim that James Bolam had vetoed repeats of the series. The reality, however, was that, since the series finished its run in 1974, episodes from both versions of the sitcom had been repeated on BBC One or Two in 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004, plus 2013 and 2015, in addition to countless re-runs on the satellite channels, as well as numerous repeats of the BBC radio adaptations, and have remained an option in terms of subsequent mainstream repeats.
After your funeral 🙄We all went back to your house and found in your shed 🙄..naughty magazines hidden under the potting plants..lots of stuck together pages too😁😁😁😁
THe comedy in the show was derived greatly from the disparity between each of the characters outlook on life. In the show, they had gone to school together and grown up with each other - therefore they knew each other very well, however, they had totally different views and different approaches to most things. The fact they they were also so different off screen is not a surprise.
They're definitely not just 'rumours' (that's the UK spelling, FactsVerse UK!). I saw RB interviewed some years ago and he confirmed that there was a rift between them although he didn't seem too sure why. He even threw out a hint that the Likely Lads could be revived, and he had been talking to the writers. Obviously Bolam didn't take him up on it.
Just because they were celebrities doesn't mean they should keep in touch. I left the police fifty years ago but never hardly contacted any former colleagues.
If you are looking for examples of brilliant 2 handed comedy played by actors who didn't really like each other, don't forget Harry H Corbett and Wilfed Bramble in "Steptoe & Son" (BBC TV series[s], plus 2 or 3 feature films).
You seemed to miss james bolam in when the boat comes in . The character i will always associate with, a brilliant series that was a history of how the northern working class were and existed after world war one. A treasure of history of fact and t.v
Bewes failed his audition for Bunter of Greyfriars where Gerald campion got the part. Bewes acting in the St Trinians series showed him to be completely wooden. The real reason for falling out was financial. Bewes was impoverished and reduced to towing a rowing boat behind his car as a prop for his one-man stage show (which wasn't very good) and he berated Bolam for vetoing repeat showings of 'The Likely lads' which would have paid handsome royalties; Bolam had moved on so far from 'TLL' that he didn't wish them to be repeated. Bolam was a fantastic actor 'New Tricks' being my absolute favourite. though 'Beiderbeck' a close second. Bewes early days were blighted by an overbearing and over-ambitious mother (who I knew when they lived in Luton and later near Blackpool)
@@annoyingbstard9407 Not now they can't but they could and did in the past. For years Martin Shaw vetoed repeats of The Professionals, and it was only because the widow of Gordon Jackson (the late Rona Anderson) was in need of money that Martin Shaw relented, which was genuinely kind of him, but he is probably more generous than James Bolam. Martin Shaw disliked The Professionals and regretted working on it.
@@JackRussell-nk3fe I wish people would think about what they’re saying before posting. Comments such as suggesting every single actor in a program has the potential to stop a production company from repeating that program on television are ridiculous. FYI the case of the professionals is very specifically limited to it being broadcast on satellite television. See if you can work out why.
@@JackRussell-nk3fe In interviews in his final years Rodney Bewes would often claim that James Bolam had vetoed repeats of the series. The reality, however, was that, since the series finished its run in 1974, episodes from both versions of the sitcom had been repeated on BBC One or Two in 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004, plus 2013 and 2015, in addition to countless re-runs on the satellite channels, as well as numerous repeats of the BBC radio adaptations, and have remained an option in terms of subsequent mainstream repeats.
This video is of "a piece" with many other such videos on RU-vid - probably churned out by the bucketload - complete with the omnipresent American accent of the narrator - the actual "meat" or "substance" is usually quite thin - I think viewers of this video would probably agree on one thing - Bolam and Bewes each stood for higher standards in their professional lives than this video !!!!!
So what if they didn't speak again! As James Bolam, apparently said, they worked together and moved on. We've all done exactly the same thing. Media making something out of nothing, as usual.......
Bewes seems to have been one of the most conceited men to have lived within my lifetime. His mission in life would appear to have only centered on one thing. The advancement of Rodney Bewes.
Rodney Bewes played an evil character in Dr.Who,I remember and James Bolam was great in the Harold Shipman docu-drama and "Dirty Tricks" BBC cop show. James Bolam also narrated a good tv series about the early years of football (soccer,for US readers 😂).
Definitely! We feel the same way. Thank you for sharing your sentiments and for watching our content. What other types of video would you like to see on Facts Verse?
My favourite sit com from any era, so well observed and of course ,… funny. Some of the best lines were given to Thelma, if you know the series you’ll remember ,’ so what’s all this about naughty down the wheatsheaf!’ As terry gets bob into trouble once again , though this time it’s inadvertent.
For many years after, Bewes tried rather desperately to maintain the illusion that he was still in touch with Bolam, telling journalists who inquired that they had only recently had dinner together, enjoyed 'a swift half' or met up at the races - 'It was easier that way,' he later confessed - but, after Bolam declined to appear as a guest in his edition of "This Is Your Life" in 1980, and then ignored a number of other attempts at a rapprochement, Bewes finally began to address the issue in public - first in his 2005 autobiography, "A Likely Story", and then in countless interviews over the final twelve years of his life. It will remain a matter for conjecture how much he really believed, or managed to convince himself, that he was now mourning the loss of a genuine friendship, but certain elements in the narrative that he would recite always sounded somewhat contrived. He made a number of conflicting and confusing claims, for instance, that Bolam, riding high in a succession of other series while his erstwhile co-star was now struggling to revive his flagging career, had selfishly refused to sanction repeats of "The Likely Lads" on network British television. In 2007, a mere two years after he had claimed that he was "happy they keep on showing the old episodes" ("let's face it," he added, "you get the repeat cheques, and the bank manager smiles"), Bewes, in a bizarre volte-face ignored by the media, told an interviewer that Bolam had "vetoed" all repeats of the shows 'for 18 years' on the grounds that it would have been "a retrospective step" in his career.
Bolam starred in 'When the boat comes in' - the school featured by BBC was Western Board school North Shields. Our only encounter with the star was sadly miserable as he refused to acknowledge any of us school kids as he walked across the playground. Not holding a grudge, just seems to be a boring person in public.
Interesting but what were the rumours which Bolan had to deny. Another example of your titles being irrelevant to the content. Just can’t believe these anymore.
I always reckoned James Bolam was one of my favourite actors...from the Likely lads to The Missing Postman and more...a man i liked to watch...... Bob.....Paignton.....
I think we read too much, I have lost contact will many colleagues over the years who I worked happily with, in normal life people move on, even our best friends we can find fault with at times but unless you are close family normally there is no reason to keep in touch. In entertainment we buy into the fantasy we like to think our TV friends are real and there relationships special. Even though for a time they work at such a fantasy in the stage illusion, They are not, they are work colleagues it's just a job.
