 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2012) |
| Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? | |
|---|---|
 Series title card | |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | |
| Opening theme | "Whatever Happened to You?" |
| Ending theme | "Whatever Happened to You?" |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 27 |
| Production | |
| Producers | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (series) 45 minutes (special) |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 9 January 1973 – 24 December 1974 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
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. It was created and written, as was its predecessor, by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. 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.[1]
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, however, Rodney Bewes and James Bolam fell out over a misunderstanding involving the press, and never spoke again. This long-suspected feud was finally confirmed by Bewes while promoting his autobiography in 2005. Even while Bewes was alive, Bolam was consistently reluctant to talk about the show, and vetoed any attempt to revive his character.[2] Following Bewes's death in November 2017, Bolam maintained there was never any rift.
- ^ "1974 Television Situation Comedy Series | BAFTA Awards".
- ^ McSmith, Andy (7 November 2007). "Look back in anger: Whatever happened to The Likely Lads?". The Independent. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
For years afterwards, it was assumed that Bolam and Bewes were friends off screen as well as on, a pretence they kept up because their public expected it. It was finally blown in 2005, when Bewes published his memoirs, in which he revealed that they had comprehensively fallen out 30 years earlier and had not spoken since. He blamed Bolam's fear of having his privacy invaded and of being eternally typecast.
The final breach, as Bewes told it, occurred after Bolam's wife, Sue, announced to her husband, while he was driving, that she was pregnant. He almost crashed the car. Bewes repeated this story in a newspaper interview, thinking that it was already public knowledge, then got a frosty reaction when he rang Bolam to forewarn him. "There was this dreadful silence. He put the phone down. I called him back. He didn't answer. He hasn't spoken to me since", Bewes claimed.