It's one of the greatest comedies of all time!
You liar.
And one which went on an extraordinary journey
from the stage to our screens.
I've not been in this theatre since 1973.
It's a show with a line-up that became the fab four of sitcom.
It is very well written,
but they've really kind of made the characters leap off the page.
But what did go on between these walls?
Frances leaned over to me and said "He doesn't want to kiss me".
Tonight in Rising Damp Forever, we'll reveal the secrets of life on set.
Richard hated that wig. He couldn't wait
to get rid of that wig.
I've decided to change my image. I've been neglecting myself.
And there'll be an emotional return
to the place where television history was made.
The thing about coming here was, it was very homely here.
I felt completely welcomed here. So did I.
Agh!
Every single time I see it, I howl - proper, proper,
proper howl with laughter!
(LAUGHTER)
I love it. Just thinking about it makes me smile.
I should think that would be more than enough!
(CAT MEOWS)
This is the story of a miserly landlord called... Rigsby!
..his three tenants... Roses are red, violets are blue,
your tenants are sweet, what happened to you?
..and a cold dark house that has long since seen better days.
You've got rising damp. My furniture's falling apart.
From 1974 to 1978 Rising Damp was one
of the most popular series on our TV screens.
Have you thought anymore about the room?
I thought about it, yes.
And you said you'd consider me. Did I?
Yeah, you did say that. No, you couldn't afford a room like this.
But as we'll reveal tonight, the classic line-up we came to love
could have been so very different
in a journey that begins with a man then working
as an electricity board auditor in Grantham - Eric Chappell.
I always wanted to be a writer and secretly I was writing novels.
They were terrible novels and I knew that
because people always fell asleep while they were reading them.
And then one day I had this thought: "I'll write a play."
When I started to write the play, I realised I wasn't so boring
and what one person said to another
was far more important to me than describing it.
It was that gift for dialogue that changed my life.
In 1969, aged 36, Eric Chappell wrote a play
that would change both his life and comedy history.
Do you mind if I just check your paintwork, Miss Jones?
I thought it might need another coat!
It's had five already, Mr Rigsby.
I know, Miss Jones, but it's groaning for it.
Inspired by a newspaper article about a black student masquerading
as an African prince at a London hotel,
Eric put pen to paper and wrote The Banana Box.
I thought, 'What a great idea for a farce,'
but, actually, it didn't work like that
because first of all I didn't know anything about superior hotels.
It became a lodging.
And it became a landlord like Rigsby.
It became a different sort of play, but never the less it worked for me.
The character millions of us came to love as Rigsby
was originally called Rooksby,
while his tenant Alan started out as Noel.
Eric Chappell turned the African prince into the son of a chief
and the suave and sophisticated character of Philip Smith was born.
I found a book on African folklore.
There were great lines in the book,
like "I'm a pool without water, but men may drown in me",
and "I have beautiful milk", and things like this.
And I used that for Philip.
Your trouble is you're mean. No, I'm not.
Yes, you are. No, I'm not.
I like a woman to like me for what I am, not what I've got.
Well, I can understand that, but we have a saying in my country:
"He who seeks the bird of paradise but must put down a little seed."
After rehearsals at the Hampstead Theatre Club in 1970,
The Banana Box went on tour
with Steptoe And Son's Wilfred Bramble as Rooksby
and Neville Aurelius as Philip.
Two years later, when the play moved to East Grinstead,
47-year-old Leonard Rossiter joined the cast.
The journey towards the series we came to know and love
was now truly underway.
On the first night when he came on,
he gave a glowering look to the audience, and they laughed.
And I thought, "I haven't written anything yet
and he's getting a laugh. I'm home and dry."
Go on! (CAT MEOWS)
(LAUGHTER)
No, he was great. And it just suited him, you know.
The son of a barber, Leonard Rossiter was born in Liverpool in 1926,
and after national service, took up a career as an insurance salesman.
Aged 24, Rossiter discovered his talent for acting
when he joined an amateur dramatics group.
He was just noticeable, I suppose.
I've worked with some wonderful actors from Sir Laurence Olivier,
you know, you name it, but he was just something special
and his comic timing was brilliant.
Oh, oh, goodness me. What?
We appear to be standing under the mistletoe! Are we?
You can't quarrel with fate, eh? Mr Rigsby, I'm in uniform.
I don't mind But Mr Rigsby!
Please, you're tampering with the Royal Mail.
In 1954, Leonard Rossiter gave up his sales job
and auditioned for a rep theatre company.
It would be the start of an extraordinary 30-year career
on stage and screen.
I was a huge admirer of Leonard's.
I just revelled in watching him
cos I just thought this man's a genius.
(LAUGHTER)
What are these like grilled?
Rossiter's onscreen performances earned him many plaudits,
but he proved not the easiest man to work with.
It's only a game, old sport. It's all a game, for Weaver's benefit.
I know that some actors said that they were aware
that when they were working with Leonard,
that a lot of the times he wouldn't look at them.
And, and when you watch Rising Damp the series,
you can see that as Rigsby he's continually looking around a room
and doing other things
rather than facing the actor and straight ahead.
I think that might have been disconcerting for the other actor,
but, you see, you can't argue
because it was wonderful for the character.
Rossiter would come to be regarded
as one of Britain's greatest comedy actors,
but often seemed to be uncomfortable with the label.
Can I ask you whether you're naturally a funny man,
or whether life isn't a rather more serious sort of business?
Life's fairly serious! No, I'm... I...
What I find curious is people say,
"I see you've stopped being a serious actor now you're doing comedy?"
As though it isn't particular serious to do.
Comedy is the most serious form of work,
in so far as it's very difficult to get laughs.
By 1973, Leonard Rossiter was a well established stage actor,
but despite roles on TV and in films,
his was not a big name at the box office.
Eric Chappell's play The Banana Box
still needed a star turn to sell tickets.
The producers turned to a man
who was clearly top of the pops with the British public.
# I'm hers # I'm hers
# She's mine # She's mine
# I'm hers, she's mine, wedding bells are gonna chime
# Whoa-oh-oh-oh
Joining the cast was pop star Paul Jones
from '60s chart toppers Manfred Mann.
One of the things about Leonard, he had a slight bitterness
about the fact that he hadn't been recognised as the actor that he was.
He hadn't yet reached those heights of fame that he was about to.
I think perhaps that might be some of the reason why I was in it.
It was that I had a bit of a name and quite a lot of a hit records
and I might have been helpful in getting a few more botties on seats!
Actress Rosemary Leach, who would go on to star in The Jewel In The Crown
and The Charmer, was cast alongside Rossiter as Miss Jones,
and replacing Neville Aurelius as Philip,
an actor fresh out of drama school,
who was about to start a partnership with Rossiter
which would change both of their lives.
Did I mention the rent? Yes!
£6 a week and I insist on a month in advance.
Miss Jones didn't mention that.
Just right!
Don Williams was born in Trinidad in 1951
and arrived in Britain aged five alongside his mother,
swapping the Caribbean for the cold river Tyne.
I was a bit disappointed, I have to say.
It was very dark and it was damp,
and I expected something much shinier.
And I was also very struck by the fact
that the houses were stuck together.
I wasn't used to that.
Everything was smaller than I thought it would be.
The family made their home in the backstreets of Newcastle's West End,
where Don and his brother found themselves very much in the minority.
There were elements of racism.
There was one where a teacher,
because I was left-handed I used to write sort of upside-down,
and the teacher said, "Where did you learn to write? Up a tree?"
And that was painful, that was difficult.
It was tough going to begin with, but it was also enjoyable.
Kids are very resilient and we made friends.
I became a Geordie, as you do, and that was that!
But Don had ambitions that would soon take him away from his new home.
I always wanted to escape. I wanted to get away from reality.
I remember watching On The Waterfront with Marlon Brando,
and I just thought, "I want to feel all that,
but I want to feel it all the time for a living".
Aged 17, Don got his first job as an assistant stage manager
at a Newcastle Theatre before heading south to London to train as an actor,
a role which required a new identity.
I had to change my name
because there was somebody else with my name.
And I said to my mother, "But I don't know what to do."
She said, "Why not call yourself after the road you grew up in?"
So I did. Warrington Road. So I became Don Warrington.
But Don Warrington didn't have to wait long for his lucky break.
After leaving drama school,
he was immediately cast as Philip Smith in The Banana Box,
a part that would prove the role of a lifetime.
I thought, "I think I can do this.
I think I can do this because I think I can pretend to be posh
because Philip pretends to be posh."
That was the thing about that character.
He was a new invention, as it were, in terms of black people, anyway.
Philip, at last.
I've been so impatient, waiting for the others to go.
I wanted to give you a proper welcome.
(LAUGHTER)
Are you all right for butter?
Donald was absolutely amazing.
He had this wonderful ability to be telling people things,
and at the same time finding them quite amusing himself.
It would be just absolutely a tiny hint of a smile just sort of there
and you weren't sure you'd seen it.
Despite poor audiences, The Banana Box went down well with the critics
and the tour continued to include Don Warrington's hometown of Newcastle,
where a simple twist of fate would play a key role
in bringing Rising Damp to our screens.
In the early '70s, Eric Chappell's play about a cantankerous landlord
and his three lodgers was on a nationwide tour
when it arrived at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle.
43 years have passed since Don Warrington returned home to Tyneside
with the starring role as Philip Smith.
Today, he's back at the Theatre Royal to remember the play
that would change his life.
This is Mr Smith. He's from Africa.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
I've not been in this theatre since 1973.
Yeah, it's a long time.
There's something I don't understand about you, sunshine.
If you're the son of a chief, why are you called Smith?
That's not my real name.
I suppose what I feel is a sort of...just a slight kind of...
my heart just does a quick kind of, you know...a tightening happens,
and I was just thinking about just being onstage, really.
You said you could get me a flat. I didn't know you'd be next door.
I didn't know I was gonna come to Newcastle or this theatre.
This is where I grew up. It was coming home,
which was exciting, but frightening.
It gave my family, anyway, a chance to see what I'd been doing in London
for the last 4 years.
And so in that sense it was really nice,
but in another sense you think, "They're gonna come
and they're going to go, "Well, how good is he?"
But they were generous. They came and they liked it.
My biggest fan was my auntie, my Auntie Lena.
She was just so, so proud.
I think she came every night and she brought all her friends,
anybody she knew, anybody who she could corral into coming,
they came to see it. It was lovely!
Fresh out of drama school, Don Warrington found himself
working with two big names from the worlds of pop and the stage.
Paul played Noel when I first met him.
I was very struck by how nice he was.
He was a great harmonica player.
And we used to play harmonica together.
There's me and Leonard.
Wow! I've never seen this!
We all looked up to Len because he was such a renowned performer.
Ah, that's a lovely picture.
Look at my hair. It's very nice to see him,
him being me all those years ago.
It's... Yeah, he seemed all right.
He seemed quite a nice boy, really.
I-I-I quite like him.
As the tour continued, Rosemary Leach left the production.
She would be replaced by an actress millions of us would come to love,
as the object of Rigsby's affections - Miss Jones.
Oh, Miss...Jones!
Mr Rigsby! Oh!
Frances de la Tour!
She was so sexy. Really sexy.
Happy days, eh?
Ha ha ha!
Frances de la Tour was born in leafy Hertfordshire in 1944.
She was educated at London's Lycee Francais,
and later studied at the Drama Centre.
After graduating, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company
and in 1970 was given a leading role
in Peter Brook's acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Even for that, I do love you the more!
I am your spaniel and, Demetrius, the more you beat me,
I will fawn on you, use me but as your spaniel,
spare me, strike me, lose me, neglect me,
only give me leave I'm worthy as I am to follow you.
In the early '70s, Frances de la Tour worked steadily on both stage
and screen before landing the role that would make her famous.
Y-Y-You know, Miss Jones, there are some men who'd try
to take advantage of a single woman like you living on her own.
Do you think so, Mr Rigsby? Ooh, what?
If you don't mind me saying so, Miss Jones,
you waste too much time on students. You ought to think of yourself more.
You need a companionship of someone nearer your own age,
someone who's seen something of the world, who's knocked about a bit,
who's understanding, you know, with a sense of humour.
I don't meet people like that, Mr Rigsby?
I didn't how to write for women.
It was hard for me to get into the psychology of a woman,
but I gave her a few lines,
the rest was up to her and she just built it. She was wonderful.
I mean, I hope the others don't think I'm too fussy.
I want them to accept me.
Oh, they'll accept you, all right. That's what worries me.
I think Frances de la Tour is a great actress.
There was a vulnerability,
there was a beauty, a gracefulness in what she did
and she seemed to understand that woman so well.
I thought she was brilliant.
Philip.
You promised to come down last night. What happened? I couldn't.
Rigsby was painting your door.
I know, that was the fifth coat!
I think he suspects. He even paints the doorknob.
You see, we must be careful. There's only one answer, I must come to you.
No. I mean, what about Alan?
Well, he always goes home on Fridays.
I know, I'll bring a nice bottle of wine
and we can have one of our long talks.
Oh, no. I mean, what about?
About us, Philip. We've got to see if we can make it work.
Make what work? Black and white, Philip!
She had a strange ability to be extremely intelligent
and somewhat vacant, pretty vacant!
And it was...it was just amazing.
Oh, goodness me, Frances de la Tour.
My girl crush.
And I have to say, she is fabulous.
She is just iconic.
In May 1973, and now with three-quarters
of the classic cast we would come to know in place,
The Banana Box finally made it to the West End.
But its run at The Apollo Theatre in London would be brief.
What did we do in the West End? Five weeks or six weeks?
When the notice finally went up, Leonard said,
"Well, we mustn't grumble, we've had almost a year's employment".
I picked up the phone and my agent said,
"You're going into the West End".
I felt even then that they were taking a risk.
I never thought it would run
because I think it was that the names weren't pulling them in,
and I just didn't think it would pull them in in enough numbers
and it didn't.
It was the final curtain for The Banana Box,
but Eric Chappell's script was about to be given a new lease of life.
A TV executive had been in the audience
in Don Warrington's hometown of Newcastle,
a night that would be remembered when, in 1974,
ITV began looking for a new hit sitcom.
In 1973, we faced a winter of discontent
with the three-day week, strikes and power cuts
all making Britain a rather cold, dark place in which to live.
The lights had also gone down
on the damp, domestic capers of The Banana Box
which had come to the end of its nationwide tour.
It could have been the last we'd ever hear
of Eric Chappell's seedy landlord and put-upon tenants,
but fate was on our side.
Stand by, telecine one.
In the early '70s, Yorkshire Television was keen to add
to its already impressive list of light entertainment shows,
featuring stars like Les Dawson and Frankie Howard.
A small company with big ambitions,
Yorkshire TV's reputation for quality programmes was growing quickly
with ex-BBC man Paul Fox at the helm.
He tried to make it a mini BBC in so much that we had documentaries,
we had current affairs and we had drama,
we had entertainment, we had children's.
It was a very exciting place to work.
Fox brought in comedy producer Duncan Wood from the BBC,
where he'd been responsible for hit shows like Steptoe And Son.
Could he create the same magic in Yorkshire?
At the time, it was the golden fleece of television.
If you can get a winning sitcom, you were made.
That and a good quiz show plus a good documentary,
and you were halfway there, you know.
And the big thing was the sitcom.
We were the infantry.
Duncan Wood was about to receive the best tip-off of his life -
a colleague had been to see The Banana Box at the Theatre Royal Newcastle
and told him of its potential.
Could this be the hit comedy series that everyone was looking for?
They said to me, "Write a sitcom."
I said, "I haven't got the stamina."
They said, "No, do what you can, write a show."
And after that they said, "Could you write another one?"
So I said, "I'll write another one." "Could you write a third?
I wrote a third. "Why don't you write two more?"
In search of a better title for the sitcom,
Eric Chappell picked Rising Damp
as the perfect description of Rigsby's grotty boarding house.
For the cast, Duncan Wood went straight
to the stars of the theatre production.
Well, I'd forgotten about it.
I'd done it, it was over and I was looking forward
to moving on to do lots of other things.
Then out of the blue came this phone call from my agent saying
that they were hoping to turn it into a television series
and that they wanted me in it.
And I said yes to it.
You'll try and surprise me, but I will surprise you by the -
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
Leonard Rossiter was persuaded to reprise his role as Rooksby
who by now had become Rigsby,
following an objection by a real-life landlord with the same name!
And once teenage heart-throb pop star Paul Jones
was approached for the role of Alan.
My agent rang me and he said,
"They're going to make it into a television serial."
So I said, "Richard, it was never a success.
I don't think I want to do it."
So they got Richard Beckinsale.
Jones' decision had left the door open for an emerging name in comedy,
and the final piece of the Rising Damp jigsaw
was about to fall into place.
Richard Beckinsale was born in Nottingham in 1947.
Leaving school at 16 with no qualifications,
his real ambition was to act.
He would go on to win a place at the prestigious Rada drama school
before becoming a professional actor in 1968.
His television debut would follow one year later in Coronation Street.
Now, then, Missus... Sharples.
We can't have this, Mrs Sharples. You're in breach of all the bylaws.
'Ey, this young lad says we're breaching his bylaws.
The 23-year-old would win his first starring role a year later
alongside Paula Wilcox in the ITV sitcom The Lovers,
the series that first made Richard Beckinsale a household name.
Me mam.
Has she taken up morris dancing?
To remind to be a good girl.
She's not going to need the Red Army ensemble, then, is she?
Jeffrey, sex isn't the only thing in life.
It isn't even ONE of the things in mine.
There's a gentleness, both in sort of real life and onscreen.
What comes across is a slight sort of bumblingness.
He just couldn't help but being funny. It was just in his nature.
He had this this universal appeal.
There was just, like, nobody who didn't love him,
and he managed to sort of make everybody of all ages and types...
Remember, there is not that many actors
that appeal to absolutely everyone.
Ahh!
Cut the rope! Cut the rope! No! Grab him!
In 1974, Richard Beckinsale would make an entrance
in two of the most significant roles of his career:
on the BBC as Lennie Godber in Porridge...
Hello, Fletch.
..and over on ITV as Alan in Rising Damp.
Hello!
Welcome to Bleak House!
Mind if I come in for a warm?
I'm Alan Moore, live upstairs.
Philip Smith. How do you do!
Leonard had worked with Richard
and I think he thought he had such a natural charm,
and it was a brilliant, brilliant piece of casting
because I suppose Alan was in a way the hardest character to play.
He was less defined than the other three characters,
and it needed somebody with Richard's skill
to make it live, which it did.
# Them bones, them bones, them dry bones
# Them bones, them bones, them dry bones # That's not funny!
Richard, in a sense, had all the experience.
Richard had done The Lovers. He'd done three or four series,
so Richard was the authority on situation comedy
and the others weren't. Where is he? Where is he?
Where do you think you're going?
What's the matter, Rigsby?
"What's the matter," you're saying, after nearly poisoning me?
You're exaggerating.
I was drugged to the eyeballs.
I slept for 24 hours. I still can't feel my teeth.
And the first time I met Richard, I was delighted.
I admired him, but I felt he was within reach.
Whereas, with Leonard, I mean he was stratospheric,
as far as I was concerned.
Richard was the most approachable.
What time are we meeting them? About nine.
It's nice of you to ask me, Philip. I do appreciate it.
That's all right! What's mine like?
She's a very sweet, sensitive girl.
You mean she's ugly? She's not ugly, she's very attractive.
Why am I getting her, then?
Because he's a friend of the girl I'm seeing.
They wanted a foursome, said if I knew someone reasonably presentable
with a pleasing personality to bring him along.
And you thought of me? No, he couldn't come!
At 8pm on the 2nd of September 1974,
millions of us got our first view of what would prove to be one
of the nation's favourite comedies and casts.
Once you put those talents, Leonard and Becky and Don on top of that,
and Frances de la Tour, and you put that on top of that platform,
and say "Right, take it away, you lot",
I mean, it's going to be a massive success, isn't it?
It remained to be seen whether Rising Damp would rise
to the top of the TV charts, but for a young black actor
the series had already proved a breakthrough.
At the time, people had a view of black people,
which was people who were outsiders, people who didn't belong here.
And the thing about Philip was he was more English than the English,
and I think that was very startling.
And where do you think you're going, sir?
I'm just going in. Oh, no, you're not. Outside.
I've got a table. Tables are all taken. I know, I've booked one!
Hello, Charles.
Why, good evening, Mr Smith. Is there some difficulty?
Oh, is this gentlemen with you? Yes.
Oh, I'm sorry about that, sir. One can't be too careful these days.
Your usual table, this way!
There were certain aspects of it that were politically incorrect.
On the other, you can see how it held up a mirror
to the way we were living.
Do you know what I plan to do with the jungle, Rigsby?
What? I'm going to tarmac it.
No, I-I-I suppose it is an idea, yes.
Picture it, where there was once only the mosquito,
there'll be trees growing out of black velvet tarmac.
Oh, yes, I suppose so.
They'll be fluorescent street lights, white lines,
bus shelters, litter baskets, car parks.
Can you see it, Rigsby? Oh, yes. It should look very nice.
And, of course, zebra crossings.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
Oh, very funny!
Despite its less than glamorous setting,
Rising Damp was a comedy that received a warm reception
from millions of viewers.
ITV had a new hit comedy on their hands,
and it seemed Leonard Rossiter had at last found the part
he was born to play.
Hey, what happened to the old traditions, eh?
What happened to good old British grit?
I think you're sweeping most of it under the carpet, Rigsby.
Leonard said to me about playing Rigsby,
"It's the easiest thing I've ever had to do."
He said, "I know that man inside out".
While Rossiter fitted perfectly into the now famous green cardigan,
Richard Beckinsale wasn't quite so lucky.
He'd had his long hair recently cut short
for the character of Godber in Porridge
and was forced to wear a wig to play the part of medical student Alan.
Richard hated that wig.
He couldn't wait to get rid of that wig.
Every week he'd go, "Can we get rid of the wig?" "No."
But, you know, that was the look they wanted at the time.
He out-acted the wig. That was his greatest triumph.
He'd beaten the wig into submission till they got rid of it.
But Richard Beckinsale looked set
to be stuck with his hairpiece for a while longer.
The comedy antics from this charmless boarding house
had somehow charmed us all.
Was this a sitcom that was still on the rise?
What on earth's that?
This is a piece of wood.
Well, I can see that, Mr Rigsby.
Stop wafting it around, you'll start a fire.
I will start a fire, all right, Miss Jones.
Please extinguish your stick.
Sorry, but this is one fire you can't put out, Miss Jones.
We'll soon see about that!
In 1974, as a generation of much-loved comedy shows
like Steptoe And Son and The Likely Lads came to the end of the line,
Britain had a new favourite over on ITV.
What happened? Nothing! Nothing happened.
But while the shows we saw were full of laughs,
the atmosphere on set was often much more serious.
Len wasn't a bunch of fun all the time.
He was very intense and he had tremendous energy.
I'm going to show you what clean living and a balanced diet can do!
I'm going to raise this chair aloft by one leg. Eh?
You ought to be careful, Mr Rigsby.
It's all right. I used to do this 20 years ago, I can still do it today.
Now, then, here were go.
If you watch Leonard you can see how high he was
because of the adrenaline, because of the audience,
because of his desire to get it right that first time.
That's it! What? Oh, God, I wish you'd stop doing that!
It's the grey lady, she's trying to get in touch with you.
I wish she'd ring me instead of jumping out like that.
Len would be thinking several sentences ahead
and the pace of the delivery was such.
And they'd run it, something would go wrong.
Anything could go wrong. It could be any fault and you have to stop.
But I hated having to stop Len.
Yeah, you'll break hearts like, like, like this
and this and this and this and this!
Do you realise what you leave behind, Miss Jones?
It looks like half a pound of broken biscuits.
It would take ten seconds for him to actually stop the speech, you know.
You take a man's finest feelings and you leave them crushed and mangled
like this and this! Not the flowers, no, Mr Rigsby!
I felt guilty actually, having to go in and stop it, and he hated it.
Playing opposite the frenetic Leonard Rossiter,
Richard Beckinsale proved a calming influence on set.
I just don't want you spying on me, that's all. I'm not spying.
If you want to be bloody secretive.
I'm not secretive. Where have you been?
As a matter of fact, I have been to see Dr Zhivago.
Ah. What did he say?
Richard was great in the show because he absorbed Len's energy.
You know what's in this bottle? Micro-organisms. Millions of them.
Enough to wipe out a city. I just remove the stopper.
I don't believe you. There are millions and not one of them overlapping.
I can't see anything. No, you won't see anything,
but they're there and they'll come slopping out at you.
In 10 minutes you'll be foaming at the mouth,
in 20 minutes you'll praying for death.
Don't you come near me with that thing? Here, catch.
Oh, God.
(SOBS)
(SNIFFS)
Salad cream, I might have known! You...get out of here.
If he'd competed with Len on that frenetic scale,
it would have been disaster, but he absorbed it
and was calm and relaxed.
Rigsby, do you have to creep up like that?
You never get tired of looking at yourself, do you?
You'll wear that mirror out. I was just combing it.
You were making your eyebrows go up and down, weren't you?
No, I wasn't. Yes, you were. You look as if you're having a fit.
Len had a real affection for Richard.
You won't get a woman that way, you know.
This detached cynical expression pulls the birds.
I get quite a few looks. Yeah, I'm not surprised.
Richard never once fell for Len's reputation.
Richard just cut right through it.
It was another human being
who he would just talk to in an ordinary way,
and I think Len really appreciated being treated in that way.
Although the comedy chemistry seemed like a match made in TV heaven,
in real life, Leonard Rossiter
and Frances de la Tour were frequently at odds.
Everybody got on very well apart from Frances and Len.
They were poles apart.
This was really based on politics.
I mean Len was far away Genghis Khan,
and she was far away the other end, Tony Benn,
so they would never, ever mix
and they had no respect for each other off screen.
Onscreen and at rehearsals they were just magic together
because they were both very, very clever people.
Frances de la Tour aside, there was one other cast member
that Rossiter brushed up the wrong way;
the cat that played Rigsby's beloved Vienna.
Len hated the cat!
(VIENNA SCREECHES)
Vienna was an absolute anathema to him.
That cat, its hairs would get everywhere.
It never liked being in the show.
I mean, Len held it in a vice-like grip.
I'll just show you something. Gather round. Now, look, look!
It was kind of splayed out like that, you know,
and he couldn't wait to get rid of it.
If I let him go, what do you think will happen?
He'll go through the floorboards.
No, he won't. He'll land on his feet and do you know why?
Because he's got perfect reflexes. It's a scientific fact.
You'll have to watch carefully
because it'll be all over in a flash.
Ready, steady, one, two, three!
(THUD AND MEOWING)
He used to scurry under the staging and they couldn't get it out again
because it hated working with Len. It was no actor, this cat wasn't.
He usually lands on his feet!
I meet ladies now even today who say, "I've called my cat Vienna."
Why do you call him Vienna? Ah, well, you take this cat
to the door on the coldest night of the year...
when you'd have to kick a polar bear out, never mind a cat...
You show him the front door,
and if he sees another pairs of eyes out there, it's goodnight, Vienna!
But among the cast, it was Richard Beckinsale and Don Warrington
who would develop the firmest of friendships both on and off set.
It's stopped. Don't let him get me, Philip, don't let him get me.
Richard and I would hang out together...
..and we had a merry time.
Not only did they share a house onscreen,
off set the two young actors also found themselves together
in a lodging house near the television studios in Leeds.
I think we got banned from the guest house.
I think our behaviour was not what was required at the time.
We were a bit noisy, so we got kicked out en masse.
Ha ha ha!
And then we moved to the Queens,
where we could do what we wanted, and we did!
We can't get the lid down. Course you can get the lid down.
It will squash your nose. You wouldn't squash...
Turn his head sideways.
There you are, see like that. Its easy. Try it now.
Yeah, go on, and try it now. There you are!
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
Today, Don Warrington is back at the Queens Hotel...
42 years since he first travelled from London to record the sitcom
that would become a classic and make him a household name.
Do you like England, Philip? It's all right.
What do you like best?
I think the telephone boxes, they're rather nice.
Is that all? I like the swimming pools,
but I suppose that's because there are no crocodiles.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
In the early days, when we first started to do the series,
we travelled by train.
We'd all meet at Kings Cross and get some wine or beer.
There would be Leonard, Richard, myself and the guest artists.
Wahey. Yes!
Could I have a double portion of mother's ruin
and a bottle of your very best slimline?
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
In later series, Len took to driving up to Leeds.
We would meet at Swiss Cottage
and he would pull up, and I would jump in,
and sometimes we would drive all the way in absolute silence.
I don't know why!
This will be the first time in four decades
that Don Warrington and writer Eric Chappell have met at the studios
where Rising Damp was recorded.
It looks like it's still very damp in Leeds!
Apart from the logo at the top of the building,
it looks exactly the same.
Don. Eric.
Nice to see you again. Lovely to see you. It's been too long!
If I remember correctly. It's getting on for 40 years, isn't it?
It seems that way, Eric.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
So you've made yourself at home, then?
Yes. What do you think of it?
It seems very nice.
It seems nice, yes. That's the wallpaper, very good quality.
But it has to be to hold these bricks together, eh?
It is amazing to think that all those years ago we were here.
I mean, the thing about coming here was it was very homely.
We went into the canteen and you knew everybody.
I felt completely welcomed here. Yeah, so did I.
And it was good because I think that gave us the freedom to do the show
to the best of our ability.
Do I look all right, Mr Rigsby?
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
All right, Miss Jones? You look ravishing.
I was wondering about this. You don't think it looks a bit odd?
Why should it look odd, Miss Jones?
Well, I think it's a bit old-fashioned now.
I think it's the head.
I keep thinking something's leapt on me from behind!
You shouldn't give it a moment's thought. It suits you.
What do you think, Philip?
What do I think of it? I think it's just another example of the way
so called civilised countries are decimating the animal kingdom
just to satisfy the whims of fashion
to grace the idle, pampered shoulders of western women.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
You don't like it?
While the first series was being recorded,
a buzz about this new comedy on the block spread quickly
among the workers at Yorkshire Television.
Well, I just know that when we started making it,
the staff would come in at the dress and start to watch,
and those numbers grew during that period.
And I thought it must be good
because the pros are coming in to watch it, you know,
and they'd seen it all.
Right! I want a good clean fight.
No biting, no scratching, no kicking, no gouging,
no punching with the inside of the glove and no punching on the break.
My God, you're enjoying this, aren't you?
After an afternoon rehearsal on set,
Rising Damp was recorded on Friday nights in front of a studio audience
with as few breaks in filming as possible,
a method that kept TV newcomer Don Warrington on his toes.
Coming to the studio for the first time to do a sitcom,
I remember the reaction of the audience,
and I had no experience of studio audiences.
But it seemed to me at the time that the laughter
that was coming was absolutely genuine. Yeah!
Because I remember several times we had to stop and do it again
because they laughed too much.
Philip! Philip! Got him.
How about that, then, eh? No, no, no, no, no, no!
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
It was a theatrical event.
We were doing television, but it was a theatrical event
with the audience and the whole thing. Yes, yeah.
And the cameramen loved me because I wrote long scenes.
Probably the actors didn't want them as much,
but the scenes were quite long themselves?
And that's my complaint to you today.
Nearly 40 years I've waited, so, Eric, those scenes were too long.
But, no, no, they were great, they were great.
Because the writing was so good.
Rigsby, about that favour.
Oh, yes. Yes, I have a girl outside.
Have you? Yes.
She's very cold out there. She must be, it's bitter, isn't it?
Yeah. I wondered if I could possibly
you know, bring her up, you know? Did you?
Yes. Yes, well, let me put your mind at rest.
You cannot bring her up. She can stay out there
and bloody well freeze, that's what she can do.
As if Miss Jones would fall for that ordinary fireman.
All he did was make her eyes water.
Is it any wonder? Hey, smell that.
By God, what a stink. You can tell that comes from Africa, all right.
It doesn't come from Africa. What?
It came off the wardrobe.
Wardrobe!
Next time on Rising Damp Forever,
what happened when one of Britain's greatest sitcoms went to the movies.
We were at loggerheads, it's fair to say, throughout the film.
Tragedy strikes the Rising Damp family.
I'm really happy and grateful that people sort of remember him
and that I get to enjoy how loved he was.
And there's an emotional reunion back on the studio floor.
Here's to Rising Damp.
Rising Damp. Cheers. Cheers.
subtitles by Deluxe
It's one of the greatest comedy series of all time.
You what?
And an extraordinary tale that went from the stage to our screens.
The fact that it lives in people's imaginations is fantastic.
This is the story of the fab four of sitcom.
It is very well written,
but they've really kind of made the character leap off the page.
That's my trouble, I'm too modest. Don't forget me exceptional looks.
But what really went on between these walls?
Frances leaned over to me and said, "He doesn't want to kiss me".
Right.
Tonight, in Rising Damp Forever...
Crumpet, anyone?
..the secrets of life on set.
One, two, three.
He had her sacked and somebody had to come in
and learn the role in a day and a half and appear on screen.
I didn't know you were looking for that sort of a affinity in a woman. Of course, I am.
That and a decent pair of knockers.
We'll reunite the people who brought it to our screens.
Cheers!
And we'll find out what happened when Rigsby and co went to The Movies...
He said, "If it doesn't work now, it's gonna be your fault."
..as we chart the incredible rise and rise of a series
that just got better and better.
Every single time I see it, I howl,
proper, proper, proper howl with laughter.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
I love it. Just thinking about it makes me smile.
After giving ITV its breakthrough comedy hit of 1974...
Oh, God! Ahh!
Ohh!
..a year later the cast of Rising Damp were brought back together
to do it all over again.
Bloody hell! (AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
There will be more adventures in store
for tight-fisted landlord Rigsby...
Watch your tongue.
..and his three tenants, students Alan and Philip...
How old were you when you er... when you first...?
On my 14th birthday.
Pphh... All I got was a bike.
..and lovelorn spinster and university administrator Miss Jones.
Are you all right for butter? (AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
Oh. Excuse me.
M-M-My name's Platt. I'm your Liberal candidate.
But alongside its regular cast of four,
Rising Damp also welcomed a host of other actors.
Those characters would soon become embroiled in the domestic dramas.
When you have people working together all the time,
they have their own rhythms, their own understanding,
so it's very good to have somebody fresh coming in
cos they have to think how their gonna react to this character etc,
so it worked very well.
(KNOCK ON DOOR)
Hello, I was looking for Philip.
Also, the show was so enormous that a lot of people thought
it was a great tribute to be invited onto Rising Damp.
Indeed, some of televisions best loved comedy actors were attracted
by a part in the show, including Andrew Sachs,
by then famous in Fawlty Towers.
Excuse me, my name is Snell.
Well, we've all got problems.
Comedian Les Dawson's sidekick Roy Barrowclough.
Do we hear the tinkle of ice cubes?
Perhaps a slice of lemon.
You wouldn't like a cherry as well, would you? Yes, I would.
And Peter Bowles who would soon get
his own starring role in To The Manor Born.
I'm going to kiss you in a way that you've never been kissed before.
But not every actor invited to join the gang
would make it past Leonard Rossiter into the final cut.
Len could sniff out a duff actor with no trouble at all.
I mean on one show, not mine,
I think they rehearsed for about three days,
and he just realised that this woman, whoever the poor thing was,
wasn't gonna come up to his standards
and what he wanted on the show, and he had her sacked.
And somebody else had to come in and learn the role in a day and a half
and appear on screen, so he knew exactly what he wanted
and 99 times out of 100 he was exactly right.
Hello, Darling. Hello, pet.
One actress who did meet with Rossiter's approval was Helen Fraser.
Sometimes I think you're avoiding me, you know, Billy.
The pair both had roles in the 1963 movie Billy Liar.
Too much laxity. Far too much laxity.
I knew him from the film It's Mr Shadrack.
And then I heard that this Rising Damp had got sort of started
and I thought, "Perhaps I'll be in it',
but it was nothing to do with Len, it came through agents and casting,
but he was so pleased to see me.
(KNOCK ON DOOR)
Mr Rigsby. Yes, that's right, yes.
I'm so glad to pop in with this. I think it's a Christmas card.
I watched it the other night.
Somebody found it for me on YouTube. Who's that little girl?
I loved my uniform, my post mistress's uniform - I loved that.
Oh. Oh, goodness me. What?
We appear to be standing under the mistletoe, look. Are we?
You can't quarrel with fate, eh?
Oh, Mr Rigsby, I'm in uniform. It's all right, I don't mind
Mr Rigsby, please.
I must have watched it at the time,
but, yes, I got more pleasure watching it last week
cos I said, "Did I do that? Did I look like that? Did I?"
It's a long time ago. (LAUGHS)
I'm sorry. It could have been your lucky day, that's all.
Meanwhile, actress Judy Buxton joined the cast of Rising Damp in 1977.
You certainly kept this a big secret.
'I remember that outfit.'
I'd begun to wonder if you got one.
And he's snazzy. Ha ha!
Perhaps best known for her role as Nurse Katie Shaw in General Hospital,
she was first cast as Alan's girlfriend
in an episode called Clunk Click.
Coming into a well established series like Rising Damp,
it was quite scary and especially meeting up with Leonard,
cos he was, I found, a bit naughty at the time.
I remember being nervous about this bit, starting a car up.
Ooh! It's scary. (REVS ENGINE)
Ha ha ha!
I'll just go and ring Mummy.
I've just remembered that now.
Judy Buxton impressed a choosy co-star Rossiter so much
that he suggested she return
to play the same character in another episode.
When we started rehearsing Clunk Click,
Leonard had obviously read the scripts for the rest of that series,
and he said to me, he said,
"In two episodes time, there's another girlfriend
for Richard Beckinsale's character, Alan.
She comes in and I think it seems silly that you don't do that."
So I'd now got two episodes of Rising Damp
and it was a bigger part than the one I played in the first one.
Obviously, I did something right
for him to want me to be in the other one as well.
Comfortable, darling?
No, I'm sitting on a spring.
Richard was wonderful to work with and very, very funny.
He made me laugh a lot.
Well, go and sit on the bed. No, Mummy wouldn't like it.
I wasn't thinking of asking Mummy.
Alan. Oh, Karen.
I'd forgotten I'd had a little kiss with him.
Mm. Oh, Alan.
What? I've landed on something sticky.
Oh, dear. Oh, just look at it.
Here we go, green knickers.
Ha ha ha!
Crumpet, anyone?
Scenes like these were filmed here
at Yorkshire Television Studios in Leeds.
Today, for the first time in nearly 40 years,
Don Warrington is back in the city to visit the studios
where he shot to fame as Philip.
Five, four, three, two, one.
In the 1970s, this was one
of television's leading lights in entertainment.
And the cast of Yorkshire's new hit sitcom shared the canteen
with some of the biggest names in music and comedy.
I remember meeting Les Dawson, a very funny man.
We would sit with him and he'd just tell me lots of jokes,
which was very funny and made me laugh.
The kitchen was run by ferocious Yorkshire women,
and you weren't allowed to get away with anything.
It doesn't matter who you were,
you waited in the queue and crossed them at your peril.
But underneath it, they were warm and lovely people.
And sometimes if they liked you, you could get extra chips.
While the days of comedy and light entertainment here are long gone,
today, much of the main building remains the same.
Now occupied by the cast and crew of Emmerdale,
the dressing rooms and makeup rooms
are largely as they were when Rising Damp was in town.
This is where I came for them to put on my scars.
Hey, hey, did you hear that? Did you see that mark on his cheek?
Initiation ceremony.
That's no different from the Germans and their duelling scars.
He didn't get that in Heidelberg!
I think it was this cheek. That was the nature of the scars,
they'd move from cheek to cheek.
I didn't recognise him, did you? No, it must be the suit.
I've never seen you in a suit before Rigsby. Have you had a bereavement?
Yorkshire Television's wardrobe department was once home
to Rigsby's famously threadbare cardigan and frayed shirts.
But Don Warrington's costumes were considerably more upmarket.
All my clothes were bought in London,
and what I remember is going shopping
with the wardrobe supervisor,
which was a very, very happy experience, indeed,
because we went to a very exclusive shop in South Molton Street,
a shop called Browns.
When we arrived, they would have all these clothes laid out
for us to pick and choose from.
It was a delicious experience, really.
I felt really really pampered.
And Philip wore some very beautiful clothes, which I later claimed,
so his wardrobe became my wardrobe.
By the end of 1977, Rising Damp had run for three series
and hit new comedy heights.
Cut the robe. Cut the robe.
No. Grab him.
Understandably, ITV still wanted more,
but could it really return without one of its stars?
I don't think this acting really is my cup of tea
and I don't really think I'm cut out for it.
Richard didn't approve of Alan and didn't approve of the part.
1978 and just four years since the start of Rising Damp,
a very different Britain had emerged.
The worlds' first IVF baby Louise Brown was born in Oldham,
and Anna Ford became the first female newscaster on News At Ten.
Meanwhile, Rising Damp was making headlines of its own,
picking up a BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy.
Oh, my God, it's got me!
A new series had been commissioned by ITV,
but would Richard Beckinsale,
by now leading the way in a new generation of sitcom stars,
still be part of the gang?
I've decided to change me image, I've been neglecting myself.
He was, I think quite frustrated by everyone thinking
that he was very much like the characters he played
and that he played himself all the time, which he really didn't.
But because he made it seemed so effortless and so natural,
I think people thought that he was turning up and being himself.
No, it isn't easy. It takes a lot of practice.
Richard didn't approve of Alan and didn't approve of the part.
He said, "I'm over 30 and I'm still playing these virginal young men".
I haven't trifled with Miss Jones's feelings.
I haven't trifled with anybody's feelings.
What do you mean? You mean, there's never been any coloured lights,
no sea crashing up against the rocks?
No, never, ever, never.
You're a member of the British society.
You're supposed to know where the erogenous regions are.
I know where the Himalayas are, but I've never been up 'em.
And I said, "Richard, there'll be a day come when you'll be able
to play this older part and you're lucky to be able
to play him as young as this."
Keen to broaden his range,
Beckinsale took on the lead role in the West End play I Love My Wife.
The fourth series of Rising Damp moved into production without him,
but could it retain its magic?
If anything, series four was the best we'd done.
By that stage, we knew the characters very, very well,
and we were very comfortable working with each other.
And I think we achieved in that series a kind of intimacy
simply because of of having three rather than four,
so in that sense we didn't miss him.
At the helm of the latest series with that scaled-down cast
was new Director, Vernon Lawrence.
The first three series were produced and directed by Ronnie Baxter
who was an extremely experienced director,
but he didn't get on particularly well with artists.
So Len would not do any more shows,
and so it was decided that Ronnie should move on to other things
and I was brought in to take over, which was a bit breathtaking for me
because you don't want to inherit somebody else's success.
And Ronnie had certainly had a major success with it.
Eeh!
These cat hairs get everywhere.
If you don't stop moulting, I'm going to give you a coat of varnish.
And don't look at me like that. No-one's indispensable.
If you're not careful, you might be replaced by a blue Persian,
someone more in keeping with my status.
Good morning, Mr Rigsby. My, we do look smart this morning. Thank you.
Eric used to have to write about another five to ten pages
because of Len's speed at which he spoke
and his enthusiasm and eagerness for it all.
I've come to see Mr Rigsby
regarding the estate of his late Uncle George Rigsby.
You mean he's been left something?
Yes, he gets the residue of the estate.
Is it much? Oh, it's a considerable sum.
What would you call a considerable sum?
Well, a figure not un-adjacent to £50,000.
Whoo-hoo-hoo!
Rigsby's in the money!
Vernon was wonderful to work with
because he just sat there, watching him and laughing,
and he simply pointed the camera where he saw the humour taking place
and that was lovely for us.
That's the condition, you see. I see yes, yes.
You also should be happily married.
You what?
While the series was filmed in Leeds,
rehearsals for the actors, who all lived in London,
took place here at the Sulgrave Boys' Club in Shepherds Bush.
Rising Damp started with a read through on a Sunday afternoon.
Rehearsals proper started on a Monday.
We rehearsed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
up until lunchtime each day.
On Thursday afternoons, the cast would travel up to Leeds.
During that day, the set had been put in to the studio,
so we assembled in the studio at seven o'clock
and we did a run through for the cameras.
And then we started rehearsals in the studio on Friday morning
culminating with a show in front of an audience
at 7:30 on a Friday evening.
YTV, Rising Damp, part one, take one.
With the recording about to start,
Vernon Lawrence would take his place in the gallery
alongside production assistant Ellie Hurst.
Lovely to see you. Are you well?
I am. You look wonderful.
There was a tremendous buzz.
I joined in '69 and left in '79,
and that ten years was incredible for programme making.
You mean, you want me to impersonate your wife, Mr Rigsby?
It's only for a few hours, Miss Jones.
I couldn't do it. It would be wrong it would be illegal.
You're supposed to be happily married.
We are. She lives in Cleethorpes, I live here. Well, I'm sorry.
The biggest problem, really, for the actors was
that when they went in front of an audience,
they weren't guaranteed of something
that Ellie and I laughed like drains at throughout the week.
The audience might sit there in stone cold silence
and not think it's funny at all.
On the other hand, something that we had just thought was mildly amusing,
the audience might laugh like drains, so you never really knew.
What was she like? What was she like?
She was erm... Well, it's difficult to describe, really.
She was er... The exact word evades me.
You must remember. Now, don't be horrible.
Horrible, that's it.
The gallery was always the domain of the Director and the PA,
but Don Warrington has been granted special permission to join them.
Dear heart. Hello, Vernon? Lovely to see you.
Wonderful to see you.
Now, while you were working hard downstairs,
this is where we had our parties.
It was incredibly relaxing.
Oh, good, because it wasn't downstairs.
Of course it was.
We used to wait downstairs
and we'd hear the floor manager say, "Vernon's coming down".
You didn't feel nervous? Well, a little nervous.
You didn't feel as though your career was threatened in any way?
There were moments, Vernon, when I thought,
"Am I going to survive this?"
But while the fourth series of Rising Damp was in production in Leeds,
elsewhere its former star Richard Beckinsale
was embarking on new ventures.
(WHISTLES) Get in, sport.
Longing to be taken seriously as an actor,
In 1977, he jumped at the chance
of appearing in the ITV drama Last Summer.
I was making a film about a car thief
and we started off with one actor and it turned out he couldn't drive
and didn't have a license, you know, all that nonsense,
and so he had to be replaced.
And Richard took over in our film and was dazzling.
Yeah, I look right. Part of the job, you know.
Yeah, I'm gonna get some new stuff Saturday.
Don't get it around here, it's mainly rubbish.
I usually go up west. Stanley Hanley's got some nice stuff.
He was top of the crumpet list,
which meant that he was very very talented and very, very beautiful.
I have had over the years quite a considerable number of women
who come up to me and say, "Oh ,I really fancied your dad.
I hope you don't mind me saying".
So, yeah, he was a big heartthrob.
He'd take you to one side, pull back his cheekbones and said,
"Look, one-sixteenth Burmese."
You could see what all the fuss was about.
But he was a very, very good actor.
Ahh! SShh!
It's only me.
But despite his good looks and acting ability,
Beckinsale was still struggling to emerge from the shadow of the sitcom.
He was quietly angry. He was angry that he'd...
Because he was a comic actor they didn't take him seriously.
Of course, he should have been at the National, playing leads.
I mean, I'd cast him in quite straight things,
so that was why I think he liked me so much.
Director and actor would work together again in 1979
in the gritty drama Bloody Kids.
I hope you don't lie as badly as that usually, constable.
It's the third time today you've forgotten, Williams.
I will not have slackness on my unit.
The former comedy star was finally starting
to establish himself as a serious actor,
but midway through a production of Bloody Kids tragedy struck.
Oh, let's go.
On the 19th of March, 1979,
Richard Beckinsale died of a massive heart attack.
He was just 31.
It was later discovered he'd suffered
from an undetected congenital heart problem.
I was filming a scene in a night club in Southend.
I can remember the man coming down telling me that he'd died.
Richard's role was recast,
but to this day the director still misses his leading man.
Every time I see bits of the film, there are shots I think,
"Oh, Richard's behind that door,"
and then another actor, of course, comes through.
Awful. It shouldn't happen to anyone.
Hello. Welcome to Bleak House.
Mind if I come in for a warm?
I'm Alan Moore, I live upstairs.
Philip Smith. How do you do?
I was walking home and a car went passed me in the street,
and somebody shouted out, "Oi, your mate's dead."
I had no idea what they were talking about.
And I went home and I put on the six o'clock news and up it came.
It was really, really, really shocking.
Sam and Kate Beckinsale were aged just twelve and five
when they lost their dad.
I mean, it sucks having your parent die that young.
He is always the Beckinsale that's really important
and I'm really happy about that.
Like, I love it when I'm in Marks and Spencer's
and someone says "Excuse me,"
and I know in England it's going to be, "I really loved your dad."
I know it's going to be that and I'm really happy and grateful
that people remember him and that I get to enjoy how loved he was.
It's a bit like sitting down and watching home movies,
but it's not home movies and it's not the real person,
so there's an element of it being quite surreal.
But you do get glimpses of the real person,
and to have anything that keeps their spirit going,
that is quite special.
And if you have no objection, Miss Jones, I will sit adjacent.
At its peak, Rising Damp had been watched by 18 million people,
a third of the population.
My word, that's a big one.
But on the May 9th, 1978, the last ever episode Damp was shown.
It seemed its journey from stage to screen was finally over.
And we were told that four series was enough.
After that you become a cliche and I think that was true.
I think they felt we made our mark with it,
and them wanting to move on to other things, and so did I.
We all wanted it to end.
In those days, you didn't want things to last,
you wanted to go off and do other things
because I thought then that was the way to learn.
It was a clear-cut decision,
not because we thought the show wasn't working,
we were nervous that if we kept going people would get fed up.
That was probably the truth.
Ta-da-da-dah! Ho ho ho, it's arrived.
What has? My decree absolute.
Ho ho ho! Congratulations, Rigsby.
Over 15 million tuned in to watch the show's final episode,
in which Rigsby's divorce finally came through,
leaving him free to propose to his beloved Miss Jones.
I'm a fee man. After all these years, I'm free, eh? Ho ho ho.
Now you're free, what are you going to do?
Get married. Of course.
It's gonna be different. I'm going to ask Miss Jones.
I wound it up by saying, "Right, this is when she says yes."
I never believed that.
I don't think Len believed it and I don't think Frances believed
that she'd ever say to him, "Yes, I'll marry you."
I came this evening with the ridiculous idea
of asking you to marry me.
I know you weren't expecting it and it's preposterous, but that is it.
Will you marry me? What is your answer to that?
Yes. Yes, exactly what I thought. I knew I'd wasted my time.
I suppose I'm not good enough. I don't want to see the ring again.
I knew you wouldn't accept me.
I always remember, I wrote on the stage direction, "And they kiss."
What did you say, Miss Jones? Would you say that again?
I said I will marry you.
And Len had started mucking about,
messing about with the stage directions.
And Frances leaned over to me and said, "He doesn't want to kiss me,"
and he never did.
Oh, Miss...Jones.
Mr Rigsby. Oh!
The ring! The ring.
But despite agreeing to tie the knot, in true disastrous Rising Damp style,
the pair never did make it down the aisle.
We went to the wrong church! Just get, get, get, the car.
You mean, you didn't even arrive?
Oh, yes, we definitely arrived. We're just a bit late, that's all.
You mean, I stood you up and you weren't even standing there?
How could you do this to me? No excuses.
It's supposed to be the best day of my life and you've ruined it!
Sorry, Miss Jones. Oh, take that.
The audience were going berserk.
It was very, very funny and very moving as well.
It was just a wonderful tie-up to a brilliant series.
Feel free. I will! There!
But although Rising Damp's life had ended in the small screen,
film producer Roy Skeggs realised
that the characters still had a future.
He believed that the comedy was perfect for the big screen,
having already had hits upsizing other sitcoms of the '70s.
The offer of the film was made and we thought why not
because we'd done everything else.
In July 1979, Rising Damp, The Movie, went into production,
and, like in the TV series,
featured Rigsby's desperate attempts to woo Miss Jones.
Indeed, many of its scenes would bear more than a passing resemblance
to what we'd already enjoyed on television.
I intended to cannibalise scripts and put in a few extra moments.
It wasn't anything we were particularly proud off,
having said that, but nevertheless we did it.
What would you do in my position, Philip? What?
No, I mean, what do they do in your country?
In my country, if a man was in your position,
he'd get the wood of the lavatory.
He would burn it outside the girl's house
and when she smelt the smoke she would appear at the door.
He'd look deep into her eyes and she would fall in love with him.
Just like that? Just like that.
The similarities made no difference to The Movie's director, Joe McGrath,
whose career CV included working with pop's fab four, The Beatles.
To tell the truth, I hadn't... I hadn't watched Rising Damp.
I'd never seen Rising Damp on television,
and I think that was a good thing
because I approached it completely as a motion picture.
Leonard Rossiter, Don Warrington and Frances de la Tour all signed up
for Rising Damp's big screen adventure,
but all three were still recovering from the death of Richard Beckinsale.
When we came to make the film,
it was a question of whether Len felt he could do it without Richard.
Len really loved Richard
and I think he decided to do it as a tribute to Richard.
Actor Christopher Strauli, best known for another ITV sitcom,
Only When I Laugh, was brought in to complete the foursome.
Crikey.
35 stitches in there, mate.
Richard Beckinsale was a friend of mine and we were at RADA together,
so my first reaction was, "Oh, dear, what a sad thought."
Then I thought about it and thought, "Well, someone's got to do it,
so I suppose it might as well be someone who knew Richard
and we were friends and it might as well be me."
A bit of soul searching to find out whether I really wanted to do it.
But Strauli soon found out
that filling Richard Beckinsale's shoes would be no easy task.
They had a party the night before the filming
and at this party I was introduced to Leonard, who said,
"Well, we know it works what we did before,
so if it doesn't work now, it's going to be your fault, isn't it?"
And that was the first sentence he said to me, bless him.
And it went on in that sort of tone from thence, really.
A rather difficult relationship we had.
Understandably, he wanted me to play it as Richard would have done,
which is what his timing's were all worked to and what he liked to do.
Look at this. Who is this well dressed stranger?
Could it be Count Dracula, popped in from the dead for a quick bite?
Why don't you give it a rest?
And for two reasons I couldn't do it like Richard did it
cos we're different characters
and I wanted to try and make it my own,
rather than try and do a copy of what Richard had done.
Good heavens, it's Count Dracula, dropped in for a quite bite.
Ah, give it a rest, why don't you?
So we were at loggerheads, I think it's fair to say,
throughout the film.
Heave! Phil!
The film's budget, a healthy £400,000...
Slip that card in your window.
..meant that the action could now leave the studio
and take place on location.
Most of the movie was filmed here in Notting Hill.
And today, director and actor
are back at the house they took over during filming.
It's you. No, it's me.
You're late as usual. Charming!
Listen, this is the place.
I know. Yeah. I'd forgotten all the steps, didn't you?
Hey. Hey.
Hey, hey, hey.
It all comes back to me now.
This was actually Rigsby's room. Yes.
And you could see Rigsby appeared in the first scene of the film
looking through that window.
My first scene was here with the car.
And Leonard cleaning his car, was it? It was exactly that, yes.
And it was by that tree.
Excuse me? Yeah.
I'm looking for a Mr Rigsby. Oh, yeah?
Does he live here? No, he'd be out this time of the day.
Who shall I say...? W-W-What do you want him for?
Well, he's advertising a room.
Oh, yes, that's right. Yes, yes, I am, yeah. Come in.
And is that the room where the ceiling had to come down?
Yes, that's the only bit of art direction that was built.
We had to build a false ceiling.
Let's drink to amore. A more what?
Love, Miss Jones. I don't know about that, Mr Rigsby.
And we actually had to build two or three false ceilings
in case we didn't get it on the first take,
but we got it on the first take. We did, didn't we? Yes.
A lot of mess, but great, yes. It was lovely, yeah.
Oh, mon petite, respondez, s'il vous plait!
Tonight, Miss Jones, the earth is going to shake!
It wasn't an easy house in which to work
because there was very little room.
We had a lot of climbing the stairs. Just the two sides.
A lot of the scenes were played with Rigsby running up and down stairs,
as he always did. Yes, indeed.
So we we really shot the, as I would say,
the excrement out of this house. Ha ha ha!
You know, we chose this place cos it was a slum
and now it's worth two million pounds.
(BOTH LAUGH)
Released in May 1980, despite its writer's misgivings,
Rising Damp, The Movie, proved a massive hit at the box office.
Rising Damp actually got Best Film Comedy Of The Year.
I got Best Director.
Leonard got a special award, a Peter Sellers Award For Comedy,
and Frances de la Tour Best Actress.
You can't do better than that.
It's all in a day's work for me.
With the release of Rising Damp, The Movie,
the story of Rupert Rigsby and his unfortunate tenants was finally over.
Its stars had become some of the most popular names in comedy,
but could they shake off the bedsits and fading wallpaper
and find bright new opportunities ahead?
Despite building a reputation
as one of Britain's finest classical actresses,
Frances de la Tour has struggled with the public's enduring memory
of her as Miss Jones.
Most recently, she's appeared in the Harry Potter movies
and in the IT sitcom Vicious.
Don Warrington's career flourished in the theatre.
In 2013, he returned to his comedy roots,
directing the stage version of Rising Damp.
Most recently, he's won plaudits
for his role in the BBC's series, Death in Paradise.
Thank you.
Miss Brevin, I do apologise. It's fine.
But what became of the show's leading man?
As one of Britain's most popular comedy actors,
Leonard Rossiter also starred in The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin
and teamed up with Joan Collins to make millions of us laugh
in one of TV's best loved ad campaigns.
Oh, can't you just smell those Italian wines,
suffused with herbs and spices from four continents?
I'm being boring. Oops, sorry, sorry.
Getting your head down, sweetie? Jolly good idea.
In 1984, Leonard Rossiter took on the role
of supermarket boss Norman Tripper in another sitcom, Tripper's Day.
It was while working on this series
that he met a young actor called David John.
That autumn, Rossiter starred in Joe Orton's black comedy, Loot,
and brought in his young co-star to play opposite him.
Loot played to packed houses every night
at the West End's Lyric Theatre,
but the play would ultimately be remembered
for much more than just Leonard Rossiter's performance.
Today, David John is returning to the cast's local.
Hi, mate. Can I have a pint, please? A pint of bitter?
You know, I've got great memories of this pub.
When it's a good company and you're good mates, this is our social.
It's after the show, ten o'clock, half-ten,
we come in here and have a couple of pints.
And it was brought to such a sudden stop, you know,
so it's quite...quite sad... sad memories as well.
So, the last time I was here with Len was the night before he died.
And we were sat round and he did mention
that he didn't feel particularly good.
He felt a bit chesty and said "I'm only having one pint tonight,
and I'm going to have a little check-up tomorrow."
And the understudy was there, saying "Maybe I better check the book,"
and Len said "No, no, I've never been off in my career
and I'm not gonna start now, don't worry."
The next time I saw him was when he came off
after the first scene the next night,
where we had our normal evening. "How you doing?" "Yeah, fine."
And I said, "How was the check-up?"
He said, "Fine, no problems, I'm fit as a fiddle,"
and walked off to his dressing room.
I played my scene and then had to get back for a quick change,
so I ran back to my dressing room
and heard immediately that there was a problem
because Leonard hadn't appeared.
It was unheard of, you know. It wouldn't happen;
there must be a problem if he's not there.
And I could hear the stage manager calling him:
"To the stage immediately, Mr Rossiter. To the stage."
And there was no response.
So I kind of dropped everything and ran down to his dressing room
and found him in his chair, just sat still not breathing, just there.
And after maybe ten minutes, an ambulance took him off.
And I do remember seeing one of the doctors shake his head
and just think, "That's it."
Of all nights, Frances de la Tour was in the audience.
Now, when you think that she
and Leonard were not by any means friends
and she was actually there when it happened.
Life is very, very strange, you know.
Those are the two people you'd think would never be together,
you know, at any function, and, indeed, she was there.
'The actor Leonard Rossiter who died after collapsing
during a performance in the West End last night
is thought to have had a heart attack. He was 57.'
'"Leonard Rossiter," his friend said, "would appreciate the irony.
He died, playing the lead in a black comedy about death."'
'During last night's sell out performance he missed an entrance.
Staff found him slumped in his dressing room.
He was rushed to hospital, but doctors couldn't save him.'
It was utterly shocking because Len was so fit,
so on top of his game.
It was just a bolt from the blue.
He was a difficult man, I understand,
you know, for certain actors and stuff,
but I never found him difficult to work with.
But I knew how he felt about doing things.
Put them on, hit me on the chin as hard as you like.
I don't want too. Come on. I know what it is; I'm too likeable.
I respect him and he was a very good friend of mine,
and also a great actor, great actor.
You're gonna try and surprise me, but I'll surprise you at the speed -
No, I won't hear a word against him. I loved him. I just loved him.
And there is a lesson in timing. I just watched it the other night,
all those head turns, its just brilliant.
(LAUGHS)
You know.
You don't see acting like that much now. No.
My word, you're early. I couldn't wait.
Oh, thank you.
Oh, good heavens, how did you guess my favourite aperitif,
a dry martini, shaken not stirred?
Actually, it's a vodka and lemon. Is it?
He was a demanding man, but then again the rewards were so great.
There were one or two moments when he was magic,
and then when he was... showing Richard
how to behave in front of polite society
and how to enter a room, wonderful.
You enter a room, you're in.
You close the door, you wait for the conversation to die down,
you shoot your cuffs like that, you adjust them and leave it,
just visible, the diamond cufflinks,
that's when your beckoned to sit. Shall I sit?
You come over, its fingers on the trousers,
up, down to avoid any stiffness.
Just a casual throw of the leg over, like that,
with nonchalant ease and there you go.
And even to this day when I'm writing a show, a play,
I think what we need here is Leonard Rossiter.
Stay away, Mr Rigsby! Heh heh heh!
What are you going to do with that gateau? Push it in my face.
Over 28 classic episodes from 1974 to 1978,
Rising Damp served up the best of British comedy
into millions of our homes.
Push it in my face.
The series would be remade less successfully in America and Portugal.
Perhaps there was something about the world of the grotty bedsit
that just seemed too British.
Ahh!
Four decades on the studios
where the laughter once rang out from Rigsby and Co
is now home to another classic ITV series, Emmerdale.
But today they're playing host to a grand Rising Damp reunion.
Joining writer Eric Chappell, Actor Don Warrington,
Director Vernon Lawrence and Production Assistant Ellie Hurst,
are former runner John Heaton and floor manager Don Clayton.
There are a few ghosts in here now, aren't there?
It was that long wall, wasn't it, where...?
We're standing at the foot of the audience seating, really. Yeah.
You remember where the audience was, do you? Yeah.
I can't forget it. it was there.
Ah, there it was.
Because I had to do all those warm-ups, you know, terrifying.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
You're not a company director, you're not early 40s,
you're not an accountant and you're not sophisticated.
Well, nobody's perfect.
It was a happy show, but it wasn't a happy rehearsal room
because we were all so serious about things.
I would wonder whether there was any jokes in the script at all.
Comedy is a very serious business.
The important thing is the end product. Yes.
I think it's also a question of who leads the line
and in this case it was Len Rossiter. Yes.
And Len was a very serious man about his comedy.
You must admit, this place has been lived in.
It looks as if it's been slept in.
Oh, that was Pink Carnations, was it?
Yeah, that's great. Well, I'm blowed.
It is Pink Carnations. This is in the bar where they met.
Yeah, well, there we are. Mr Rigsby.
Oh... Oh, Miss Jones.
Oh, you're not single, attractive, mid-20s, roguish smile, by chance?
You're not a company director, early 40s...?
Roguish smile? You've been reading Women's Own again.
And it ended up with Joan Sanderson, the wonderful Joan Sanderson. Yes.
And Len stepped back and said, "My God, you're ugly."
I'd like a word with you. Oh, there you are. About time, yeah.
Oh, cor blimey!
And he insulted her. She said, "I've never been so assaulted in my life."
Vulgar little man! I've never been so insulted in my life.
And he said... You should get out more.
Boom-boom! Thank you very much.
Oh, Miss Jones. That's him, the beast.
To Len. There we go.
It's been over 40 years
since Eric Chappell took The Banana Box from the stage to the screen.
What's going on? This is my room. I beg your pardon, this is my room.
(SNIGGERING)
You can be brothers. Or sisters, eh?
Is that all? Ooh, that's enough for you.
Despite the decades that have passed,
the characters and storylines remain as hilarious as ever.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
And when the comedy worked, you just couldn't stop laughing.
You just couldn't get through the scene
because it was just... cos it was funny.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
I remember being visited by a critic
and she said, "Do you know this is going to be a classic?"
And once you get that classic thing, no-one knocks you anymore.
"Oh, it's a classic, you know. Oh, it's a classic."
"He's all right, he's a classic."
So the critics put away their vitriol.
Fire. I think you need to cool off, Mr Rigsby.
And here's to Rising Damp.
Rising Damp. Cheers, cheers, cheers, cheers, cheers, cheers.
Do you reckon we've given Miss Jones a night to remember?
Do you know what? I still feel hungry.
So am I am. Do you fancy a bag of chips?
Plenty of vinegar? Lots of scallops?
Mushy peas. You're on.
It's your turn to pay. Go on.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDS)
subtitles by Deluxe