1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,060
Sorry!

2
00:00:02,070 --> 00:00:05,190
It's one of the greatest comedies
of all time!

3
00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:06,230
Darling.

4
00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:09,060
And one which went on an
extraordinary journey

5
00:00:09,070 --> 00:00:11,010
from the stage to our screens.

6
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I've not been in this theatre
since 1973.

7
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It's a show with a line-up that
became the fab four of sitcom.

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It is very well written,

9
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but they've really kind of made
the characters leap off the page.

10
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But what did go on
between these walls?

11
00:00:29,060 --> 00:00:33,000
Frances leaned over to me and said
"He doesn't want to kiss me".

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00:00:35,070 --> 00:00:39,190
Tonight in Rising Damp Forever, we'll
reveal the secrets of life on set.

13
00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,040
Richard hated that wig.
He couldn't wait

14
00:00:42,050 --> 00:00:44,010
to get rid of that wig.

15
00:00:44,020 --> 00:00:47,030
I've decided to change me image.
I've been neglected myself.

16
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And they'll be an emotional return

17
00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,100
to the place
where television history was made.

18
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The thing about coming here was,
it was very homely here.

19
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I felt completely welcomed here.
So did I.

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00:00:58,100 --> 00:01:00,090
Agh!

21
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Every single time I see it,
I howl proper, proper,

22
00:01:02,220 --> 00:01:04,160
proper howl with laughter!

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00:01:04,170 --> 00:01:07,060
(LAUGHTER)

24
00:01:07,070 --> 00:01:10,020
I love it. Just thinking about it
makes me smile.

25
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I should think that would be more
than enough!

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00:01:17,170 --> 00:01:19,140
(CAT MEOWS)

27
00:01:20,230 --> 00:01:24,180
This is the story of a miserly
landlord called... Rigsby!

28
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..his three tenants...
Roses are red, violets are blue,

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and your tenants are sweet,
what happened  to you?

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00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,120
..and a cold dark house
that has long seen better days.

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You've got rising damp.
My furniture's falling apart.

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00:01:40,020 --> 00:01:42,220
From 1974 to 1978 Rising Damp was one

33
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of the most popular series
on our TV screens.

34
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Have you thought anymore
about the room?

35
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I thought about it, yes.

36
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And you said you'd consider me.
Did I?

37
00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:54,190
Yeah, you did say that.  No, you
couldn't afford a room like this.

38
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But as we'll reveal tonight, the
classic line-up we came to love

39
00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:00,030
could have been so very different

40
00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,180
in a journey that begins
with a man then working

41
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as an electricity board auditor
in Grantham - Eric Chappell.

42
00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:10,010
I always wanted to be a writer
and secretly I was writing novels.

43
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They were terrible novels
and I knew that

44
00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:16,160
because people always fell asleep
while they were reading them.

45
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And then one day I had this thought:
"I'll write a play."

46
00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,210
When I started to write the play,
I realised I wasn't so boring

47
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and what one person said to another

48
00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:27,150
was far more important to me
than describing it.

49
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It was that gift for dialogue
that changed my life.

50
00:02:34,010 --> 00:02:37,030
In 1968, aged 36,
Eric Chappell wrote a play

51
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that would change both his life
and comedy history.

52
00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:44,160
Do you mind if I just check
your paintwork, Miss Jones?

53
00:02:44,170 --> 00:02:46,150
I thought it might need
another coat!

54
00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:49,000
It's had five already, Mr Rigsby.

55
00:02:49,010 --> 00:02:51,190
I know, Miss Jones,
but it's groaning for it.

56
00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:57,020
Inspired by a newspaper article
about a black student masquerading

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as an African prince
at a London hotel,

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00:02:59,140 --> 00:03:02,230
Eric put pen to paper
and wrote The Banana Box.

59
00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:06,060
I thought what a great idea
for a farce,

60
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but, actually,
it didn't work like that

61
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because first of all I didn't know
anything about superior hotels.

62
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It became a lodging.

63
00:03:14,170 --> 00:03:17,090
And it became a landlord
like Rigsby.

64
00:03:17,100 --> 00:03:23,090
It became a different sort of play,
but never the less it worked for me.

65
00:03:23,100 --> 00:03:26,080
The character millions of us came
to love as Rigsby

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00:03:26,090 --> 00:03:28,080
was originally called Rooksby,

67
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while his tenant Alan
started out as Noel.

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00:03:31,100 --> 00:03:34,190
Eric Chappell turned the African
prince into the sun of a chief

69
00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:38,130
and the suave and sophisticated
character of Philip Smith was born.

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00:03:38,140 --> 00:03:41,000
I found a book on African folklore.

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There were great lines in the book,

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like "I'm a pool without water,
but men may drown in me",

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and "I have beautiful milk",
and things like this.

74
00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,190
And I used that for Philip.

75
00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,010
Your trouble is you're mean.
No, I'm not.

76
00:03:59,020 --> 00:04:01,000
Yes, you are.
No, I'm not.

77
00:04:01,010 --> 00:04:03,150
I like a woman to like me
for what I am, not what I've got.

78
00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:07,030
Well, I can understand that,
but we have a saying in my country:

79
00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:11,020
"He who seeks the bird of paradise
but must put down a little seed."

80
00:04:13,010 --> 00:04:16,090
After rehearsals at the Hampstead
Theatre Club in 1970,

81
00:04:16,100 --> 00:04:18,060
The Banana Box went on tour

82
00:04:18,070 --> 00:04:20,190
with Steptoe And Son's
Wilfred Bramble as Rooksby

83
00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:23,030
and Neville Aurelius as Philip.

84
00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:26,220
Two years later, when the play
moved to East Grinstead,

85
00:04:26,230 --> 00:04:29,150
47-year-old Leonard Rossiter
joined the cast.

86
00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,120
The journey towards the series
we came to know and love

87
00:04:32,130 --> 00:04:34,020
was now truly underway.

88
00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,150
On the first night when he came on,

89
00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:41,080
he gave a glowering look to the
audience, and they laughed.

90
00:04:41,090 --> 00:04:43,230
And I thought,
"I haven't written anything yet

91
00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:47,080
and he's getting a laugh.
I'm home and dry."

92
00:04:47,090 --> 00:04:49,030
Go on!
(CAT MEOWS)

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00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:51,080
(LAUGHTER)

94
00:04:51,090 --> 00:04:55,200
No, he was great.
And it just suited him, you know.

95
00:04:57,190 --> 00:05:02,120
The son of a barber, Leonard Rossiter
was born in Liverpool in 1926,

96
00:05:02,130 --> 00:05:06,090
and after national service, took up
a career as an insurance salesman.

97
00:05:07,150 --> 00:05:10,080
Aged 24, Rossiter discovered
his talent for acting

98
00:05:10,090 --> 00:05:12,160
when he joined
an amateur dramatics group.

99
00:05:13,180 --> 00:05:15,110
He was just noticeable, I suppose.

100
00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:18,140
I've worked with some wonderful
actors from Sir Lawrence Olivia,

101
00:05:18,150 --> 00:05:21,240
you know, you name it,
but he was just something

102
00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,100
and his comic timing was brilliant.

103
00:05:24,110 --> 00:05:26,090
Oh, oh, goodness me.
What?

104
00:05:26,100 --> 00:05:29,010
We appear to be standing under
the mistletoe! Are we?

105
00:05:29,020 --> 00:05:32,120
You can't quarrel with fate, eh?
Mr Rigsby, I'm in uniform.

106
00:05:32,130 --> 00:05:34,090
I don't mind
But, Mr Rigsby!

107
00:05:34,100 --> 00:05:38,200
Please, you're tampering
with the Royal Mail.

108
00:05:38,210 --> 00:05:42,030
In 1954, Leonard Rossiter
gave up his sales job

109
00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:44,220
and auditioned
for a rep theatre company.

110
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It would be the start of an
extraordinary 30-year career

111
00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:49,030
on stage and screen.

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00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:52,180
I was a huge admirer of Leonard's.

113
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I just revelled in watching him

114
00:05:56,030 --> 00:05:58,210
cos I just thought
this man's a genius.

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00:06:01,220 --> 00:06:04,100
(LAUGHTER)

116
00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,030
What are these like grilled?

117
00:06:13,010 --> 00:06:16,130
Rossiter's onscreen performances
earned him many plaudits,

118
00:06:16,140 --> 00:06:19,120
but he proved not the easiest man
to work with.

119
00:06:19,130 --> 00:06:23,040
It's only a game, old sport. It's all
a game, for Weaver's benefit.

120
00:06:23,050 --> 00:06:25,190
I know that some actors said
that they were aware

121
00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,010
that when they were working
with Leonard,

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00:06:28,020 --> 00:06:30,160
that a lot of the times
he wouldn't look at them.

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00:06:30,170 --> 00:06:33,220
And, and when you watch
Rising Damp the series,

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00:06:33,230 --> 00:06:37,190
you can see that as Rigsby he's
continually looking around a room

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00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,240
and doing other things

126
00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,030
rather than facing the actor
and straight ahead.

127
00:06:44,030 --> 00:06:47,140
I think that might have been
disconcerting for the other actor,

128
00:06:47,150 --> 00:06:49,150
but, you see, you can't argue

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00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,030
because it was wonderful
for the character.

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00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:53,220
Rossiter would come to be regarded

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00:06:53,230 --> 00:06:56,020
as one of Britain's
greatest comedy actors,

132
00:06:56,030 --> 00:06:58,130
but often seemed to be uncomfortable
with the label.

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00:06:58,140 --> 00:07:01,040
Can I ask you whether you're
naturally a funny man,

134
00:07:01,050 --> 00:07:04,100
or whether life isn't a rather
more serious sort of business?

135
00:07:04,110 --> 00:07:07,230
Life's fairly serious!
No, I'm... I...

136
00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:10,180
What I find curious is people say,

137
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"I see you've stopped being
a serious actor
now you're doing comedy?"

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00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:18,160
As though it isn't
particular serious to do.

139
00:07:18,170 --> 00:07:21,050
Comedy is the most serious form
of work,

140
00:07:21,060 --> 00:07:25,030
in so far as
it's very difficult to get laughs.

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00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:30,090
By 1973, Leonard Rossiter was a well
established stage actor,

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00:07:30,100 --> 00:07:32,170
but despite roles on TV and in films,

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00:07:32,180 --> 00:07:35,190
his was not a big name
at the box office.

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00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,230
Eric Chappell's play The Banana Box

145
00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:40,090
still needed a star turn
to sell tickets.

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00:07:40,100 --> 00:07:42,020
The producers turned to a man

147
00:07:42,030 --> 00:07:44,170
who was clearly top of the pops
with the British public.

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00:07:44,180 --> 00:07:46,150
# I'm hers
# I'm hers

149
00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:48,130
# She's mine
# She's mine

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00:07:48,140 --> 00:07:52,100
# I'm hers, she's mine,
wedding bells are gonna chime

151
00:07:52,110 --> 00:07:54,090
# Whoa-oh-oh-oh

152
00:07:54,100 --> 00:07:56,220
Joining the cast
was pop star Paul Jones

153
00:07:56,230 --> 00:07:59,060
from '60s chart toppers Manfred Mann.

154
00:07:59,070 --> 00:08:05,120
One of the things about Leonard,
he  had a slight bitterness

155
00:08:05,130 --> 00:08:11,150
about the fact that he hadn't been
recognised as the actor that he was.

156
00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:15,180
He hadn't yet reached those heights
of fame that he was about to.

157
00:08:15,190 --> 00:08:19,070
I think perhaps that might be some
of the reason why I was in it.

158
00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:24,050
It was that I had a bit of a name
and quite a lot of a hit records

159
00:08:24,060 --> 00:08:29,160
and  I might have been helpful in
getting a few more botties on seats!

160
00:08:30,170 --> 00:08:34,020
Actress Rosemary Leach, who would go
on to star in The Jewel In The Crown

161
00:08:34,030 --> 00:08:37,160
and The Charmer, was cast alongside
Rossiter as Miss Jones,

162
00:08:37,170 --> 00:08:40,100
and replacing Neville Aurelius
as Philip,

163
00:08:40,110 --> 00:08:42,060
an actor fresh out of drama school,

164
00:08:42,070 --> 00:08:44,190
who was about to start
a partnership with Rossiter

165
00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:47,070
which would change
both of their lives.

166
00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:49,060
Did I mention the rent?
Yes!

167
00:08:49,070 --> 00:08:51,140
£6 a week and I insist
on a month in advance.

168
00:08:51,150 --> 00:08:53,230
Miss Jones didn't mention that.

169
00:09:07,100 --> 00:09:09,090
Just right!

170
00:09:11,130 --> 00:09:14,170
Don Williams was born
in Trinidad in 1951

171
00:09:14,180 --> 00:09:18,070
and arrived in Britain aged five
alongside his mother,

172
00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,210
swapping the Caribbean
for the cold river Tyne.

173
00:09:21,220 --> 00:09:23,240
I was a bit disappointed,
I have to say.

174
00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:29,030
It was very dark and it was damp,

175
00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:33,040
and I expected
something much shinier.

176
00:09:34,100 --> 00:09:36,090
And I was also very struck
by the fact

177
00:09:36,100 --> 00:09:38,110
that the houses were stuck together.

178
00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:40,070
I wasn't used to that.

179
00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,030
Everything really was smaller
than I thought it would be.

180
00:09:44,170 --> 00:09:48,150
The family made their home in the
backstreets of Newcastle's West End,

181
00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:52,070
where Don and his brother found
themselves very much in the minority.

182
00:09:53,070 --> 00:09:56,100
There were elements of of racism.

183
00:09:56,110 --> 00:09:58,210
There was one where a teacher,

184
00:09:58,220 --> 00:10:02,230
because I was left-handed I used
to write sort of upside-down,

185
00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:06,210
and the teacher said "Where did you
learn to write? Up a tree?

186
00:10:06,220 --> 00:10:11,040
And that was painful,
that was difficult.

187
00:10:12,070 --> 00:10:17,120
It was tough going to begin with,
but it was also enjoyable.

188
00:10:17,130 --> 00:10:20,130
Kids are very resilient
and we made friends.

189
00:10:20,140 --> 00:10:25,240
I became a Geordie, as you do,
and that was that!

190
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:30,160
But Don had ambitions that would soon
take him away from his new home.

191
00:10:30,170 --> 00:10:35,180
I always wanted to escape.
I wanted  to get away from reality.

192
00:10:35,190 --> 00:10:40,050
I remember watching On The
Waterfront with Marlon Brando,

193
00:10:40,060 --> 00:10:43,020
and I just thought,
"I want to feel all that,

194
00:10:43,030 --> 00:10:46,100
but I want to feel it
all the time for a living".

195
00:10:47,220 --> 00:10:51,120
Aged 17, Don got his first job
as an assistant stage manager

196
00:10:51,130 --> 00:10:56,010
at a Newcastle Theatre before heading
south to London to train as an actor,

197
00:10:56,020 --> 00:10:59,140
a role which required a new identity.

198
00:10:59,150 --> 00:11:01,110
I had to change my name

199
00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:05,080
because there was somebody else
with my name.

200
00:11:05,090 --> 00:11:07,210
And I said to my mother
"But I don't know what to do."

201
00:11:07,220 --> 00:11:11,170
She said, "Why not call yourself
after the road you grew up in?"

202
00:11:11,180 --> 00:11:16,110
So I did. Warrington Road.
So I became Don Warrington.

203
00:11:17,130 --> 00:11:20,140
But Don Warrington didn't have to
wait long for his lucky break.

204
00:11:20,150 --> 00:11:22,120
After leaving drama school,

205
00:11:22,130 --> 00:11:25,120
he was immediately cast as Philip
Smith in The Banana Box,

206
00:11:25,130 --> 00:11:28,140
a part that would prove
the role of a lifetime.

207
00:11:28,150 --> 00:11:33,190
I thought, "I think I can do this.

208
00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:39,040
I think I can do this because
I think I can pretend to be posh

209
00:11:39,050 --> 00:11:42,030
because Philip pretends to be posh."

210
00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,040
That was the thing
about that character.

211
00:11:44,050 --> 00:11:50,130
He  was a new invention, as it were,
in terms of black people, anyway.

212
00:11:50,140 --> 00:11:52,140
Philip, at last.

213
00:11:52,150 --> 00:11:55,100
I've been so impatient,
waiting for the others to go.

214
00:11:55,110 --> 00:11:57,150
I wanted to give you
a proper welcome.

215
00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:59,200
(LAUGHTER)

216
00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,150
Are you all right for butter?

217
00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:05,050
Donald was absolutely amazing.

218
00:12:05,060 --> 00:12:09,220
He had this wonderful ability
to be telling people things,

219
00:12:09,230 --> 00:12:14,150
and at the same time finding them
quite amusing himself.

220
00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:19,180
It would be just absolutely a tiny
hint of a smile just sort of there

221
00:12:20,190 --> 00:12:23,050
and you weren't sure you'd seen it.

222
00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:29,080
Despite poor audiences, The Banana
Box went down well with the critics

223
00:12:29,090 --> 00:12:33,140
and the tour continued to include Don
Warrington's hometown of Newcastle,

224
00:12:33,150 --> 00:12:36,160
where his simple twist of fate
would play a key role

225
00:12:36,170 --> 00:12:39,040
in bringing Rising Damp
to our screens.

226
00:12:45,170 --> 00:12:49,170
In the early 70s, Eric Chappell's
play about a cantankerous landlord

227
00:12:49,180 --> 00:12:52,080
and his three lodgers
was on a nationwide tour

228
00:12:52,090 --> 00:12:54,230
when it arrived at the Theatre Royal,
Newcastle.

229
00:12:58,010 --> 00:13:01,180
43 years have passed since Don
Warrington returned home to Tyneside

230
00:13:01,190 --> 00:13:03,190
with the starring role
as Philip Smith.

231
00:13:06,210 --> 00:13:10,000
Today, he's back at the Theatre Royal
to remember the play

232
00:13:10,010 --> 00:13:11,240
that would change his life.

233
00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,150
This is Mr Smith. He's from Africa.

234
00:13:15,180 --> 00:13:18,000
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

235
00:13:19,140 --> 00:13:23,070
I've not been in this theatre
since 1973.

236
00:13:24,070 --> 00:13:26,100
Yeah, it's a long time.

237
00:13:26,110 --> 00:13:29,050
There's something I don't understand
about you, sunshine.

238
00:13:29,060 --> 00:13:31,180
If you're the son of a chief,
why are you called Smith?

239
00:13:31,190 --> 00:13:34,000
That's not my real name.

240
00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:43,240
I suppose what I feel is a sort
of...just a slight kind of...

241
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:50,010
my heart just does a quick kind of,
you know...a tightening happens,

242
00:13:50,020 --> 00:13:52,230
and I was just thinking about
just being onstage, really.

243
00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:56,020
You said you could get me a flat.
I didn't know you'd be next door.

244
00:13:56,030 --> 00:13:59,090
I didn't know I was gonna come
to Newcastle or this theatre.

245
00:13:59,100 --> 00:14:02,240
This is where I grew up.
It was coming home,

246
00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,180
which was exciting, but frightening.

247
00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:15,030
It gave my family, anyway, a chance
to see what I'd been doing in London

248
00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:17,000
for the last 4 years.

249
00:14:18,060 --> 00:14:21,030
And so in that sense
it was really nice,

250
00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:23,230
but in another sense you think,
"They're gonna come

251
00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:26,190
and they're going to go,
"Well, how good is he?"

252
00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:30,160
But they were generous.
They came and they liked it.

253
00:14:30,170 --> 00:14:35,050
My biggest fan was my auntie,
my Auntie Lena.

254
00:14:35,060 --> 00:14:38,030
She was just so, so proud.

255
00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:42,240
I think she came every night
and she brought all her friends,

256
00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,200
anybody she knew, anybody who she
could corral into coming,

257
00:14:46,210 --> 00:14:49,190
they came to see it. It was lovely!

258
00:14:53,190 --> 00:14:56,210
Fresh out of drama school,
Don Warrington found himself

259
00:14:56,220 --> 00:15:00,070
working with two big names from
the worlds of pop and the stage.

260
00:15:03,150 --> 00:15:06,160
Paul played Noel
when I first met him.

261
00:15:06,170 --> 00:15:09,230
I was very struck
by how nice he  was.

262
00:15:11,220 --> 00:15:14,130
He was a great harmonica player.

263
00:15:14,140 --> 00:15:16,230
And we used to play harmonica
together.

264
00:15:18,140 --> 00:15:20,130
There's me and Leonard.

265
00:15:22,110 --> 00:15:24,230
Wow! I've never seen this!

266
00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:31,020
We all looked up to Len because
he was such  a renowned performer.

267
00:15:32,210 --> 00:15:34,180
Ah, that's a lovely picture.

268
00:15:34,190 --> 00:15:38,040
Look at my hair.
It's very nice to see him,

269
00:15:38,050 --> 00:15:42,100
him being me all those years ago.

270
00:15:42,110 --> 00:15:45,090
It's... Yeah, he seemed all right.

271
00:15:45,100 --> 00:15:47,170
He seemed quite a nice boy, really.

272
00:15:47,180 --> 00:15:50,040
I-I-I quite like him.

273
00:15:50,050 --> 00:15:54,120
As the tour continued, Rosemary Leach
left the production.

274
00:15:54,130 --> 00:15:58,050
She would be replaced by an actress
millions of us would come to love,

275
00:15:58,060 --> 00:16:02,050
as the object of Rigsby's affections
- Miss Jones.

276
00:16:02,060 --> 00:16:04,190
Oh, Miss...Jones!

277
00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:07,160
Mr Rigsby!
Oh!

278
00:16:07,170 --> 00:16:10,020
Frances de la Tour!

279
00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:15,130
She was so sexy. Really sexy.

280
00:16:15,140 --> 00:16:17,210
Happy days, eh?

281
00:16:17,220 --> 00:16:19,190
Ha ha ha!

282
00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:25,130
Frances de la Tour was born
in leafy Hertfordshire in 1944.

283
00:16:25,140 --> 00:16:28,090
She was educated
at London's Lycee Francais,

284
00:16:28,100 --> 00:16:30,140
and later studied
at the Drama Centre.

285
00:16:30,150 --> 00:16:33,130
After graduating, she joined
the Royal Shakespeare Company

286
00:16:33,140 --> 00:16:35,130
and in 1970 was given a leading role

287
00:16:35,140 --> 00:16:40,040
in Peter Brooks acclaimed production
of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

288
00:16:40,050 --> 00:16:42,070
Even for that,
I do love you the more!

289
00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:45,010
I am your spaniel and, Demetrius,
the more you beat me,

290
00:16:45,020 --> 00:16:47,170
I will fall on you,
use me that as your spaniel,

291
00:16:47,180 --> 00:16:50,020
spare me, strike me,
lose me, neglect me,

292
00:16:50,030 --> 00:16:53,120
only give me leave I'm worthy
as I am to follow you.

293
00:16:54,150 --> 00:16:58,100
In the early 70s, Frances de la Tour
worked steadily on both stage

294
00:16:58,110 --> 00:17:02,120
and screen before landing the role
that would make her famous.

295
00:17:02,130 --> 00:17:05,130
Y-Y-You know, Miss Jones,
there are some men who'd try

296
00:17:05,140 --> 00:17:08,160
to take advantage of a single woman
like you living on her own.

297
00:17:08,170 --> 00:17:10,200
Do you think so, Mr Rigsby?
Ooh, what?

298
00:17:12,060 --> 00:17:14,090
If you don't mind me saying so,
Miss Jones,

299
00:17:14,100 --> 00:17:17,190
you waste too much time on students.
You ought to think of yourself more.

300
00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:20,120
You need a companionship of someone
nearer your own age,

301
00:17:20,130 --> 00:17:23,180
someone who's seen something of the
world, who's knocked about a bit,

302
00:17:23,190 --> 00:17:27,140
who's understanding, you know,
with a sense of humour.

303
00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,200
I don't meet people like that,
Mr Rigsby?

304
00:17:30,210 --> 00:17:33,190
I didn't how to write for women.

305
00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:37,120
It was hard for me to get into
the psychology of a woman,

306
00:17:37,130 --> 00:17:39,190
but I gave her a few lines,

307
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:43,240
the rest was up to her and she just
built it. She was wonderful.

308
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,170
I mean, I hope the others
don't think I'm too fussy.

309
00:17:46,180 --> 00:17:48,160
I want them to accept me.

310
00:17:48,170 --> 00:17:51,120
Oh, they'll accept you, all right.
That's what worries me.

311
00:17:51,130 --> 00:17:56,110
I think Frances de la Tour
is a great actress.

312
00:17:56,120 --> 00:17:59,000
There was a vulnerability,

313
00:17:59,010 --> 00:18:06,070
there was a beauty, a gracefulness
in what she did

314
00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:11,030
and she seemed to  understand
that woman so well.

315
00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:12,240
I thought she was brilliant.

316
00:18:14,010 --> 00:18:16,040
Philip.

317
00:18:16,050 --> 00:18:19,150
You promised to come down last night
what happened?  I couldn't.

318
00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:21,070
Rigsby was painting your door.

319
00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,070
I know, that was the fifth coat!

320
00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:27,060
I think he suspects.
He even paints the doorknob.

321
00:18:27,070 --> 00:18:30,110
You see, we must be careful.  There's
only one answer, I must come to you.

322
00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:32,220
No. I mean, what about Alan?

323
00:18:32,230 --> 00:18:34,230
Well,
he always goes home on Fridays.

324
00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:37,040
I know, I'll bring
a nice bottle of wine

325
00:18:37,050 --> 00:18:39,070
and we can have
one of our long  talks.

326
00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:41,160
Oh, no. I mean, what about?

327
00:18:41,170 --> 00:18:44,080
About us, Philip. We've got
to see if we can make it work.

328
00:18:44,090 --> 00:18:48,040
Make what work?
Black and white, Philip!

329
00:18:48,050 --> 00:18:54,180
She had a strange ability
to be  extremely intelligent

330
00:18:54,190 --> 00:18:59,070
and somewhat vacant, pretty vacant!

331
00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:03,110
And it was...it was just amazing.

332
00:19:07,100 --> 00:19:09,080
Oh, goodness me, Frances de la Tour.

333
00:19:09,090 --> 00:19:11,120
My girl crush.

334
00:19:12,180 --> 00:19:16,020
And I have to say,
she is a fabulous.

335
00:19:16,030 --> 00:19:18,180
She is  just iconic.

336
00:19:20,050 --> 00:19:22,140
In May 1973,
and now with three-quarters

337
00:19:22,150 --> 00:19:25,120
of the classic cast
we would come to know in place,

338
00:19:25,130 --> 00:19:28,140
The Banana Box finally made it
to the West End.

339
00:19:28,150 --> 00:19:32,000
But its run at The Apollo Theatre
in London would be brief.

340
00:19:32,010 --> 00:19:36,040
What did we do in the West End?
Five weeks or six weeks?

341
00:19:36,050 --> 00:19:38,200
When the notice finally went up,
Leonard said,

342
00:19:38,210 --> 00:19:43,090
"Well, we mustn't grumble, we've had
almost a year's employment".

343
00:19:43,100 --> 00:19:45,190
I picked up the phone
and my agent  said,

344
00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:47,160
"You're going into the West End".

345
00:19:47,170 --> 00:19:49,180
I felt even then that they were
taking a risk.

346
00:19:49,190 --> 00:19:51,110
I never thought it would run

347
00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:57,070
because I think it was that
the names weren't pulling them in,

348
00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:01,140
and I just didn't think it would
pull them in in enough numbers

349
00:20:01,150 --> 00:20:03,170
and it didn't.

350
00:20:03,180 --> 00:20:06,200
It was the final curtain
for The Banana Box,

351
00:20:06,210 --> 00:20:10,200
but Eric Chappell's script was about
to be given a new lease of life.

352
00:20:10,210 --> 00:20:13,000
A TV executive had been
in the audience

353
00:20:13,010 --> 00:20:15,140
in Don Warrington's hometown
of Newcastle,

354
00:20:15,150 --> 00:20:18,180
a night that would be remembered
when, in 1974,

355
00:20:18,190 --> 00:20:22,050
ITV began looking
for a new hit sitcom.

356
00:20:29,130 --> 00:20:32,090
In 1973, we faced a winter
of discontent

357
00:20:32,100 --> 00:20:35,080
with the three-day week,
strikes and power cuts

358
00:20:35,090 --> 00:20:39,150
all making Britain a rather cold,
dark place in which to live.

359
00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,100
The lights had also gone down

360
00:20:41,110 --> 00:20:43,150
on the damp, domestic capers
of The Banana Box

361
00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:46,050
which had come to the end
of its nationwide tour.

362
00:20:46,060 --> 00:20:48,040
It could have been
the last we'd ever hear

363
00:20:48,050 --> 00:20:50,220
of Eric Chappell's seedy landlord
and put-upon tenants,

364
00:20:50,230 --> 00:20:52,150
but fate was on our side.

365
00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:54,000
Stand by, telecine one.

366
00:20:54,010 --> 00:20:56,130
In the early 70s, Yorkshire
Television was keen to add

367
00:20:56,140 --> 00:20:59,110
to its already impressive list
of light entertainment shows,

368
00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:03,000
featuring stars like Les Dawson
and Frankie Howard.

369
00:21:04,050 --> 00:21:06,170
A small company with big ambitions,

370
00:21:06,180 --> 00:21:10,000
Yorkshire TV's reputation for quality
programmes was growing quickly

371
00:21:10,010 --> 00:21:13,140
with ex-BBC man Paul Fox at the helm.

372
00:21:13,150 --> 00:21:19,040
He tried to make it a mini BBC in
so much that we had documentaries,

373
00:21:19,050 --> 00:21:21,040
we had current affairs
and we had drama,

374
00:21:21,050 --> 00:21:23,030
we had entertainment,
we had children's.

375
00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:25,120
It was a very exciting place
to work.

376
00:21:27,010 --> 00:21:30,060
Fox brought in comedy producer
Duncan Wood from the BBC,

377
00:21:30,070 --> 00:21:33,120
where he'd been responsible for hit
shows like Steptoe And Son.

378
00:21:33,130 --> 00:21:36,040
Could he create the same magic
in Yorkshire?

379
00:21:36,050 --> 00:21:39,110
At the time, it was the golden
fleece of television.

380
00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:43,010
If you can get a winning sitcom,
you were made;

381
00:21:43,020 --> 00:21:47,000
that and a good quiz show
plus a good documentary,

382
00:21:47,010 --> 00:21:48,230
and you were halfway there,
you know.

383
00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,020
And the big thing was the sitcom.

384
00:21:51,030 --> 00:21:52,220
We were the infantry.

385
00:21:52,230 --> 00:21:57,160
Duncan Wood was about to receive
the best tip-off of his life;

386
00:21:57,170 --> 00:22:01,080
a colleague had been
to see The Banana Box
at the Theatre Royal Newcastle

387
00:22:01,090 --> 00:22:03,040
and told him of its potential.

388
00:22:03,050 --> 00:22:06,190
Could this be the hit comedy series
that everyone was looking for?

389
00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,180
They said to me, "Write a sitcom."

390
00:22:10,070 --> 00:22:12,100
I said, "I haven't got the stamina."

391
00:22:12,110 --> 00:22:15,130
They said, "No, do what you can,
write a show."

392
00:22:15,140 --> 00:22:18,050
And after that they said,
"Could you write another one?"

393
00:22:18,060 --> 00:22:21,170
So I said, "I'll write another one."
"Could you write a third?

394
00:22:21,180 --> 00:22:24,110
I wrote a third.
"Why don't you write two more?"

395
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:28,180
In search of a better title
for the sitcom,

396
00:22:28,190 --> 00:22:30,140
Eric Chappell picked Rising Damp

397
00:22:30,150 --> 00:22:33,160
as the perfect description
of Rigsby's grotty boarding house.

398
00:22:34,180 --> 00:22:36,160
For the cast,
Duncan Wood went straight

399
00:22:36,170 --> 00:22:38,130
to the stars
of the theatre production.

400
00:22:38,140 --> 00:22:40,130
Well, I'd forgotten about it.

401
00:22:40,140 --> 00:22:43,170
I'd done it, it was over
and I was looking forward

402
00:22:43,180 --> 00:22:46,040
to moving on
to do lots of other things.

403
00:22:46,050 --> 00:22:50,090
Then out of the blue came this phone
call from my agent saying

404
00:22:50,100 --> 00:22:55,130
that they were hoping to turn it
into a television series

405
00:22:55,140 --> 00:22:58,030
and that and they wanted me in it.

406
00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:00,020
And I said yes to it.

407
00:23:00,030 --> 00:23:03,000
You'll try and surprise me,
but I will surprise you by the -

408
00:23:03,010 --> 00:23:05,040
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

409
00:23:05,050 --> 00:23:08,180
Leonard Rossiter was persuaded
to reprise his role as Rooksby

410
00:23:08,190 --> 00:23:10,160
who by now had become Rigsby,

411
00:23:10,170 --> 00:23:14,180
following an objection by a real-life
landlord with the same name!

412
00:23:14,190 --> 00:23:17,020
And once teenage heart-throb
pop star Paul Jones

413
00:23:17,030 --> 00:23:18,210
was approached for the role of Alan.

414
00:23:18,220 --> 00:23:20,160
My agent rang me and he said,

415
00:23:20,170 --> 00:23:23,070
"They're going to make it into
a television serial."

416
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:27,070
So I said,
"Richard, it was never a success.

417
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,080
I don't think I want to do it."

418
00:23:30,090 --> 00:23:32,070
So they got Richard Beckinsale.

419
00:23:34,120 --> 00:23:37,230
Jones' decision had left the door
open for an emerging name in comedy,

420
00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:40,190
and the final piece
of the Rising Damp jigsaw

421
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:42,160
was about to fall into place.

422
00:23:42,170 --> 00:23:46,050
Richard Beckinsale was born
in Nottingham in 1947.

423
00:23:46,060 --> 00:23:49,090
Leaving school at 16 with no
qualifications,

424
00:23:49,100 --> 00:23:51,140
his real ambition was to act.

425
00:23:52,180 --> 00:23:56,020
He would go on to win a place at
the prestigious Rada drama school

426
00:23:56,030 --> 00:23:59,020
before becoming a professional actor
in 1968.

427
00:24:00,030 --> 00:24:04,170
His television debut would follow one
year later in Coronation Street.

428
00:24:05,190 --> 00:24:07,200
Now, then, Missus...
Sharples.

429
00:24:07,210 --> 00:24:11,060
We can't have this, Mrs Sharples.
You're in breach of all the bylaws.

430
00:24:11,070 --> 00:24:13,220
'Ey, this young lad says
we're breaching his bylaws.

431
00:24:13,230 --> 00:24:18,050
The 23-year-old would win his first
starring role a year later

432
00:24:18,060 --> 00:24:21,200
alongside Paula Wilcox
in the ITV sitcom The Lovers,

433
00:24:21,210 --> 00:24:26,080
the series that first made Richard
Beckinsale a household name.

434
00:24:26,090 --> 00:24:27,240
Me mam.

435
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,090
Has she taken up morris dancing?

436
00:24:30,100 --> 00:24:32,170
To remind to be a good girl.

437
00:24:32,180 --> 00:24:36,100
She's not going to need the Red Army
ensemble, then, is she?

438
00:24:36,110 --> 00:24:38,230
Jeffrey, sex isn't the only thing
in life.

439
00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:40,240
It isn't even ONE of the things
in mine.

440
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:45,000
There's a gentleness, both in sort
of real life and onscreen.

441
00:24:45,010 --> 00:24:49,180
What comes across is a slight
sort of bumblingness.

442
00:24:49,190 --> 00:24:54,160
He just couldn't help but  being
funny. It was just in his nature.

443
00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:00,020
He had this this universal appeal.

444
00:25:00,030 --> 00:25:03,060
There was just like nobody
who didn't love him,

445
00:25:03,070 --> 00:25:07,170
and he managed to sort of make
everybody of all ages and types...

446
00:25:07,180 --> 00:25:09,220
Remember, there is not
that many actors

447
00:25:09,230 --> 00:25:12,030
that appeal to absolutely everyone.

448
00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:13,200
Ahh!

449
00:25:13,210 --> 00:25:16,090
Pull the rope.  Pull the rope.

450
00:25:16,100 --> 00:25:18,110
Now grab him.

451
00:25:21,010 --> 00:25:24,000
In 1974, Richard Beckinsale
would make an entrance

452
00:25:24,010 --> 00:25:26,210
in two of the most significant roles
of his career:

453
00:25:26,220 --> 00:25:30,010
on the BBC as Lenny Godba
in Porridge...

454
00:25:30,020 --> 00:25:32,000
Hello, Fletch.

455
00:25:32,010 --> 00:25:35,110
..and over on ITV as Alan
in Rising Damp.

456
00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:37,050
Hello!

457
00:25:37,060 --> 00:25:39,120
Welcome to Bleak House!

458
00:25:40,150 --> 00:25:42,200
Mind if I come in for a warm?

459
00:25:42,210 --> 00:25:45,010
I'm Alan Moore, live upstairs.

460
00:25:45,020 --> 00:25:46,210
Philip Smith.
How do you do!

461
00:25:46,220 --> 00:25:49,060
Leonard had worked with Richard

462
00:25:49,070 --> 00:25:52,130
and I think he thought
he had such a  natural charm,

463
00:25:52,140 --> 00:25:55,170
and it was a brilliant,
brilliant piece of casting

464
00:25:55,180 --> 00:26:01,020
because I  suppose Alan was in a way
the hardest character to play.

465
00:26:01,030 --> 00:26:04,020
He was less defined than the other
three characters,

466
00:26:04,030 --> 00:26:06,160
and it needed somebody with
Richard's skill

467
00:26:06,170 --> 00:26:08,170
to make it live, which it did.

468
00:26:08,180 --> 00:26:10,230
# Them bones, them bones,
them dry bones

469
00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:14,030
# Them bones, them bones,
them dry bones #  That's not funny!

470
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,140
Richard, in a sense,
had all the experience.

471
00:26:17,150 --> 00:26:20,090
Richard had done The Lovers.
He'd done three or four series,

472
00:26:20,100 --> 00:26:24,050
so Richard was the authority
on situation comedy

473
00:26:24,060 --> 00:26:27,060
and the others weren't.
Where is he? Where is he?

474
00:26:27,070 --> 00:26:28,230
Where do you think you're going?

475
00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:30,170
What's the matter, Rigsby?

476
00:26:30,180 --> 00:26:33,150
"What's the matter," you're saying,
after nearly poisoning me?

477
00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:35,060
You're exaggerating.

478
00:26:35,070 --> 00:26:37,030
I was drugged to the eyeballs.

479
00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:40,070
I slept for 24 hours.
I still can't feel my teeth.

480
00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:43,210
And the first time I met Richard,
I was delighted.

481
00:26:43,220 --> 00:26:46,170
I admired him, but I felt he was
within reach.

482
00:26:46,180 --> 00:26:49,180
Whereas, with Leonard,
I mean he was stratospheric,

483
00:26:49,190 --> 00:26:51,200
as far as I was concerned.

484
00:26:51,210 --> 00:26:54,100
Richard was the most approachable.

485
00:26:54,110 --> 00:26:56,150
What time did are  you meeting them?
About nine.

486
00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,040
It's nice of you to ask me, Philip.
I do appreciate it.

487
00:26:59,050 --> 00:27:01,060
That's all right!
What's mine like?

488
00:27:01,070 --> 00:27:03,070
She's a very sweet, sensitive girl.

489
00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:07,070
You mean, she's ugly?  She's not
ugly, she's very attractive.

490
00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:09,050
Why am I getting her, then?

491
00:27:09,060 --> 00:27:11,120
Because he's a friend
of the girl I'm seeing.

492
00:27:11,130 --> 00:27:15,070
They wanted a foursome, said if I
knew someone reasonably presentable

493
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:17,240
with a pleasing personality
to bring him along.

494
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,220
And you thought of me?
No, he couldn't come!

495
00:27:22,210 --> 00:27:25,110
At 8pm on the 2nd of September 1974,

496
00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:28,220
millions of us got our first view
of what would prove to be one

497
00:27:28,230 --> 00:27:32,010
of the nation's favourite comedies
and casts.

498
00:27:32,020 --> 00:27:38,150
Once you put those talents, Leonard
and Becky and Don on top of that,

499
00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:42,010
and Frances de la Tour, and you put
that on top of that platform,

500
00:27:42,020 --> 00:27:44,070
and say
"Right, take it away, you lot",

501
00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:47,190
I mean, it's going to be a massive
success, isn't it?

502
00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:51,110
It remained to be seen
whether Rising Damp would rise

503
00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:54,170
to the top of the TV charts,
but for a young black actor

504
00:27:54,180 --> 00:27:57,150
the series had already
proved a breakthrough.

505
00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:00,190
At the time, people had a view
of black people,

506
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:07,080
which was people who  were outsiders,
people who didn't belong here.

507
00:28:07,090 --> 00:28:12,160
And the thing about Philip was he
was more English than the English,

508
00:28:12,170 --> 00:28:15,160
and I  think that was very startling.

509
00:28:15,170 --> 00:28:18,080
And where do you think
you're going, sir?

510
00:28:18,090 --> 00:28:20,220
I'm just going in.
Oh, no, you're not. Outside.

511
00:28:20,230 --> 00:28:24,040
I've got a table.  Tables are all
taken.  I know, I've booked one!

512
00:28:24,050 --> 00:28:25,230
Hello, Charles.

513
00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:28,190
Why, good evening, Mr Smith.
Is there some difficulty?

514
00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,220
Oh, is this gentlemen with you?
Yes.

515
00:28:30,230 --> 00:28:34,010
Oh, I'm sorry about that, sir. One
can't be too careful these days.

516
00:28:34,020 --> 00:28:36,150
Your usual table, this way!

517
00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:41,080
There were certain aspects of it
that  were politically incorrect.

518
00:28:41,090 --> 00:28:48,160
On the other, you can see how
it held up a mirror

519
00:28:48,170 --> 00:28:51,150
to the way we were living.

520
00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:54,030
Do you know what I planned to do
with the jungle, Rigsby?

521
00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:55,230
What?
I'm going to tarmac it.

522
00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:57,160
No, I-I-I suppose it is an idea,
yes.

523
00:28:57,170 --> 00:29:01,130
I pictured it, where there was once
only the mosquito,

524
00:29:01,140 --> 00:29:06,110
they'll be trees growing
out of black velvet tarmac.

525
00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:09,070
Oh, yes, I suppose so.

526
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:12,030
They'll be fluorescent street
lights, white lines,

527
00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:15,210
bus shelters, little baskets,
car parks.

528
00:29:15,220 --> 00:29:18,160
Can you see it, Rigsby?
Oh, yes.  It should look very nice.

529
00:29:19,180 --> 00:29:22,000
And, of course, zebra crossings.

530
00:29:22,010 --> 00:29:25,180
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

531
00:29:25,190 --> 00:29:27,180
Oh, very funny!

532
00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,100
Despite its less than glamorous
setting,

533
00:29:31,110 --> 00:29:34,050
Rising Damp was a comedy that
received a warm reception

534
00:29:34,060 --> 00:29:36,040
from millions of viewers.

535
00:29:36,050 --> 00:29:38,170
IT had a new hit comedy
on their hands,

536
00:29:38,180 --> 00:29:41,190
and it seemed Leonard Rossiter
had at last found the part

537
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,210
he was born to play.

538
00:29:43,220 --> 00:29:46,010
Hey, what happened to the old
traditions, eh?

539
00:29:46,020 --> 00:29:48,050
What happened
to good old British grit?

540
00:29:48,060 --> 00:29:51,120
I think your sweeping most of it
under the carpet, Rigsby.

541
00:29:51,130 --> 00:29:54,070
Leonard said to me
about playing  Rigsby,

542
00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:58,150
"It's the easiest thing
I've ever had to do."

543
00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:03,130
He said,
"I know that man inside out".

544
00:30:03,140 --> 00:30:07,240
While Rossiter fitted perfectly into
the now famous green cardigan,

545
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,170
Richard Beckinsale
wasn't quite so lucky.

546
00:30:10,180 --> 00:30:13,030
He'd had his long hair
recently cut short

547
00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,030
for the character of Godba
in Porridge

548
00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:18,230
and was forced to wear a wig to play
the part of medical student Alan.

549
00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:20,200
Richard hated that wig.

550
00:30:20,210 --> 00:30:23,130
He couldn't wait
to get rid of that wig.

551
00:30:23,140 --> 00:30:28,030
Every week he'd go,
"Can we get rid of the wig?" "No."

552
00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:32,150
But, you know, that was the look
they wanted at the time.

553
00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:36,180
He out-acted the wig.
That was his greatest triumph.

554
00:30:36,190 --> 00:30:40,230
He'd beaten the wig into submission
till they got rid of it.

555
00:30:42,150 --> 00:30:44,160
But Richard Beckinsale looked set

556
00:30:44,170 --> 00:30:47,110
to be stuck with his hairpiece
for a while longer.

557
00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:50,070
The comedy antics from this charmless
boarding house

558
00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:52,050
had somehow charmed us all.

559
00:30:52,060 --> 00:30:55,150
Was this a sitcom
that was still on the rise?

560
00:31:03,230 --> 00:31:06,140
What on earth's that?

561
00:31:07,170 --> 00:31:09,160
This is a piece of wood.

562
00:31:09,170 --> 00:31:12,090
Well, I can see that, Mr Rigsby.

563
00:31:12,100 --> 00:31:15,060
Stop wafting it around,
you'll start a fire.

564
00:31:15,070 --> 00:31:17,140
I will start a fire, all right,
Miss Jones.

565
00:31:17,150 --> 00:31:19,230
Please extinguish your stick.

566
00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:24,130
Sorry, but this is one fire you
can't put out, Miss Jones.

567
00:31:24,140 --> 00:31:26,120
We'll soon see about that!

568
00:31:26,130 --> 00:31:29,080
In 1974, as a generation
of much loved comedy shows

569
00:31:29,090 --> 00:31:33,010
like Steptoe And Son and The Likely
Lads came to the end of the line,

570
00:31:33,020 --> 00:31:35,120
Britain had a new favourite
over on ITV.

571
00:31:37,030 --> 00:31:40,050
What happened?
Nothing! Nothing happened.

572
00:31:40,060 --> 00:31:43,000
But while the shows we saw
were full of laughs,

573
00:31:43,010 --> 00:31:46,070
the atmosphere on set
was often much more serious.

574
00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:49,050
Len wasn't a bunch of fun
all the time.

575
00:31:49,060 --> 00:31:52,070
He was very intense
and he had  tremendous energy.

576
00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:55,140
I'm going to show you what clean
living and a balanced diet can  do!

577
00:31:55,150 --> 00:31:58,210
I'm going to raise this chair aloft
by one leg. Eh?

578
00:31:58,220 --> 00:32:00,160
You ought to be careful, Mr Rigsby.

579
00:32:00,170 --> 00:32:03,170
It's all right. I used to do this 20
years ago, I can still  do it today.

580
00:32:03,180 --> 00:32:05,110
Now, then, here were go.

581
00:32:07,030 --> 00:32:11,230
If you watch Leonard
you can see how  high he was

582
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,220
because of the adrenaline,
because of the audience,

583
00:32:14,230 --> 00:32:19,190
because of his desire to get it
right that first time.

584
00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:23,000
That's it!  What? Oh, God,
I wish you'd stop doing that!

585
00:32:23,010 --> 00:32:26,010
It's the grey lady, she's trying
to in touch with you.

586
00:32:26,020 --> 00:32:28,160
I wish she'd ring me
instead of jumping out like that.

587
00:32:28,170 --> 00:32:31,120
Len would be thinking several
sentences ahead

588
00:32:31,130 --> 00:32:33,100
and the pace of the delivery
was such.

589
00:32:33,110 --> 00:32:35,130
And they'd run it,
something would go wrong.

590
00:32:35,140 --> 00:32:39,060
Anything could go wrong. It could be
any fault and you  have to stop.

591
00:32:39,070 --> 00:32:41,170
But I hated having to stop Len.

592
00:32:41,180 --> 00:32:44,040
Yeah, you'll break hearts like,
like, like this

593
00:32:44,050 --> 00:32:46,010
and this and this and this and this!

594
00:32:46,020 --> 00:32:48,130
Do you  realise
what you leave behind, Miss Jones?

595
00:32:48,140 --> 00:32:50,170
It looks like half a pound
of broken biscuits.

596
00:32:50,180 --> 00:32:54,160
It would take ten seconds for him to
actually stop the speech, you know.

597
00:32:54,170 --> 00:32:58,140
You take a man's finest feelings and
you leave them crushed and mangled

598
00:32:58,150 --> 00:33:01,030
like this and this!
Not the flowers, no, Mr Rigsby!

599
00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:05,040
I felt guilty actually, having to go
in and stop it, and he hated it.

600
00:33:07,170 --> 00:33:10,020
Playing opposite
the phonetic Leonard Rossiter,

601
00:33:10,030 --> 00:33:13,140
Richard Beckinsale proved
a calming influence on set.

602
00:33:13,150 --> 00:33:16,110
I just don't want you spying on me,
that's all.  I'm not spying.

603
00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:18,030
If you want to be bloody secretive.

604
00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:20,040
I'm not secretive.
Where have you been?

605
00:33:20,050 --> 00:33:23,130
As a matter of fact,
I have been seen to Dr  Zhivago.

606
00:33:23,140 --> 00:33:26,020
Ah. What did he say?

607
00:33:26,030 --> 00:33:30,170
Richard was great in the show
because he absorbed Len's energy.

608
00:33:30,180 --> 00:33:33,200
You know what's in this bottle?
Micro-organisms. Billions of them.

609
00:33:33,210 --> 00:33:36,090
Enough to wipe out a city.
I just remove the stopper.

610
00:33:36,100 --> 00:33:39,220
I don't believe you.
There are millions and not one of
them overlapping.

611
00:33:39,230 --> 00:33:42,060
I can't see anything.
No, you won't see anything,

612
00:33:42,070 --> 00:33:44,230
but they're there and they'll come
slopping out at you.

613
00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:47,110
In 10 minutes you'll be foaming
at the mouth,

614
00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:49,140
in 20 minutes
you'll praying for death.

615
00:33:49,150 --> 00:33:52,110
Don't you come near me with that
thing?  Here, catch.

616
00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:55,050
Oh, God.

617
00:33:55,060 --> 00:33:58,130
(SOBS)

618
00:33:58,140 --> 00:34:00,190
(SNIFFS)

619
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:06,130
Salad cream, I might have known!
You...get out of here.

620
00:34:06,140 --> 00:34:09,150
If he'd competed with Len on that
phonetic scale,

621
00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:12,120
it would have been disaster,
but he absorbed it

622
00:34:12,130 --> 00:34:14,070
and was calm and relaxed.

623
00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:16,040
Rigsby, do you have to creep up
like that?

624
00:34:16,050 --> 00:34:18,140
You never get tired of looking
at yourself, do you?

625
00:34:18,150 --> 00:34:21,040
You'll wear that mirror out.
I was just combing it.

626
00:34:21,050 --> 00:34:23,240
You were making your eyebrows
go up and down, weren't you?

627
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:27,060
No, I wasn't.  Yes, you were.
You look as if you're having a fit.

628
00:34:27,070 --> 00:34:32,100
Len had a real affection
for Richard.

629
00:34:32,110 --> 00:34:34,130
You won't get a woman that way,
you know.

630
00:34:34,140 --> 00:34:36,240
This detached cynical expression
pulls the birds.

631
00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:39,050
I get quite a few looks.
Yeah, I'm not surprised.

632
00:34:39,060 --> 00:34:41,230
Richard never once fell
for Len's reputation.

633
00:34:41,240 --> 00:34:44,010
Richard just cut right through it.

634
00:34:44,020 --> 00:34:46,030
It was another human being

635
00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:48,150
who he would just talk to
in an ordinary way,

636
00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:52,240
and I think Len really appreciated
being treated in that way.

637
00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:57,100
Although the comedy chemistry seemed
like a match made in TV heaven,

638
00:34:57,110 --> 00:34:59,100
in real life, Leonard Rossiter

639
00:34:59,110 --> 00:35:02,000
and Frances de la Tour
were frequently at odds.

640
00:35:02,010 --> 00:35:05,090
Everybody got on very well apart
from Frances and Len.

641
00:35:05,100 --> 00:35:07,060
They were poles  apart.

642
00:35:07,070 --> 00:35:09,020
This was really based on politics.

643
00:35:09,030 --> 00:35:12,010
I mean Len
was far away Genghis Khan,

644
00:35:12,020 --> 00:35:15,140
and she was far away
the other end, Tony Benn,

645
00:35:15,150 --> 00:35:18,080
so they would never, ever mix

646
00:35:18,090 --> 00:35:22,010
and they had no respect
for each other off screen.

647
00:35:22,020 --> 00:35:25,070
Onscreen and at rehearsals they were
just magic together

648
00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:28,070
because they were  both
very, very clever people.

649
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:33,200
Frances de la Tour aside,
there was one other cast member

650
00:35:33,210 --> 00:35:35,240
that Rossiter brushed
up the wrong way;

651
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:39,010
the cat that played Rigsby's
beloved Vienna.

652
00:35:39,020 --> 00:35:41,150
Len hated the cat!

653
00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:44,010
(VIENNA SCREECHES)

654
00:35:44,020 --> 00:35:46,200
Vienna was an absolute anathema
to him.

655
00:35:46,210 --> 00:35:51,160
That cat, its hairs would get
everywhere.

656
00:35:51,170 --> 00:35:53,100
It never liked being in the show.

657
00:35:53,110 --> 00:35:56,210
I mean, Len held it
in a vice-like grip.

658
00:35:56,220 --> 00:35:59,200
I'll just show you something.
Gather round. Now, look, look!

659
00:35:59,210 --> 00:36:02,150
It was kind of splayed out
like that you know,

660
00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:04,230
and he couldn't wait
to  get rid of it.

661
00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:07,160
If I let him go,
what do you think will happen?

662
00:36:07,170 --> 00:36:09,150
He'll go through the floorboards.

663
00:36:10,220 --> 00:36:13,190
No, he won't. He'll land on his feet
and do you know why?

664
00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:16,180
Because  he's got perfect reflexes.
It's a scientific fact.

665
00:36:16,190 --> 00:36:18,110
You'll have to watch carefully

666
00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:20,080
because it'll be all over
in a flash.

667
00:36:20,090 --> 00:36:22,150
Ready, steady, one, two, three!

668
00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:24,040
(THUD AND MEOWING)

669
00:36:24,050 --> 00:36:27,210
He used to scurry under the staging
and they couldn't get it out again

670
00:36:27,220 --> 00:36:31,180
because it hated working with Len.
It was no actor, this cat wasn't.

671
00:36:31,190 --> 00:36:34,030
He usually lands on his feet!

672
00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:40,050
I meet ladies now even today who
say,  "I've called my cat Vienna."

673
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:44,030
Why do you call him Vienna?
Ah, well, you take this cat

674
00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:46,060
to the door on the coldest night
of the year -

675
00:36:46,070 --> 00:36:49,010
well, you'd have to kick a polar
bear out, never mind a cat -

676
00:36:49,020 --> 00:36:50,180
usually on the front door,

677
00:36:50,190 --> 00:36:54,050
and if he sees another pairs of eyes
out there, it's goodnight, Vienna!

678
00:36:55,210 --> 00:36:59,000
But among the cast, it was Richard
Beckinsale and Don Warrington

679
00:36:59,010 --> 00:37:02,210
who would develop the firmest of
friendships both on and off set.

680
00:37:05,130 --> 00:37:08,170
It's stopped.  Don't let him get me,
Philip, don't let him get me.

681
00:37:08,180 --> 00:37:11,240
Richard and I would hang out
together...

682
00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:17,130
..and we had a merry time.

683
00:37:19,100 --> 00:37:21,180
Not only did they share
a house onscreen,

684
00:37:21,190 --> 00:37:24,200
off set the two young actors also
found themselves together

685
00:37:24,210 --> 00:37:27,180
in a lodging house near the
television studios in Leeds.

686
00:37:28,190 --> 00:37:31,080
I think we got banned
from the guest house.

687
00:37:31,090 --> 00:37:37,220
I think our behaviour was not what
was required at the time.

688
00:37:37,230 --> 00:37:43,060
We were a  bit noisy,
so we got kicked out en masse.

689
00:37:43,070 --> 00:37:44,190
Ha ha ha!

690
00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:47,010
And then we moved to the Queens,

691
00:37:47,020 --> 00:37:51,130
where we could do what we wanted,
and we did!

692
00:37:51,140 --> 00:37:54,080
We can't get the lid down.
Course you can get the lid down.

693
00:37:54,090 --> 00:37:57,040
It will squash your nose.
You wouldn't squash...

694
00:37:57,050 --> 00:37:59,000
Turn his head sideways.

695
00:37:59,010 --> 00:38:01,150
There you are, see like that.
Its easy. Try it now.

696
00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:04,030
Yeah, go on, and try it now.
There you are!

697
00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:06,090
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

698
00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:15,060
Today, Don Warrington
is back at the Queens Hotel...

699
00:38:15,070 --> 00:38:19,110
42 years since he first travelled
from London to record the sitcom

700
00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:23,020
that would become a classic
and make him a household name.

701
00:38:23,030 --> 00:38:26,090
Do you like England, Philip?
It's all right.

702
00:38:26,100 --> 00:38:28,040
What do you like best?

703
00:38:30,050 --> 00:38:34,100
I think the telephone boxes,
they're rather nice.

704
00:38:35,220 --> 00:38:38,150
Is that all?
I like the swimming pools,

705
00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:41,030
but I suppose that's because
there  are no crocodiles.

706
00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:43,010
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

707
00:38:46,050 --> 00:38:49,190
In the early days, when we first
started to do the series,

708
00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:51,160
we travelled by train.

709
00:38:51,170 --> 00:38:59,140
We'd all meet at Kings Cross
and get some wine or beer.

710
00:38:59,150 --> 00:39:04,070
There would be Leonard, Richard,
myself and the guest artists.

711
00:39:06,140 --> 00:39:08,150
Wahey.
Yes!

712
00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:11,070
Could I have a double portion
of mother's ruin

713
00:39:11,080 --> 00:39:13,150
and a bottle
of your very best slimline?

714
00:39:15,030 --> 00:39:17,170
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

715
00:39:17,180 --> 00:39:20,110
In later series, Len took to driving
up to Leeds.

716
00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:24,100
We would meet at Swiss Cottage

717
00:39:24,110 --> 00:39:27,220
and he would pull up,
and I would jump in,

718
00:39:27,230 --> 00:39:33,220
and sometimes we would drive
all the way in absolute silence.

719
00:39:33,230 --> 00:39:36,170
I don't know why!

720
00:39:36,180 --> 00:39:39,180
This will be the first time
in four decades

721
00:39:39,190 --> 00:39:43,110
that Don Warrington and writer Eric
Chappell have met at the studios

722
00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:45,110
where Rising Damp was recorded.

723
00:39:46,190 --> 00:39:49,110
It looks like it's still very damp
in Leeds!

724
00:39:51,020 --> 00:39:55,030
Apart from the logo
at the top of the building,

725
00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:59,050
it looks exactly the same.

726
00:40:03,060 --> 00:40:04,190
Don.
Eric.

727
00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:08,010
Nice to see you again.  Lovely to see
you.  It's been too long!

728
00:40:08,020 --> 00:40:11,110
If I remember correctly.  It's
getting on for 40 years, isn't it?

729
00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:13,060
It seems that way, Eric.

730
00:40:18,100 --> 00:40:20,100
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

731
00:40:25,240 --> 00:40:28,060
So you've made yourself at  home,
then?

732
00:40:28,070 --> 00:40:30,020
Yes.
What do you think of it?

733
00:40:30,030 --> 00:40:31,220
It seems very nice.

734
00:40:31,230 --> 00:40:35,000
It seems nice, yes. That's the
wallpaper, very good quality.

735
00:40:35,010 --> 00:40:38,110
But it has to be to hold these
bricks together, eh?

736
00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:43,140
It is amazing to think that all
those years ago we were here.

737
00:40:43,150 --> 00:40:47,050
I mean, the thing about coming here
was it was very homely.

738
00:40:47,060 --> 00:40:50,030
We went into the canteen
and you knew everybody.

739
00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:53,190
I felt completely welcomed here.
Yeah, so did I.

740
00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:58,160
And it was good because I think that
gave us the freedom to do the show

741
00:40:58,170 --> 00:41:00,140
to the best of our ability.

742
00:41:00,150 --> 00:41:02,090
Do I look all right, Mr Rigsby?

743
00:41:02,100 --> 00:41:04,000
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

744
00:41:04,010 --> 00:41:07,180
Oh, right, Miss Jones,
you look ravishing.

745
00:41:07,190 --> 00:41:10,240
I was wondering about this.
You don't think it looks a bit odd?

746
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:12,230
why should it look odd, Miss Jones?

747
00:41:12,240 --> 00:41:15,130
Well, I think it's a bit
old-fashioned now.

748
00:41:15,140 --> 00:41:17,070
I think it's the head.

749
00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:20,050
I keep thinking something's leapt
on me from behind!

750
00:41:20,060 --> 00:41:22,230
You shouldn't give it a moment's
thought. It suits you.

751
00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:24,170
What do you think, Philip?

752
00:41:24,180 --> 00:41:28,020
What do I think of it? I think it's
just another example of the way

753
00:41:28,030 --> 00:41:31,150
so called civilised countries are
decimating the animal kingdom

754
00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:33,200
just to satisfy the whims of fashion

755
00:41:33,210 --> 00:41:37,160
to grace the idle, pampered
shoulders of western women.

756
00:41:37,170 --> 00:41:40,010
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

757
00:41:40,020 --> 00:41:42,100
You don't like it?

758
00:41:44,080 --> 00:41:46,160
While the first series
was being recorded,

759
00:41:46,170 --> 00:41:49,080
a buzz about this new comedy
on the block spread quickly

760
00:41:49,090 --> 00:41:51,130
among the workers
at Yorkshire Television.

761
00:41:51,140 --> 00:41:56,030
Well, I just know that when we we
started making it,

762
00:41:56,040 --> 00:42:00,110
the staff would come in at the dress
and start to watch,

763
00:42:00,120 --> 00:42:03,100
and those numbers grew
during that period.

764
00:42:03,110 --> 00:42:05,050
And I thought it must be good

765
00:42:05,060 --> 00:42:07,150
because the pros are coming in
to watch it, you know,

766
00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:09,050
and they'd seen it all.

767
00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:14,080
Right! I want a good clean fight.

768
00:42:14,090 --> 00:42:17,080
No biting, no scratching,
no kicking, no gouging,

769
00:42:17,090 --> 00:42:20,130
no punching with the inside of the
glove and no punching on the break.

770
00:42:20,140 --> 00:42:23,070
My God, you're enjoying this,
aren't you?

771
00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:25,070
After an afternoon rehearsal on set,

772
00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:29,020
Rising Damp was recorded on Friday
nights in front of a studio audience

773
00:42:29,030 --> 00:42:31,220
with as few breaks in filming
as possible,

774
00:42:31,230 --> 00:42:35,150
a method that kept TV newcomer
Don Warrington on his toes.

775
00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:40,140
Coming to the studio for the first
time to do a sitcom,

776
00:42:40,150 --> 00:42:43,140
I remember the reaction
of the audience,

777
00:42:43,150 --> 00:42:46,100
and I had no  experience
of studio audiences.

778
00:42:46,110 --> 00:42:49,050
But it seemed to me at the time
that  the laughter

779
00:42:49,060 --> 00:42:52,150
that was coming
was absolutely genuine.  Yeah!

780
00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:55,160
Because I remember several times
we  had to stop and do it again

781
00:42:55,170 --> 00:42:58,020
because they laughed too much.

782
00:43:02,030 --> 00:43:04,170
Philip!  Philip!
Got him.

783
00:43:04,180 --> 00:43:07,190
How about that, then, eh?
No, no, no, no, no, no!

784
00:43:07,200 --> 00:43:09,160
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

785
00:43:09,170 --> 00:43:11,220
It was a theatrical event.

786
00:43:11,230 --> 00:43:14,130
We were doing television,
but it was a theatrical event

787
00:43:14,140 --> 00:43:17,030
with the audience
and the whole thing.  Yes, yeah.

788
00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:19,240
And the cameraman loved me
because I wrote long scenes.

789
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:22,220
Probably the actors didn't want them
as much,

790
00:43:22,230 --> 00:43:25,030
but the scenes were quite long
themselves?

791
00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:27,100
And that's my complaint
to you today.

792
00:43:27,110 --> 00:43:30,190
Nearly 40 years I've waited, so,
Eric, those scenes were too long.

793
00:43:30,200 --> 00:43:33,130
But, no, no, they were great,
they  were good.

794
00:43:33,140 --> 00:43:36,000
Because the writing was so good.

795
00:43:37,110 --> 00:43:39,120
Rigsby, about that favour.

796
00:43:39,130 --> 00:43:42,060
Oh, yes.
Yes, I have a girl outside.

797
00:43:42,070 --> 00:43:44,000
Haver you?
Yes.

798
00:43:44,010 --> 00:43:46,200
She's very cold out there.
She must be, its bitter, isn't it?

799
00:43:46,210 --> 00:43:48,200
Yeah. I wondered if I could possibly

800
00:43:48,210 --> 00:43:51,010
you know, bring her up, you know?
Did you?

801
00:43:51,020 --> 00:43:53,180
Yes.  Yes, well, let me
put your mind at rest.

802
00:43:53,190 --> 00:43:56,020
You cannot bring her up.
You can stay out there

803
00:43:56,030 --> 00:43:58,100
and bloody well freeze,
that's what she can do.

804
00:43:58,110 --> 00:44:02,010
As if Miss Jones would fall
for that ordinary fireman.

805
00:44:02,020 --> 00:44:04,000
All he did was make her eyes water.

806
00:44:04,010 --> 00:44:06,070
Is it any wonder? Hey, smell that.

807
00:44:06,080 --> 00:44:09,130
By God, what a stink. You can tell
that comes from Africa, all right.

808
00:44:09,140 --> 00:44:11,090
It doesn't come from Africa.
What?

809
00:44:11,100 --> 00:44:13,000
It came off the wardrobe.

810
00:44:13,010 --> 00:44:15,090
Wardrobe!

811
00:44:16,170 --> 00:44:19,070
Next time on Rising Damp Forever,

812
00:44:19,080 --> 00:44:23,020
what happened when one of Britain's
greatest sitcoms went to the movies.

813
00:44:23,030 --> 00:44:27,000
We were at loggerheads, it's fair
to say, throughout the film.

814
00:44:27,010 --> 00:44:29,110
Tragedy strikes
the Rising Damp family.

815
00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:32,080
I'm really happy and grateful that
people sort of remember him

816
00:44:32,090 --> 00:44:35,200
and that  I get to enjoy
how loved he was.

817
00:44:35,210 --> 00:44:40,070
And there's an emotional reunion
back on the studio floor.

818
00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:42,180
Here's to Rising Damp.

819
00:44:42,190 --> 00:44:44,230
Rising Damp.
Cheers.  Cheers.

820
00:44:44,240 --> 00:44:46,240
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