1 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,280 PHONE RINGS 2 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:30,240 Ah! 3 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:32,800 Ah! 4 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:34,840 Ah! 5 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:38,760 All comedy is about frustration, failure, disaster. I don't know why. 6 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:41,840 We have to play failures to get laughs. 7 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:46,600 On the face of it, Ever Decreasing Circles was a classic suburban sit-com, 8 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:50,880 yet central to its everyday situations were some odd characters. 9 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:54,400 None more so than the obsessive and insufferable Martin Bryce. 10 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,160 What is the matter with you? PHONE RINGS 11 00:00:57,160 --> 00:00:59,688 The number of letters I got from people saying, 12 00:00:59,689 --> 00:01:01,320 "He reminds me of my husband." 13 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:03,800 People were very fond of Martin. 14 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:12,440 He's just the most marvellous comedian - Richard. 15 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,400 Sometimes when we were recording, he would do something 16 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,680 that would make me laugh so much, we had to stop. 17 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:24,200 What's more, I didn't feel you kiss me goodnight. 18 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:30,000 Ever Decreasing Circles ran for 27 episodes between 1984 and 1989. 19 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,681 After a slow start, 12 million viewers were eventually 20 00:01:33,682 --> 00:01:36,760 inviting Martin Bryce into their living rooms 21 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:40,440 as they had a decade earlier with Tom Good in The Good Life. 22 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:44,080 The modern master of tragic comedy failure, Ricky Gervais, 23 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:48,440 includes Ever Decreasing Circles high on his best ever comedy list, 24 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,560 describing Briers as the greatest living British sit-com actor. 25 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:57,040 Given a choice between Martin and Tom, for Richard there'd be no contest. 26 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,280 My favourite would be Martin Bryce in Ever Decreasing, 27 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:04,760 rather than Tom Good, because he was a wonderful character to play, 28 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:09,160 but he was very much me, as it were, slightly exaggerated, 29 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:11,880 whereas Martin Bryce was a genuine character. 30 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,800 They'd written much more of a character. 31 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,680 THEY were John Esmonde and Bob Larbey 32 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:21,720 who had created perennial BBC favourite The Good Life 33 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:24,280 starring Richard Briers in 1975. 34 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,800 By that time, Briers had already made a name for himself in TV comedy. 35 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,640 Our story starts in the '50s with Richard a humble clerk 36 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:35,680 with a keen interest in theatre and amateur dramatics. 37 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:40,200 His life changed when he auditioned for RADA 38 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:42,240 on the advice of a famous relative. 39 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:44,840 I know a friend who arrived here in Paris, 40 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:46,920 two hours later the door opened, 41 00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:50,560 his wife dashed in and said, "Hello, darling, surprise!" 42 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:52,840 Gosh, how super! Super?! 43 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:56,040 It was disastrous. 44 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:58,440 Caught with his trousers down, literally. 45 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,840 My father's cousin was Terry Thomas. A huge star. 46 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:06,040 Terry said, "I think you've got something. 47 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:11,840 "I don't quite know what it is but I think you need a polish, 48 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,920 "a kind of college or school." 49 00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:19,120 From alongside Albert Finney, Alan Bates and Peter O'Toole at RADA, 50 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:21,240 his first TV break came in 1961 51 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:24,200 courtesy of Denis Norden and Frank Muir, 52 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,400 then TV's most successful writers, 53 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,480 who were looking for a young actor to join June Whitfield 54 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,080 in a series they were writing for Jimmy Edwards. 55 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:35,480 I don't think I can take this much longer, Sally. 56 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,960 Have you seen some of the jobs he's put me on? I know. 57 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,720 That pick-up he handed you after the international rugger match. 58 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:44,560 Six drunken Irishmen in one cab! 59 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:50,640 'That led the boys to have faith enough to give me my own series,' 60 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:54,120 so before I knew where I was... I think I was only about 27, 61 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:56,600 I got my own TV show, which was marvellous. 62 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:59,281 The following year Muir and Norden 63 00:03:59,282 --> 00:04:03,600 wrote a sit-com that was the perfect vehicle for Richard, 64 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,080 as a young, naive barrister in Brothers In Law, 65 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,720 he played opposite more-experienced Richard Waring. 66 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:14,720 Why should he endanger his client's case by entrusting it to you? 67 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:19,200 Well, he may have been impressed by my performance last time I was in court. 68 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:20,840 You've only been in court once 69 00:04:20,840 --> 00:04:24,120 and that performance wouldn't have impressed your mother. 70 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,440 AK Butterworth wouldn't be your mother? No, he isn't. 71 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:29,720 He's my uncle. 72 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:34,080 Through Brothers In Law I met Richard Waring who was an actor-writer 73 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,840 and he didn't want to go on acting. He found it embarrassing. 74 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:42,960 He was a good writer of his genre. He wrote light comedy stuff. 75 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,680 He talked this idea up of a young couple 76 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:50,160 and all the vicissitudes and problems and ups and downs 77 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,280 of a very young couple getting married. 78 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:56,920 George. I'd like to get something straight. 79 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,560 But, George... I can do what I want, so please, darling. 80 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:02,800 I just want to think for a moment. 81 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,080 I suggested the pictures, right? 82 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,960 But you didn't want to go. I did want to go. 83 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:13,200 So we're doing what you wanted. It's just the way things turned out. 84 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:14,960 Prunella Scales co-starred 85 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:19,000 and Richard could demonstrate his trademark rapid-fire delivery. 86 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,440 I did suggest the pictures, so presumably I wanted to go. 87 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,560 We're not going, as you wanted. Darling! 88 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:25,824 I wanted the pictures. 89 00:05:25,825 --> 00:05:29,560 We're going to your mother's tomorrow, which you wanted. Listen.... 90 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:32,056 We're not going to the King's Head, which I wanted. 91 00:05:32,057 --> 00:05:34,360 You wanted the pictures. We're not going there. 92 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:36,760 That got us very well known. 93 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:40,960 That series ran for over 40 episodes, which was very long then. 94 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:44,240 While Richard was making a name for himself, 95 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:48,120 John Esmonde and Bob Larbey also met Richard Waring, 96 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:50,520 wearing his comedy executive hat. 97 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:51,967 He commissioned a pilot 98 00:05:51,968 --> 00:05:55,440 which became their first sit-com series Room At The Bottom. 99 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:58,320 That led to a meeting in 1968 with Frank Muir 100 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,520 who by now was London Weekend TV's head of comedy. 101 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:05,600 He commissioned Please, Sir - Esmonde and Larbey's first big hit. 102 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:07,920 How are we going to balance their survival 103 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:10,440 against the increasing rate of civilisation? 104 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,360 I don't know the answer to that. What is it, chief? 105 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:15,840 I dunno. I'm asking you. 106 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:18,640 Well, leave it with me. I'll have a think. 107 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:21,880 Because of that the BBC thought, 108 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:25,320 "I wonder if they could do anything for us that was any good." 109 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:27,280 They called us up and said, 110 00:06:27,280 --> 00:06:30,240 "We're looking for a series for Richard Briers," 111 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:35,040 who we'd never worked with but who we obviously knew about. 112 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:39,880 After Marriage Lines, Richard polished his talents in the theatre 113 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:41,920 and films such as Fathom. 114 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,400 He'd starred in the sit-com Birds On The Wing 115 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:50,360 when the BBC put him with Esmonde and Larbey, flavour of the month. 116 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,680 Esmonde and Larbey were from heaven, as far as I was concerned. 117 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:59,600 We collided, as it were, in our careers at their absolute peak. 118 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:03,400 I was, at that time, nearly reaching a peak. 119 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:05,600 Do you know my biggest regret? 120 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:07,960 It seems surprising that Richard considered 121 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:10,960 turning down the role that would make him a household name. 122 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:13,537 but he was torn between his love of theatre 123 00:07:13,538 --> 00:07:16,400 and the financial rewards TV success could bring. 124 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:21,840 In a funny sort of way, I, too, am very happy. 125 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:23,640 I wondered about The Good Life. 126 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:28,160 It's a funny thing about young actors, you get very pretentious, 127 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,320 "Should I do Shakespeare? 128 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,480 "Should I go to the RSC and starve?" 129 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:36,560 Go in peace, but tell thy sorry lady this, 130 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:42,360 if she doth bite her thumbs, do we unto her, our thumbs bite? 131 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:45,320 Don't call us, we'll call you. 132 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:48,600 I thought, "Well, it could be rather good." 133 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:52,480 By golly, it turned out to be a smasherooney! 134 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:56,000 Like Richard, his Good Life co-stars, Felicity Kendal, 135 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,240 Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington, 136 00:07:58,240 --> 00:07:59,760 had strong theatre roots 137 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:03,080 and had all been regulars in Alan Ayckbourn's West End plays. 138 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,160 Their stage experience meant a level of comic acting 139 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:08,440 unusual in sit-com at that time 140 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,960 but perfectly suited to Esmonde and Larbey's writing. 141 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:15,800 Shall we ask Tom and Barbara? Good idea. ..Care for a lunchtime drink? 142 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:20,520 We've discovered a super little pub. Right, lovely. Smashing. 143 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:22,240 Good. Come on. 144 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:24,760 We'll come in our own car. 145 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:27,000 You don't know the way. 146 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,240 OK, we'll follow you. I still haven't seen their new car. 147 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:32,880 Haven't you, darling? 148 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:39,840 LOUD ENGINE ROARS 149 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:50,280 Oh, my God! 150 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:54,360 Drive on. But they don't know the way to the pub. I know. 151 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:55,720 Drive on! 152 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:59,120 To the audience, Tom Good was a loveable eccentric. 153 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,640 But Richard Briers saw the character in a different light. 154 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:06,200 I'm not a great fan of Tom Good as a character. 155 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:10,560 He was selfish, he was always on the touch with Margo and Jerry, 156 00:09:10,560 --> 00:09:13,040 always eating their food and drink. 157 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,960 It was just him - my big idea! 158 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:20,800 They're not like us, Margo. They mustn't touch or they go bad. 159 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:23,760 Most of the parts I played aren't that likeable, 160 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,520 which is odd because I've made a living by being likeable. 161 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:29,491 After the success of The Good Life, 162 00:09:29,492 --> 00:09:32,120 the cast were rewarded with their own sit-coms. 163 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:34,760 Carla Lane wrote Solo for Felicity Kendal, 164 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:39,400 Penelope Keith scored a major success in To The Manor Born 165 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,320 and Paul Eddington's politician Jim Hacker 166 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:44,760 bumbled memorably in Yes, Minister. 167 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,960 Esmonde and Larbey also enjoyed phenomenal success on ITV 168 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:52,160 with Get Some In - a sit-com about national service - 169 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:54,760 which gave Robert Lindsay a starring role, 170 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:58,800 so expectations were high for their next project with Richard Briers - 171 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:01,120 The Other One in 1977. 172 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:04,560 Richard was paired with Michael Gambon, 173 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:07,360 another stage actor and Alan Ayckbourn regular, 174 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:09,640 who was relatively new to television. 175 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:12,400 He played the most boring man in the world 176 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:17,200 and I played the most rambunctious, pushy, ghastly man in the world 177 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:19,960 and it was beautifully written by Esmonde and Larbey 178 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:22,000 and became our favourite. 179 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:23,520 But it was a flop. 180 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:27,960 Buenos noches. 181 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:29,520 Buena. 182 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,160 Sit down, Brian, old man. Sit down. 183 00:10:35,680 --> 00:10:39,200 THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH: 184 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:42,160 The Other One was a glorious failure. 185 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:45,120 Richard wasn't very loveable. 186 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:50,560 And the first time we did it in the studio, you could... 187 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:53,480 actually feel the studio audience recoil 188 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:56,600 when Richard came forward with the moustache 189 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:58,640 and a smarmy look about him. 190 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:02,040 There was an, "Ooh! No, that's not Richard!" 191 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:04,760 After The Other One it would be seven years 192 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:07,960 before Richard Briers had another hit TV series. 193 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,800 He appeared in the TV adaptation of Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests, 194 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,520 alongside Penelope Keith and Penelope Wilton. 195 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:17,560 but Goodbye Mr Kent, co-starring Hannah Gordon, 196 00:11:17,560 --> 00:11:19,600 lasted only one series. 197 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:23,560 Esmonde and Larbey weren't faring much better, 198 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:27,000 though Larbey had a solo hit in 1981 with A Fine Romance, 199 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,320 starring Judi Dench and Michael Williams. 200 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:30,840 Then, in the early '80s, 201 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:34,360 Esmonde and Larbey happened upon a scene they thought would make 202 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:36,240 not only a great situation comedy 203 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:38,960 but a perfect role for Richard Briers. 204 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,400 'They were walking along Clapham Common one day, 205 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,640 ' going somewhere, and there was a football match on. 206 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:47,320 'In the middle was this referee...' 207 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:48,880 Pick it up! Dribble it! 208 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:52,920 '..shouting and nagging, blowing his whistle, "This is offside. 209 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:55,160 ' "What are you doing?" ' WHISTLE BLOWS 210 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:56,800 Offside! WHAT?! 211 00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:59,520 At the end of the match they ran into the distance, 212 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:02,680 leaving this chap saying, "Wait for me, lads! 213 00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:06,320 "Don't rush off!" They couldn't wait to get away from the bugger. 214 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,040 All right, you've asked for this. 215 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:10,760 So Martin was born. 216 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:12,840 In 1984, Esmonde, Larbey and Briers 217 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:16,760 combined the lessons they'd learned from the success of The Good Life 218 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:18,520 and the failure of The Other One 219 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:20,480 to create the strangely endearing, 220 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:22,920 obsessive-compulsive Mole Valley Valves 221 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:27,240 middle-manager oddball Martin Bryce for Ever Decreasing Circles. 222 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:35,920 A lot of series are about what people do... 223 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:38,280 what they try to get done. 224 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:42,320 This was about the inside of his head, more than anything else! 225 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:44,680 Are you untangling the phone? 226 00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:48,440 Things like colour-coding, counting, clean shoes. 227 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,120 Everything in its place and a place for everything. 228 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,480 Bob Larbey said, "You're the only actor we can think of 229 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:05,160 "Who will give some kind of charm to this appalling character!" 230 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:09,080 I've often thought if I hadn't gone into valves, I'd have done psychiatry. 231 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:11,280 They knew I could be vulnerable. 232 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:13,680 And so I employed vulnerability into Martin. 233 00:13:13,680 --> 00:13:17,400 Ever Decreasing Circles was directed by Sydney Lotterby - 234 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:19,560 a legendary name in TV comedy. 235 00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:23,000 One of his many career highlights was Sykes And A Plank. 236 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:27,200 Aye, aye. 237 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:28,920 This is gonna be funny. 238 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:41,840 'Ere, I could have walked right into that plank! Why didn't you warn me? 239 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:43,360 Plank? What plank? 240 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:50,398 Sydney Lotterby's CV was a roll call 241 00:13:50,399 --> 00:13:53,800 of all the big BBC sitcoms of the '70s and '80s, 242 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:56,320 including Up Pompeii, Porridge, 243 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:58,400 Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em... 244 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:01,440 ..and Yes, Minister, 245 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:04,280 starring The Good Life's Paul Eddington. 246 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:08,120 Our audience could recognise the character of Martin 247 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:11,160 and probably knew someone like him. 248 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:13,600 And you had the added thing, of course, 249 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:15,760 of this poor woman living with him. 250 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:19,400 That was another... The reason the audience took to the scripts. 251 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:20,840 Do you know what I'm going to do now? 252 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:24,480 No, Martin. 253 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:27,760 I'm going to make us both a nice cup of cocoa. 254 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,720 Martin's long-suffering wife was Anne, an attractive, intelligent woman, 255 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:36,160 aware of Martin's shortcomings, but who loved him nonetheless. 256 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:38,960 Is anything getting you down? 257 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:46,080 Now, come on, if you can't talk to me who CAN you talk to? Now tell me. 258 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:51,240 Well... 259 00:14:57,360 --> 00:14:59,400 You're looking at your bloody watch! 260 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,600 I'm just checking. How long have we got? Oh, 20 minutes! 261 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:04,800 Oh, forget it. Forget it! Forget it. 262 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:06,840 Free time, love. Oh, go to Brighton! 263 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:09,640 Penelope Wilton's television career started 264 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,600 in adaptations of stage classics, like Mrs Warren's Profession. 265 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:16,960 Frankly, I'm not going to stand any more of your nonsense 266 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:21,080 As soon as you drop it, I won't expect you to stand any of mine. 267 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:24,600 She had first appeared opposite Richard Briers, needless to say, 268 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:27,480 in the TV version of Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests, 269 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:30,720 before her career changed direction with Ever Decreasing Circles. 270 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:32,880 You took me as your prisoner. 271 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,000 At first, I hated everything you stood for. 272 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,640 But, physically, I am a woman...after all. 273 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:43,800 You make me your mistress. 274 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,323 And since then, I've followed you 275 00:15:46,324 --> 00:15:49,640 from battlefield to battlefield like a slave. 276 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:51,680 Crumbs! 277 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:54,600 'He's married to me and I'm a bit younger.' 278 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,520 And I also yearn for something, perhaps, 279 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:02,280 a bit more than was going on in this little cul-de-sac we lived in. 280 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:03,520 Yes, Martin? 281 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:05,240 I've got the milk on. 282 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:07,200 Good. 283 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:10,760 In other words, I am making the Ovaltine. 284 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:16,200 Not for me, thanks, I've got a gin and tonic. 285 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:20,040 'Like many women, she realised she'd married a child.' 286 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:22,320 So she coped with this, as women do. 287 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:23,840 Come on. 288 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:31,880 Hello, Martin. How are you? Caught into a pint pot, my friend! 289 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:34,600 The unsophisticated world that Martin and Anne inhabit 290 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:39,360 is turned upside down by the smooth and suave Paul Ryman... 291 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,560 who seems as different from Martin as it's possible to be. 292 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:46,080 I must have done something really terrible in a previous life 293 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:48,480 and he's been sent to punish me in this one. 294 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:51,720 What I was saying, in the most neighbourly way I could think of, 295 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:54,320 was to point out that a community like ours 296 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:58,480 does have its little dos and don'ts. And house names are one of them! 297 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:02,040 Peter Egan's first major TV role 298 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:06,080 was in the 1968 BBC adaptation of Cold Comfort farm, 299 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:09,320 which would help him carve out a niche in smarmy characters. 300 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,200 Aye, women's nonsense! 301 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:15,840 Women be all alike. 302 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:20,880 Fussing with their filals and be-dazing a man's eyes. 303 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:23,373 Another graduate of RADA, his background 304 00:17:23,374 --> 00:17:26,400 was mainly classical theatre and period TV dramas, 305 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:30,680 such as the character of Oscar Wilde in the mini series Lillie in 1978. 306 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:33,240 And Prince Regent in '79. 307 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:35,120 Peter Egan, like Penelope Wilton, 308 00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:37,720 had also worked with Richard Briers on the stage, 309 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:40,920 this time in George Bernard Shaw's Arms And The Man. 310 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:45,960 My agent rang me up and said, "Do you fancy doing a comedy for the BBC?" 311 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:48,280 And I said, "Well, I've never done comedy." 312 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:51,880 I was always doing period stuff like The Prince Regent or Oscar Wilde. 313 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:54,320 Long live His Majesty, King Charles I. 314 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:59,200 'So they said, "Richard Briers is in it." And I said, "OK. I'll do it."' 315 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:01,760 The great thing is they're actors from the stage. 316 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:03,400 They're used to audiences 317 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:06,320 and they're used to interacting with others. 318 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:09,320 The great thing about comedy is the way the way you react. 319 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:14,080 Hello, Martin. Going fishing? 320 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,920 I can't walk past you carrying anything, can I? 321 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:20,720 If it's a board, it's, "Hello, Martin, going to a board meeting?" 322 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,840 If it's a pole it's, "Hello, where's the pole from - Warsaw?" 323 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:26,219 If you were carrying a whale I'd probably say, 324 00:18:26,220 --> 00:18:28,800 "Hello, Martin, are you having a whale of a time?" 325 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:30,320 Yes, you probably would. 326 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:33,360 As usual, you've gone straight down Silly Avenue! 327 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:34,960 Where would I get a whale from? 328 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:37,160 Wales? 329 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:39,480 Lunatic! 330 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:42,320 You could have caught it with your fishing rod. 331 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:43,560 Loony. 332 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:45,640 That's what you are. You're a loony. 333 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,520 'I think, "My God! This is a very good double act." ' 334 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:50,360 This little ratty man 335 00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:54,200 and this wonderful 6' 2" wonderful man. 336 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:56,160 "Hello, Martin." You know. 337 00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:59,480 Hello, Martin. 338 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:02,200 Situation comedy is one of the hardest things to do. 339 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,840 it forces you to use yourself a lot, 340 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:07,200 which is very, very good for... 341 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:10,280 modern acting, as opposed to period acting. 342 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:13,080 So you learn an awful lot about acting by doing it. 343 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:17,600 Stop that. Just stop it! Martin, could you be masterful without shaking me? 344 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:22,133 It's wonderful to go to somebody who you know you'll get a reaction from. 345 00:19:22,134 --> 00:19:23,480 It worked every time. 346 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:29,040 This is the life, eh, Martin? 347 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:31,000 Busy doing nothing! 348 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:33,840 'You need good actors to do lightweight stuff.' 349 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,920 It's very, sort of, thin ice stuff. 350 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:38,960 it can go out of the window, be lost, 351 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,200 unless you've got people who know their technique and craft. 352 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:44,760 So we got a very high standard, as in The Good Life. 353 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:47,800 Good morning, Anne. 354 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,480 I hope you don't mind us coming in the back way 355 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:52,560 but we saw Martin up a tree. 356 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:57,760 Two of the more memorable characters were Howard and Hilda Hughes, 357 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:00,720 naive, infuriating and a little bit odd. 358 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,560 IN HIGH-PITCHED NORTHERN ACCENT: Hey up, lad! 359 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:06,800 My name is Nathan Sidebottom. 360 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:13,640 You see, I'm becoming terrified that I'm being touched by dark forces. 361 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:18,160 Both Geraldine Newman and Stanley Lebor came from the theatre 362 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:20,680 and had small parts in a number of TV series, 363 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,440 such as Dr Finlay's casebook and The Naked Civil Servant. 364 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:26,280 But their big break came 365 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:29,880 when they were offered the parts of devoted couple Howard and Hilda. 366 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:33,720 # Yodel-hey-hi-hi! # HE BLOWS HORN BADLY 367 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:37,080 Just a minute, Howard. Just a minute, Hilda. 368 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:41,240 Howard and Hilda were amazing cos they were both mad. 369 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:46,280 Howard and Hilda were part of a world that Martin COULD control, 370 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:48,560 before Paul came along and disrupted it. 371 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:51,320 Howard, um...a simple man! 372 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:53,800 An enthusiast. 373 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,240 I used to think that a Jacuzzi 374 00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:59,880 was a little, hopping animal, you know! 375 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:03,120 Howard is a kind of disciple to Martin. 376 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:04,920 He sort of, um... 377 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:08,480 will do whatever Martin asks him to do and Hilda tags along. 378 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:12,440 Howard and Hilda, you really are a couple of funny old buckets! 379 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:14,520 They're the sort of couple who... 380 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,200 in real life you'd find deeply frustrating. 381 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,880 They also wore exactly the same clothes. 382 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:21,920 They both looked like twins! 383 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,360 It's not always pleasant 384 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:28,000 when someone comes up and says, "I loved your matching costumes." 385 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,720 "Well, what about my acting!" Yes! 386 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,960 I can see it's going to be one of those days 387 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:38,720 when you keep me laughing endlessly! HOWARD LAUGHS A HIGH-PITCHED GIGGLE 388 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:42,360 The only thing I think I put to them was I said, 389 00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:44,880 "You ought to be wearing the same clothes." 390 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,013 We talked about this before, didn't we? 391 00:21:47,014 --> 00:21:49,680 Geraldine thinks it was her idea. It was my idea. 392 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:52,960 May they find great happiness in their new home. 393 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:54,640 And garden. 394 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:56,920 And garden. 395 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:00,040 It may be that I just thought of it at the same time. 396 00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:02,688 With the cast now in place, 397 00:22:02,689 --> 00:22:06,160 there was one important ingredient missing for a hit series - 398 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:08,280 an attention-grabbing title. 399 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:16,480 Titles are terribly difficult. 400 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:20,920 We went through something like 39 titles. 401 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:24,960 E=MC2 was one of them, um... 402 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:27,800 Oh, I can't tell you the trouble we had! 403 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:33,080 After much head scratching the writers settled on the cryptic, 404 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:34,920 Ever Decreasing Circles, 405 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:38,040 a canny reference to Martin's tendency to disappear 406 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,280 into his own anal little world. 407 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:44,440 All I said was, "Why were there mole hills on my lawn and not on Paul's." 408 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:48,320 You did not, you claimed the moles knew which lawn was which. 409 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:49,840 AUDIENCE LAUGHS 410 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:54,200 You claimed that they had decided not to dig hills on Paul's lawn. 411 00:22:56,040 --> 00:23:00,200 The competition between Martin and Peter's part... 412 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:04,520 was that Egan's part was good at everything. 413 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:07,560 He was what they called at school an all-rounder. 414 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:09,342 He'd be very good at mathematics, 415 00:23:09,343 --> 00:23:12,120 he'd be very good at football, very good at cricket. 416 00:23:12,120 --> 00:23:14,680 'My favourite episode was the cricket match.' 417 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:20,240 Will somebody please tell me the bowler's name?! 418 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:33,640 Howzat! 419 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,320 Out. 420 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:39,600 It was only during filming they discovered a potential problem. 421 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:44,880 Peter Egan, unlike his character, couldn't actually play cricket. 422 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:48,000 Sydney Lotterby was terribly worried. He said, 423 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:52,040 "He can't play cricket! He's no good! He can't play cricket!" 424 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:56,600 I said, "Can't you do some magic with the camera? Something?" 425 00:23:56,600 --> 00:24:00,200 And then somebody said, put some music on the top. 426 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:14,000 This was wonderful. This great man doing these great... 427 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,280 And it looked wonderfully good. 428 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:18,560 Like a great batsman! 429 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,600 And it worked a treat. 430 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:23,640 But for Martin, it was his worst nightmare. 431 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:26,640 It was like cutting him through with a knife. 432 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,400 He - the captain. He - the man who'd arranged all the teas. 433 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:33,640 He - the man who varnished the stumps. 434 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:38,240 And his wife, trying to make it all right for him said, 435 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,200 "Look, never mind. You're good at playing the piano. 436 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,240 "You go next door to the bar... 437 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:46,680 "and give us a tune on the piano. 438 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:49,920 "You've always been good at that. You know you're good." 439 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:51,960 And he says, "Yes, I am good at that." 440 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:58,080 And at that very moment, through the door, you hear... 441 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:00,600 PIANO PLAYS AND PEOPLE SING CHEERILY 442 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:04,000 Yes, it is him. 443 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,680 The question that was also asked an awful lot 444 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,440 was about the relationship between Paul and Anne, Martin's wife, 445 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:15,480 cos there was always a teasing kind of relationship. 446 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,840 Tricky, isn't it, when you come to think of it. 447 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:20,560 It's not so easy. Take your time. 448 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:22,480 Take your time. 449 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:25,000 'It's an odd situation. There's a single man 450 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,720 'and then sometimes he's rather flirty with me.' 451 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:30,480 And then you wonder whether I'll go off with him - 452 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:32,400 a constant interest in that area. 453 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:39,920 I seem to remember somewhere that in the first series, 454 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:43,240 there was a final episode where Paul and Anne 455 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:48,280 actually eloped together and by the time we got to the fourth episode, 456 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:52,000 they realised that would be a total disaster. So it was never made. 457 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:55,400 But that kind of underlying, um...tease 458 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:59,280 was always threaded through the whole series. 459 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:03,320 One of these days, I'm going to call your bluff. 460 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:06,560 Who's bluffing? 461 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:10,507 Slightly disappointing audiences of around 5 million 462 00:26:10,508 --> 00:26:13,320 watched the first series of Ever Decreasing Circles. 463 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:15,120 The BBC would have expected more 464 00:26:15,120 --> 00:26:17,320 but they were willing to give the series 465 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:19,240 every possible chance of success. 466 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:21,840 They decided to go for a second series, 467 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:24,880 so they repeated the first series again 468 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,520 and the repeats of the first series got 7 million, 469 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:30,560 which is quite remarkable, 470 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:34,800 because then people talked about it and more watched the second series. 471 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:38,680 'The second series itself got 9 million.' 472 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:40,720 AUDIENCE LAUGHS 473 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:42,800 Anybody ever got 147 here? 474 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:44,320 No. 475 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:45,360 Hmm. 476 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:48,440 And then it went from 9 million to 11 million to 13, 15 477 00:26:48,441 --> 00:26:50,440 and so on and it was just wonderful. 478 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:53,840 AUDIENCE LAUGHS 479 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:56,680 That's four away. That's four away! 480 00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:59,080 Foul stroke, four away. 481 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:01,720 Well, don't just say it, put it up! Put it up! 482 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:05,440 After the second series, the cast realised the show was a hit. 483 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:07,800 But when they returned for series three, 484 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:10,440 there had been an unexpected change in personnel. 485 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,240 Director, Sydney Lotterby, had left. 486 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,720 I don't know why Sydney left. I don't know. 487 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:20,640 I left because I was given the sack. 488 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:23,680 I was called into the office one day, out of the blue, 489 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,720 and told that, um... 490 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:29,760 I wasn't giving enough direction to our principal actor. 491 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:33,800 It hurt at the time... but there we are. 492 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,840 Sydney had been replaced by Harold Snoad, 493 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:41,880 another of the BBC's most prolific and reliable comedy directors. 494 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:45,760 Sydney, I always thought, by nature, was an introvert... 495 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:50,720 which is rather funny considering the wonderful comedy he produced. 496 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:53,240 And Harold is an extrovert. 497 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,560 So it was just a basic change of energy, I think. 498 00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:59,760 Harold's first major sitcom was Oh, Brother! 499 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:01,800 starring Derek Nimmo in 1968. 500 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,360 The following year, he directed Dad's Army, 501 00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:06,920 before moving on to Are You Being Served? 502 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,960 In 1978, Harold worked with writer Richard Waring 503 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:13,200 and the series Rings On Their Fingers, 504 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:15,640 then helped the doctors sitcom Don't Wait Up 505 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:17,920 continue its smooth run through the '80s. 506 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:22,720 He brought his experience and energy to an increasingly popular show. 507 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:27,760 My favourite was when Martin has to go to Belgium, to Bruges, 508 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,080 to attend a conference 509 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:33,600 and, um...a colleague of his does the dirty on him, 510 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:36,640 in as much as he encourages him to get drunk 511 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:40,880 and then gets a local good-time girl to come into Martin's bedroom. 512 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:43,480 MARTIN GROANS 513 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,720 And he's so distraught at the fact 514 00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:58,240 that he thinks he's been unfaithful to Anne... 515 00:28:58,240 --> 00:28:59,960 How many did you have? 516 00:28:59,960 --> 00:29:01,880 I can't remember. 517 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:03,880 Did you meet this girl in the bar? 518 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:06,160 Can't remember. 519 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:07,440 Somewhere else? 520 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:09,560 Can't remember. 521 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:14,200 We're certainly piecing this together, aren't we, Martin? 522 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:18,600 It's only later on that Paul's character finds out, 523 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:21,840 from the same man who put Martin into all this, 524 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:24,760 that it was a prank and didn't really happen. 525 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:27,760 Rex! Rex Tyler. Yes, who wants to know? 526 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:30,160 Paul, I'm Martin Bryce's neighbour, remember? 527 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:32,240 Oh, yes, hello, squire! 528 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:33,440 All right? 529 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:38,120 Rex, since Martin came back from Bruges, he's been like a frightened rabbit! 530 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:40,360 Well, come on! Let us in on it. 531 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:46,080 I got him drunk and paid some Belgian bird to go into his room! 532 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:49,120 He wakes up in the morning... she says, 533 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:51,240 "Thanks for a wonderful night." 534 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,480 And he, prize prune, believes her! 535 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,880 Oh, come on, darling, don't say you don't get it as well? 536 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,240 Oh, yes, I get it. 537 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,160 Then why aren't you laughing? I'm Anne Bryce. 538 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:10,000 If someone takes over from you, you think, "I bet he's not as good." 539 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,560 But, of course, he was! Damn him! 540 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:15,000 Say you laugh, 541 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,560 you must by the very nature of laughing go like this... 542 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:21,840 HE LAUGHS EXAGGERATEDLY 543 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:24,240 No. 544 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:27,280 When we laugh, we always lean forwards. 545 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:32,120 Like this. HE LAUGHS EXAGGERATEDLY 546 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:34,880 Esmonde and Larbey, teamed with Briers, 547 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,320 had struck gold with their balance of dark humour and farce, 548 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:41,920 where the comedy was more in the characters than the situation. 549 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:44,800 Nothing's ever made us laugh that much. 550 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:49,040 Well, a good sitcom should be about people who you know - 551 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:52,080 people that you've met, people you work with - 552 00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:53,800 recognisable people. 553 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,280 people used to say on Ever Decreasing Circles, 554 00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:59,800 "I love you as Martin Bryce cos I've got an uncle like that." 555 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:03,240 "I like Martin Bryce cos I've got one in the office - drives us mad." 556 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:06,760 You know, Howard, some people would laugh if they could see us now. 557 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:09,200 Why? We don't look particularly silly, do we? 558 00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:11,240 No, but they think we do. 559 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:15,000 Who? People like those so-called alternative comedians. 560 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:16,880 Les Dawson - that crowd. 561 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:19,560 By 1987, and the end of the fourth series, 562 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:23,360 the comedy landscape was undergoing a transformation. 563 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:25,560 Alternative comedians were elbowing in. 564 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:30,840 Sofa-driven sitcoms like Ever Decreasing Circles just weren't fashionable. 565 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:33,360 When the fourth series ended, 566 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:35,700 everyone moved onto their separate projects 567 00:31:35,701 --> 00:31:38,560 and it looked like the end of Ever Decreasing Circles. 568 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:42,400 Esmonde and Larbey had already been enjoying success with Brush Strokes. 569 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:46,920 Peter Egan co-starred in BBC Sitcom Joint Account with Hannah Gordon. 570 00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:49,520 And Richard Briers returned to the theatre, 571 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:52,920 as well as indulging his taste for villainy in Doctor Who. 572 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:57,160 But such was the lasting popularity of Ever Decreasing Circles 573 00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:01,480 that in 1989 it was brought back for a one-off Christmas Eve special. 574 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:05,520 It was an episode that saw major changes ahead for the Bryces 575 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:08,760 because the normally super-careful Martin got Anne pregnant. 576 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:11,760 Oh, Anne! 577 00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:17,040 He'd heard his firm was relocating 578 00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:20,080 and he had to move away from his friends and his house 579 00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:23,040 and there are a lot of emotional moments in it as well. 580 00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:31,480 What hadn't changed was the one-up- manship between Martin and Paul. 581 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:35,200 Sorry, long queue. 582 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:38,400 Did you see Roland Twining? He was incredible! 583 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:40,200 That wasn't Mr Twining. 584 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:43,040 He twisted his ankle just before he was due to go on. 585 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:46,240 But if that wasn't Roland Twining, then who on earth...? 586 00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:55,720 You have to say he's a brilliant actor 587 00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:59,240 who got what was necessary out of this extraordinary character 588 00:32:59,241 --> 00:33:01,000 Esmonde and Larbey had written. 589 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:18,880 So, after 27 episodes, it was an emotional goodbye to the close... 590 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:21,160 but not to the cast. 591 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:24,850 After Ever Decreasing Circles, Esmonde and Larbey 592 00:33:24,851 --> 00:33:26,720 continued the run of Brush Strokes, 593 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,880 produced at times by both Harold Snoad and Sydney Lotterby - 594 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:31,920 the best of both worlds. 595 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:34,600 Snoad then took charge of Keeping Up Appearances, 596 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,640 while Lotterby worked with Bob Larbey on As Time Goes By. 597 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:41,240 The last series that Esmonde and Larbey wrote together for Briers 598 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:44,640 was an anti-climax as Down To Earth ran for just seven episodes. 599 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:55,760 Gave myself a bit of a scare, there. 600 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:59,800 Peter Egan mixed theatre with television and film 601 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:04,480 and in 2000 made a not altogether successful return to sitcom with Cry Wolf 602 00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:07,000 but returned to TV comedy with Home Again. 603 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:10,040 Geraldine Newman returned to the theatre... 604 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:12,360 as did Stanley Lebor, 605 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:14,880 who also appeared alongside Penelope Wilton 606 00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:17,600 in the children's classic The Borrowers. 607 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:23,815 Penelope Wilton recently popped up as Simon Pegg's mum 608 00:34:23,816 --> 00:34:25,720 in the movie Shaun Of The Dead, 609 00:34:25,720 --> 00:34:27,360 which established a new genre - 610 00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:29,720 the genre romantic comedy, or zom-rom-com. 611 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:36,360 I'm sorry, Mum. 612 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:39,920 Do it! 613 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:42,320 BANG! 614 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:45,480 After Down To Earth, Richard got himself going again 615 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:48,800 with a number of critically-acclaimed performances. 616 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:54,040 And exhibited a darker side to his acting talent in Inspector Morse. 617 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:58,960 Any time you want to do it again... 618 00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:01,160 Once was quite enough. 619 00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:03,320 Well, if that's your attitude... 620 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:06,760 Actually, you could do it a thousand times 621 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:09,120 and I still wouldn't support Dennis! 622 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:11,520 You Americans are so naive. 623 00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:14,800 What the hell do you mean? 624 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:17,200 Dennis once had an affair with my wife. 625 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:19,240 Never told you that, did he? 626 00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:20,800 He ruined my marriage. 627 00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:23,832 I've awaited a long time for the chance to ruin his. 628 00:35:23,833 --> 00:35:25,720 Thank you for being so obliging. 629 00:35:25,720 --> 00:35:27,920 But you said you... 630 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:31,440 You sold yourself like a common whore...for nothing. 631 00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:32,960 Dennis will never be master. 632 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:37,440 You bastard. See you at Founders' Feast, my dear. 633 00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:39,360 I was opening a fete in Scotland 634 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,400 and two dear old ladies my age came up and said, 635 00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:44,680 "Oh, Mr Briers, we saw Morse." 636 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:48,320 I said, "Oh." She said, "I wish you wouldn't do those parts." 637 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:50,720 Do your worst! 638 00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:53,920 In 2000, he returned to our television screens 639 00:35:53,920 --> 00:35:57,160 to delight audiences as eccentric Hector in Monarch Of The Glen. 640 00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:00,680 Monarch Of The Glen turned up and I thought it was a very nice script, 641 00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:04,360 a wonderful part, a character part where I could pinch scenes! 642 00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:07,920 A scene-stealing part, which I like at my age now! 643 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:10,000 I've got no shame any more. 644 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:12,440 DOG WHIMPERS 645 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:21,280 Useless? 646 00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:23,000 Useless?! 647 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:31,280 Ah. 648 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:34,200 No-one can teach you timing. 649 00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:37,360 It's just something you have, or you haven't. 650 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:39,960 And Richard has it in spades. 651 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:42,000 He knows it all. 652 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:45,200 He knows ever nuance of comedy. 653 00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:49,800 Richard Briers is absolutely superb, wonderful, a great joy to work with. 654 00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:52,680 And Richard has been keeping younger viewers happy 655 00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:54,480 with the cartoon series Roobarb 656 00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:56,760 which he's voiced with his loveable side 657 00:36:56,760 --> 00:37:01,440 since 1974 and continues today as Roobarb and Custard Too. 658 00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:05,520 I do now 27 voices. 659 00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:10,560 AS CUSTARD: Of course, Custard's always been a great voice to play 660 00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:13,520 because he sends up Roobarb rotten. 661 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:16,400 Custard, the ringmaster, announced that, 662 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:18,520 "The fantastic Roobarb... # 663 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:20,600 of the one dog slippers company would, 664 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:23,040 "...juggle for their entertainment.... 665 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:26,080 "be fired from a canon for their excitement..." 666 00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:35,640 And he has this terrible laugh when Roobarb does something wrong. 667 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:38,680 He goes, "Oh, there he goes again. All right, clever guts?" 668 00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:40,280 HE MIMICS CUSTARDS LAUGH 669 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:47,160 Stay there, mate, I'm coming round that side of the table. 670 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:53,120 The quality of Richard Briers' unique performance as Martin Bryce 671 00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:56,440 is one of the many elements that makes Ever Decreasing Circles 672 00:37:56,440 --> 00:37:58,560 a classic and well-remembered sitcom. 673 00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:00,960 I'm going to do something now, mate. 674 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:02,880 'Wonderful scripts...' 675 00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:05,680 Wonderful directors. A terrific cast. 676 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:07,720 'It just worked.' 677 00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:10,560 And even though Richard Briers 678 00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:13,000 has left the young sitcom leads behind him, 679 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:17,040 he hasn't ruled out a comeback if the right role comes along. 680 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:19,360 'Yes, I would go back.' 681 00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:22,400 I'd like to be an old, cantankerous grandpa - 682 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:25,200 not a lot to say but all the best lines. 683 00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:27,520 That would suit me fine! 684 00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:31,160 This sort of thing requires a bedrock, Martin. You are one. 685 00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:33,880 Well, it's very nice of you to say so. 686 00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:36,520 Thank you, Martin. 687 00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:39,560 That's quite all right, Howard. 688 00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:42,600 And a big thank you from me, Martin.