A Likely Lad

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Leslie Ferris, Bob's father (in the 1960s series, it was established that Bob's father is deceased) Marvellous series - the sequel was better than the first series. Now a third would be better again. Come on lads - it's what your public wants! This book gives the truth to many myths that were in the papers. The drama and craziness he got up to is mental to read about. It was great to be able to hear his take on those situations and how he got out of them by the skin of his teeth! I am so glad he has finally got clean and seems happy at last!

A Likely Lad - Peter Doherty, Simon Spence - Google Books A Likely Lad - Peter Doherty, Simon Spence - Google Books

Deirdre Birchwood, an ex-girlfriend of Bob's with somewhat loose morals. The frequent references to her became a running gag (with the line "Don't mention Deirdre Birchwood!" becoming a catchphrase)We hear stories about the “underground” figures who abounded in Doherty’s orbit, headed by sometime co-writer Peter Wolfe, AKA Wolfman, a fellow addict and, we are told, the reason for Doherty leaving various rehab units, as well as his short-lived association with Amy Winehouse, when he was “under manners to try and look after her… I could see how fragile she was”. There was a lot of “dark energy” about, he says, the records “crafted out of the scraps”.

A Likely Lad by Peter Doherty | Hachette UK A Likely Lad by Peter Doherty | Hachette UK

Geordie heroes Ant and Dec are big fans and they can remember watching the programme when they were kids. They were inspired by watching the first 'Geordie' actors to make it big on TV. The lads' workmate from the 1960s series, Cloughie (played by Bartlett Mullins), does not appear, but it is mentioned in the first episode that he now runs a newsagents. Set in Newcastle upon Tyne in north-east England, the show follows the friendship, resumed after five years apart, of two working-class young men, Bob Ferris ( Rodney Bewes) and Terry Collier ( James Bolam). The word "likely" in the title referred, in the 1960s series, to those showing promise, but also to those likely to get up to well-meaning mischief. The humour was based on the tension between Terry's firmly working-class outlook and Bob's aspirations to join the middle class, through his new white-collar job, suburban home and impending marriage to prissy librarian Thelma Chambers ( Brigit Forsyth). Due to a misunderstanding, Terry causes havoc between Bob and Thelma, leading Bob to get cold feet about the wedding. Brigit Forsyth as Thelma Chambers (later Ferris), Bob's fiancée, whom he marries at the end of series 1Bob's immediate neighbours at his new house are the Lawsons and the Jeffcotes, again never seen in the show. A couple called the Nortons are also later referred to as living next door. The word "likely" in the show's title is ambiguous. In some dialects in Northern England it means "likeable" but it may be derived from the phrase the man most likely to (i.e. likely to succeed, having potential), a boxing expression in common use on Tyneside, hence, in Geordie slang, "a likely lad". Another possible meaning is the ambiguous Northern usage of "likely" to mean a small-time troublemaker.