Lovely Bits of Old England: John Betjeman at The Telegraph

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A dark day indeed when we lose the comedy greats. It is a great shame to lose Paul Ritter, and beyond his roles in The Limehouse Golem and Chernobyl , he will, inevitably, be remembered for his work on Friday Night Dinner . Infectious, light fun that gives as good as it takes. It is how Robert Popper, writer of every episode, crafts these stories and similar tones that we must cherish. That is the aim of Friday Night Dinner: 10 Years and a Lovely Bit of Squirrel , an initially earnest documentary trying to understand the love of the show that turns into a puff-piece feature set on showcasing the basic notes of a show that some may, somehow, be unaware of. But at the same time, Ritter also carved out a decent niche as a character actor in prestigious period pieces. In 2012’s The Hollow Crown, he was a swaggering, overcompensatory Ancient Pistol. In Toby Whithouse’s The Game, he added huge depth to a quietly regret-filled cold war spy. He played Jimmy Perry and Eric Sykes. He played Christine Keeler’s barrister and Brigadier-General Sir Ormonde de l’Épée Winter. Spend more than five minutes around any British woman over the age of 40, and you are very likely to hear the word “lovely.” This extremely popular word conveys a feeling of affection or approval on behalf of the speaker towards an object or person, and it’s perhaps best summed up in the phrase, “that’s a lovely cup of tea.” However, the word is more popular amongst older generations, and even more so amongst older women. For instance, the following exchange is definitely happening right now on the streets of Oxford:

Tom: My abiding memory is having no idea how to interact with people who I knew from the television. So I researched Tamsin on Wikipedia and so after saying hello I immediately asked her about her experiences at the University of Birmingham. My first experience of Tamsin was totally in thrall, and her first experience of me was as a cyber-stalker. Friday Night Dinner brought the actor recognition, along with bigger roles. He played an eccentric forensics expert in Paul Abbott’s No Offence, rarely driving the plot, but considerably brightening things up whenever he was on screen. He did the same in Hang Ups, Stephen Mangan’s adaptation of the US show Web Therapy, quietly carving out MVP status alongside big hitters including Charles Dance, Richard E Grant and Celia Imrie. And in the Cold Feet revival he played a lifeless, weaselly number cruncher with such panache that you could at times be forgiven for thinking that it was actually secretly a show about him.And in Chernobyl, he played Anatoly Dyatlov. In a downbeat, dread-soaked miniseries about catastrophic lapses of judgment, the sneering, lazy Dyatlov was the closest thing to an all-out villain. It was Dyatlov’s arrogant ineptitude that caused a routine test to result in the worst nuclear plant disaster in the history of the planet. To those who only knew Ritter’s work on Friday Night Dinner, Dyatlov’s casual cruelty was a revelation. It was hard to watch the show without fully hating him. And their main theory, born out of tradition and word-of-mouth storytelling, isn't particularly outlandish either.

It is, therefore, very possible that there's an abandoned ghost town buried under or to the east of Bitterley, and the local theory proposed during the Time Team episode was that residents abandoned the old village because of the plague. And this brings us to the final, and perhaps most realistic theory as to what lies beneath the fields of Bitterley. I think I had like five auditions, the last of which was a chemistry read with Simon, which I left thinking was a disaster on account of us having terrible chemistry. I was very fortunate to be an incredibly annoying person with a face very similar to Tamsin Greig. Villager Richard Osborne said at the time: "We've had children from the school here digging under the supervision of the experts and we've found some lovely bits of Medieval pottery that we hope will be featured on the show." A behind-the-scenes shot of Tony Robinson in Bitterley (2011). Another theory is that one historical owner of the aforementioned "imposing stately home" may well have had his beautiful view obscured by peasant hovels, and removed them when it was appropriate to do so. Landowners behaving in this way was not uncommon, but there's absolutely no evidence this happened in Bitterley. A photo of Bitterley Court.Everyone knows that Brits love tea, but nothing can prepare you for the ferocity of their addiction to the drink. Tea is more than a beverage. It’s a way of life. Whether you’re at work, visiting friends or simply spending a relaxing day at home, if a British person is around, it won’t take long until you’re posed the question: “Fancy a cuppa?” As well as being wonderful poems in themselves, these are immortal snapshots of our land. A Maltese friend of mine came here more than 30 years ago and was having difficulty coming to grips with Britain and its strange ways. “Read Betjeman,” said his employer. “Then you’ll understand us.” Ahead of the broadcast of Friday Night Dinner: Ten Years And A Lovely Bit of Squirrel, Tom Rosenthal (who plays Jonny) and Simon Bird (Adam) share some of their best bits... The Christmas special was great. Partly because there was something impudent about making a Jewish Christmas special. But mainly because it was the only time the whole gang, including Grandmas, both Horrible and Nice, were in the house together. It felt like a real family Christmas.

Wessex Archaeology wrote: "It is possible that Medieval structures may still survive in this area¸ sealed below the post-Medieval remains.

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Simon: The Christmas special was great. Partly because there was something impudent about making a Jewish Christmas special. But mainly because it was the only time the whole gang, including Grandmas, both Horrible and Nice, were in the house together. It felt like a real family Christmas. There’s an awkward, fourth-wall-breaking layer to the show. Prompts and obvious nods to the direction of other talking heads feel strained and are the only pacing the brief moments of interest can offer. What aren’t brief conversations with a few available celebrities are instead voice-overs of the favourite moments and those “poignant and emotional scenes,” apparently, Friday Night Dinner has those. Killing off a dog with no real impact and then cutting the documentary to blooper reel footage is not the most poignant of directions, but then this is British television. Has comedy ever really had such a grand production value where we are interested to see what goes on behind the scenes, and why? Peep Show perhaps, but only because the style of recording was a novelty and the behind-the-scenes footage is cut and dry, rather than this watered-down, overemotional swan-song to a television series that barely managed four episodes a year of its decade-long running time. When he failed to catch the little creature, Martin suddenly got angry and started hitting the candles. "Did you know there are places on the internet now where you can go to find girls?" In the past, Britain bequeathed onto the world the steam train, the telephone and, most importantly, the chocolate bar. So it’s fair to say that modern-day Brits have got a pretty impressive standard to live up to when it comes to the world of inventions and mechanics. Most Brits are therefore mortified by the thought of hiring an expensive expert to mend an item in need of repair, and we take pride in giving the repair job a go ourselves. But what if this repair job is of a low-quality, and doesn’t really get the job done? That’s what we call “to bodge something.”

Much of the land would have been used for agricultural purposes and over time the way the locals used the land may have changed. Things like technological advancement or a change of agricultural direction could easily prompt the moving of a village. Sadly, there's not much evidence that this happened either. Robert [Popper] asked me to read the script, and I was just embarrassingly enthusiastic. Robert had created one of my favourite comedy shows of all time, Look Around You, and I was, and still am, a flustered red-faced fanboy around him. Second, as well as being remembered as a great poet, Betjeman was the man who helped us look at our architectural heritage and appreciate it. When they restored St Pancras Station, rightly did they erect a statue of Betjeman on the platform overlooking the spot where the Eurostar trains pull in and out. One, more jokey theory made during the Time Team episode at the end of day one, when the crew fancied a pint, was that the old village was abandoned because Bitterley doesn't have a pub.It was everything I hoped it would be. It had all the best elements of a traditional family sitcom – warmth and big, relatable jokes – but all filtered through Robert’s unique, surreal, anarchic worldview. I thought we had the opportunity to make something that could be both popular but also weird and inventive. Brits are famous for their sense of humour, and we like to take life a little less seriously than other nations do. We take pleasure in being playful, so we often use the word “cheeky” to describe small, fun, frivolous activities that make us smile. I can no longer hear anyone say 'lips' without thinking it is Frances Cuka mishearing the name Liz. Sir John Betjeman, Poet Laureate from 1972, died aged 77 on May 19, 1984. He was a hero and prophet. His matchless lyricism and love of the past went to the heart of what it means to be English, says AN Wilson. This article was originally published in 2014. A village that doesn't have a pub," said one of the show's most popular characters, Phil Harding. "What sort of a village is this?"