0:00:22 > 0:00:25PHONE RINGS
0:00:28 > 0:00:30Ah!
0:00:31 > 0:00:32Ah!
0:00:33 > 0:00:34Ah!
0:00:34 > 0:00:38All comedy is about frustration, failure, disaster. I don't know why.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41We have to play failures to get laughs.
0:00:41 > 0:00:46On the face of it, Ever Decreasing Circles was a classic suburban sit-com,
0:00:46 > 0:00:50yet central to its everyday situations were some odd characters.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54None more so than the obsessive and insufferable Martin Bryce.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57- What is the matter with you? - PHONE RINGS
0:00:57 > 0:01:01The number of letters I got from people saying, "He reminds me of my husband."
0:01:01 > 0:01:03People were very fond of Martin.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12He's just the most marvellous comedian - Richard.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Sometimes when we were recording, he would do something
0:01:16 > 0:01:19that would make me laugh so much, we had to stop.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24What's more, I didn't feel you kiss me goodnight.
0:01:24 > 0:01:30Ever Decreasing Circles ran for 27 episodes between 1984 and 1989.
0:01:30 > 0:01:36After a slow start, 12 million viewers were eventually inviting Martin Bryce into their living rooms
0:01:36 > 0:01:40as they had a decade earlier with Tom Good in The Good Life.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44The modern master of tragic comedy failure, Ricky Gervais,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48includes Ever Decreasing Circles high on his best ever comedy list,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51describing Briers as the greatest living British sit-com actor.
0:01:51 > 0:01:57Given a choice between Martin and Tom, for Richard there'd be no contest.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00My favourite would be Martin Bryce in Ever Decreasing,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04rather than Tom Good, because he was a wonderful character to play,
0:02:04 > 0:02:09but he was very much me, as it were, slightly exaggerated,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11whereas Martin Bryce was a genuine character.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14They'd written much more of a character.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18THEY were John Esmonde and Bob Larbey
0:02:18 > 0:02:21who had created perennial BBC favourite The Good Life
0:02:21 > 0:02:24starring Richard Briers in 1975.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28By that time, Briers had already made a name for himself in TV comedy.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Our story starts in the '50s with Richard a humble clerk
0:02:32 > 0:02:35with a keen interest in theatre and amateur dramatics.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40His life changed when he auditioned for RADA
0:02:40 > 0:02:42on the advice of a famous relative.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44I know a friend who arrived here in Paris,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46two hours later the door opened,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50his wife dashed in and said, "Hello, darling, surprise!"
0:02:50 > 0:02:52- Gosh, how super!- Super?!
0:02:53 > 0:02:56It was disastrous.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58Caught with his trousers down, literally.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01My father's cousin was Terry Thomas. A huge star.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06Terry said, "I think you've got something.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11"I don't quite know what it is but I think you need a polish,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14"a kind of college or school."
0:03:14 > 0:03:19From alongside Albert Finney, Alan Bates and Peter O'Toole at RADA,
0:03:19 > 0:03:21his first TV break came in 1961
0:03:21 > 0:03:24courtesy of Denis Norden and Frank Muir,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26then TV's most successful writers,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29who were looking for a young actor to join June Whitfield
0:03:29 > 0:03:32in a series they were writing for Jimmy Edwards.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35I don't think I can take this much longer, Sally.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38- Have you seen some of the jobs he's put me on?- I know.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42That pick-up he handed you after the international rugger match.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44Six drunken Irishmen in one cab!
0:03:44 > 0:03:50'That led the boys to have faith enough to give me my own series,'
0:03:50 > 0:03:54so before I knew where I was... I think I was only about 27,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56I got my own TV show, which was marvellous.
0:03:56 > 0:04:03The following year Muir and Norden wrote a sit-com that was the perfect vehicle for Richard,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06as a young, naive barrister in Brothers In Law,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09he played opposite more-experienced Richard Waring.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14Why should he endanger his client's case by entrusting it to you?
0:04:14 > 0:04:19Well, he may have been impressed by my performance last time I was in court.
0:04:19 > 0:04:20You've only been in court once
0:04:20 > 0:04:24and that performance wouldn't have impressed your mother.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27- AK Butterworth wouldn't be your mother?- No, he isn't.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29He's my uncle.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34Through Brothers In Law I met Richard Waring who was an actor-writer
0:04:34 > 0:04:37and he didn't want to go on acting. He found it embarrassing.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42He was a good writer of his genre. He wrote light comedy stuff.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46He talked this idea up of a young couple
0:04:46 > 0:04:50and all the vicissitudes and problems and ups and downs
0:04:50 > 0:04:53of a very young couple getting married.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56- George.- I'd like to get something straight.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00- But, George...- I can do what I want, so please, darling.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02I just want to think for a moment.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06I suggested the pictures, right?
0:05:06 > 0:05:08- But you didn't want to go. - I did want to go.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13- So we're doing what you wanted. - It's just the way things turned out.
0:05:13 > 0:05:14Prunella Scales co-starred
0:05:14 > 0:05:19and Richard could demonstrate his trademark rapid-fire delivery.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22I did suggest the pictures, so presumably I wanted to go.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24- We're not going, as you wanted. - Darling!
0:05:24 > 0:05:29- I wanted the pictures. We're going to your mother's tomorrow, which you wanted.- Listen....
0:05:29 > 0:05:34- We're not going to the King's Head, which I wanted.- You wanted the pictures.- We're not going there.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36That got us very well known.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40That series ran for over 40 episodes, which was very long then.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44While Richard was making a name for himself,
0:05:44 > 0:05:48John Esmonde and Bob Larbey also met Richard Waring,
0:05:48 > 0:05:50wearing his comedy executive hat.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55He commissioned a pilot which became their first sit-com series Room At The Bottom.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58That led to a meeting in 1968 with Frank Muir
0:05:58 > 0:06:01who by now was London Weekend TV's head of comedy.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05He commissioned Please, Sir - Esmonde and Larbey's first big hit.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07How are we going to balance their survival
0:06:07 > 0:06:10against the increasing rate of civilisation?
0:06:10 > 0:06:13I don't know the answer to that. What is it, chief?
0:06:13 > 0:06:15I dunno. I'm asking you.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18Well, leave it with me. I'll have a think.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Because of that the BBC thought,
0:06:21 > 0:06:25"I wonder if they could do anything for us that was any good."
0:06:25 > 0:06:27They called us up and said,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30"We're looking for a series for Richard Briers,"
0:06:30 > 0:06:35who we'd never worked with but who we obviously knew about.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39After Marriage Lines, Richard polished his talents in the theatre
0:06:39 > 0:06:41and films such as Fathom.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45He'd starred in the sit-com Birds On The Wing
0:06:45 > 0:06:50when the BBC put him with Esmonde and Larbey, flavour of the month.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Esmonde and Larbey were from heaven, as far as I was concerned.
0:06:53 > 0:06:59We collided, as it were, in our careers at their absolute peak.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03I was, at that time, nearly reaching a peak.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Do you know my biggest regret?
0:07:05 > 0:07:07It seems surprising that Richard considered
0:07:07 > 0:07:10turning down the role that would make him a household name.
0:07:10 > 0:07:16but he was torn between his love of theatre and the financial rewards TV success could bring.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21In a funny sort of way, I, too, am very happy.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23I wondered about The Good Life.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28It's a funny thing about young actors, you get very pretentious,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30"Should I do Shakespeare?
0:07:30 > 0:07:33"Should I go to the RSC and starve?"
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Go in peace, but tell thy sorry lady this,
0:07:36 > 0:07:42if she doth bite her thumbs, do we unto her, our thumbs bite?
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Don't call us, we'll call you.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48I thought, "Well, it could be rather good."
0:07:48 > 0:07:52By golly, it turned out to be a smasherooney!
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Like Richard, his Good Life co-stars, Felicity Kendal,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington,
0:07:58 > 0:07:59had strong theatre roots
0:07:59 > 0:08:03and had all been regulars in Alan Ayckbourn's West End plays.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Their stage experience meant a level of comic acting
0:08:06 > 0:08:08unusual in sit-com at that time
0:08:08 > 0:08:11but perfectly suited to Esmonde and Larbey's writing.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15- Shall we ask Tom and Barbara?- Good idea. ..Care for a lunchtime drink?
0:08:15 > 0:08:20- We've discovered a super little pub. - Right, lovely.- Smashing.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Good. Come on.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24We'll come in our own car.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27You don't know the way.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30- OK, we'll follow you.- I still haven't seen their new car.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Haven't you, darling?
0:08:37 > 0:08:39LOUD ENGINE ROARS
0:08:48 > 0:08:50Oh, my God!
0:08:50 > 0:08:54- Drive on.- But they don't know the way to the pub.- I know.
0:08:54 > 0:08:55Drive on!
0:08:55 > 0:08:59To the audience, Tom Good was a loveable eccentric.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02But Richard Briers saw the character in a different light.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06I'm not a great fan of Tom Good as a character.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10He was selfish, he was always on the touch with Margo and Jerry,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13always eating their food and drink.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15It was just him - my big idea!
0:09:15 > 0:09:20They're not like us, Margo. They mustn't touch or they go bad.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23Most of the parts I played aren't that likeable,
0:09:23 > 0:09:27which is odd because I've made a living by being likeable.
0:09:27 > 0:09:32After the success of The Good Life, the cast were rewarded with their own sit-coms.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Carla Lane wrote Solo for Felicity Kendal,
0:09:34 > 0:09:39Penelope Keith scored a major success in To The Manor Born
0:09:39 > 0:09:42and Paul Eddington's politician Jim Hacker
0:09:42 > 0:09:44bumbled memorably in Yes, Minister.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Esmonde and Larbey also enjoyed phenomenal success on ITV
0:09:48 > 0:09:52with Get Some In - a sit-com about national service -
0:09:52 > 0:09:54which gave Robert Lindsay a starring role,
0:09:54 > 0:09:58so expectations were high for their next project with Richard Briers -
0:09:58 > 0:10:01The Other One in 1977.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Richard was paired with Michael Gambon,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07another stage actor and Alan Ayckbourn regular,
0:10:07 > 0:10:09who was relatively new to television.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12He played the most boring man in the world
0:10:12 > 0:10:17and I played the most rambunctious, pushy, ghastly man in the world
0:10:17 > 0:10:19and it was beautifully written by Esmonde and Larbey
0:10:19 > 0:10:22and became our favourite.
0:10:22 > 0:10:23But it was a flop.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Buenos noches.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Buena.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Sit down, Brian, old man. Sit down.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH:
0:10:39 > 0:10:42The Other One was a glorious failure.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Richard wasn't very loveable.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50And the first time we did it in the studio, you could...
0:10:50 > 0:10:53actually feel the studio audience recoil
0:10:53 > 0:10:56when Richard came forward with the moustache
0:10:56 > 0:10:58and a smarmy look about him.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02There was an, "Ooh! No, that's not Richard!"
0:11:02 > 0:11:04After The Other One it would be seven years
0:11:04 > 0:11:07before Richard Briers had another hit TV series.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11He appeared in the TV adaptation of Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14alongside Penelope Keith and Penelope Wilton.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17but Goodbye Mr Kent, co-starring Hannah Gordon,
0:11:17 > 0:11:19lasted only one series.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Esmonde and Larbey weren't faring much better,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27though Larbey had a solo hit in 1981 with A Fine Romance,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29starring Judi Dench and Michael Williams.
0:11:29 > 0:11:30Then, in the early '80s,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Esmonde and Larbey happened upon a scene they thought would make
0:11:34 > 0:11:36not only a great situation comedy
0:11:36 > 0:11:38but a perfect role for Richard Briers.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42'They were walking along Clapham Common one day,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45- '- going somewhere, and there was a football match on.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47'In the middle was this referee...'
0:11:47 > 0:11:48Pick it up! Dribble it!
0:11:48 > 0:11:52'..shouting and nagging, blowing his whistle, "This is offside.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55- ' "What are you doing?" ' - WHISTLE BLOWS
0:11:55 > 0:11:56- Offside!- WHAT?!
0:11:56 > 0:11:59At the end of the match they ran into the distance,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02leaving this chap saying, "Wait for me, lads!
0:12:02 > 0:12:06"Don't rush off!" They couldn't wait to get away from the bugger.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09All right, you've asked for this.
0:12:09 > 0:12:10So Martin was born.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12In 1984, Esmonde, Larbey and Briers
0:12:12 > 0:12:16combined the lessons they'd learned from the success of The Good Life
0:12:16 > 0:12:18and the failure of The Other One
0:12:18 > 0:12:20to create the strangely endearing,
0:12:20 > 0:12:22obsessive-compulsive Mole Valley Valves
0:12:22 > 0:12:27middle-manager oddball Martin Bryce for Ever Decreasing Circles.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35A lot of series are about what people do...
0:12:35 > 0:12:38what they try to get done.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42This was about the inside of his head, more than anything else!
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Are you untangling the phone?
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Things like colour-coding, counting, clean shoes.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Everything in its place and a place for everything.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Bob Larbey said, "You're the only actor we can think of
0:13:01 > 0:13:05"Who will give some kind of charm to this appalling character!"
0:13:05 > 0:13:09I've often thought if I hadn't gone into valves, I'd have done psychiatry.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11They knew I could be vulnerable.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13And so I employed vulnerability into Martin.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17Ever Decreasing Circles was directed by Sydney Lotterby -
0:13:17 > 0:13:19a legendary name in TV comedy.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23One of his many career highlights was Sykes And A Plank.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Aye, aye.
0:13:27 > 0:13:28This is gonna be funny.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41'Ere, I could have walked right into that plank! Why didn't you warn me?
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Plank? What plank?
0:13:47 > 0:13:53Sydney Lotterby's CV was a roll callof all the big BBC sitcoms of the '70s and '80s,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56including Up Pompeii, Porridge,
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em...
0:13:59 > 0:14:01..and Yes, Minister,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04starring The Good Life's Paul Eddington.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Our audience could recognise the character of Martin
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and probably knew someone like him.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13And you had the added thing, of course,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15of this poor woman living with him.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19That was another... The reason the audience took to the scripts.
0:14:19 > 0:14:20Do you know what I'm going to do now?
0:14:22 > 0:14:24No, Martin.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27I'm going to make us both a nice cup of cocoa.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32Martin's long-suffering wife was Anne, an attractive, intelligent woman,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36aware of Martin's shortcomings, but who loved him nonetheless.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Is anything getting you down?
0:14:41 > 0:14:46Now, come on, if you can't talk to me who CAN you talk to? Now tell me.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Well...
0:14:57 > 0:14:59You're looking at your bloody watch!
0:14:59 > 0:15:02- I'm just checking.- How long have we got?- Oh, 20 minutes!
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Oh, forget it. Forget it! Forget it.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06- Free time, love. - Oh, go to Brighton!
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Penelope Wilton's television career started
0:15:09 > 0:15:13in adaptations of stage classics, like Mrs Warren's Profession.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Frankly, I'm not going to stand any more of your nonsense
0:15:16 > 0:15:21As soon as you drop it, I won't expect you to stand any of mine.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24She had first appeared opposite Richard Briers, needless to say,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27in the TV version of Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30before her career changed direction with Ever Decreasing Circles.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32You took me as your prisoner.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37At first, I hated everything you stood for.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41But, physically, I am a woman...after all.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43You make me your mistress.
0:15:43 > 0:15:49And since then, I've followed you from battlefield to battlefield like a slave.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Crumbs!
0:15:51 > 0:15:54'He's married to me and I'm a bit younger.'
0:15:54 > 0:15:57And I also yearn for something, perhaps,
0:15:57 > 0:16:02a bit more than was going on in this little cul-de-sac we lived in.
0:16:02 > 0:16:03Yes, Martin?
0:16:03 > 0:16:05I've got the milk on.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Good.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10In other words, I am making the Ovaltine.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Not for me, thanks, I've got a gin and tonic.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20'Like many women, she realised she'd married a child.'
0:16:20 > 0:16:22So she coped with this, as women do.
0:16:22 > 0:16:23Come on.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31- Hello, Martin. How are you? - Caught into a pint pot, my friend!
0:16:31 > 0:16:34The unsophisticated world that Martin and Anne inhabit
0:16:34 > 0:16:39is turned upside down by the smooth and suave Paul Ryman...
0:16:39 > 0:16:42who seems as different from Martin as it's possible to be.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46I must have done something really terrible in a previous life
0:16:46 > 0:16:48and he's been sent to punish me in this one.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51What I was saying, in the most neighbourly way I could think of,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54was to point out that a community like ours
0:16:54 > 0:16:58does have its little dos and don'ts. And house names are one of them!
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Peter Egan's first major TV role
0:17:02 > 0:17:06was in the 1968 BBC adaptation of Cold Comfort farm,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09which would help him carve out a niche in smarmy characters.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Aye, women's nonsense!
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Women be all alike.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20Fussing with their filals and be-dazing a man's eyes.
0:17:20 > 0:17:26Another graduate of RADA, his background was mainly classical theatre and period TV dramas,
0:17:26 > 0:17:30such as the character of Oscar Wilde in the mini series Lillie in 1978.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33And Prince Regent in '79.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Peter Egan, like Penelope Wilton,
0:17:35 > 0:17:37had also worked with Richard Briers on the stage,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40this time in George Bernard Shaw's Arms And The Man.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45My agent rang me up and said, "Do you fancy doing a comedy for the BBC?"
0:17:45 > 0:17:48And I said, "Well, I've never done comedy."
0:17:48 > 0:17:51I was always doing period stuff like The Prince Regent or Oscar Wilde.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Long live His Majesty, King Charles I.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59'So they said, "Richard Briers is in it." And I said, "OK. I'll do it."'
0:17:59 > 0:18:01The great thing is they're actors from the stage.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03They're used to audiences
0:18:03 > 0:18:06and they're used to interacting with others.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09The great thing about comedy is the way the way you react.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14Hello, Martin. Going fishing?
0:18:14 > 0:18:16I can't walk past you carrying anything, can I?
0:18:16 > 0:18:20If it's a board, it's, "Hello, Martin, going to a board meeting?"
0:18:20 > 0:18:23If it's a pole it's, "Hello, where's the pole from - Warsaw?"
0:18:23 > 0:18:28If you were carrying a whale I'd probably say, "Hello, Martin, are you having a whale of a time?"
0:18:28 > 0:18:30Yes, you probably would.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33As usual, you've gone straight down Silly Avenue!
0:18:33 > 0:18:34Where would I get a whale from?
0:18:35 > 0:18:37Wales?
0:18:38 > 0:18:39Lunatic!
0:18:39 > 0:18:42You could have caught it with your fishing rod.
0:18:42 > 0:18:43Loony.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45That's what you are. You're a loony.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48'I think, "My God! This is a very good double act." '
0:18:48 > 0:18:50This little ratty man
0:18:50 > 0:18:54and this wonderful 6' 2" wonderful man.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56"Hello, Martin." You know.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Hello, Martin.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Situation comedy is one of the hardest things to do.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04it forces you to use yourself a lot,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07which is very, very good for...
0:19:07 > 0:19:10modern acting, as opposed to period acting.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13So you learn an awful lot about acting by doing it.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17- Stop that. Just stop it!- Martin, could you be masterful without shaking me?
0:19:17 > 0:19:23It's wonderful to go to somebody who you know you'll get a reaction from. It worked every time.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29This is the life, eh, Martin?
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Busy doing nothing!
0:19:31 > 0:19:33'You need good actors to do lightweight stuff.'
0:19:33 > 0:19:36It's very, sort of, thin ice stuff.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38it can go out of the window, be lost,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42unless you've got people who know their technique and craft.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44So we got a very high standard, as in The Good Life.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Good morning, Anne.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50I hope you don't mind us coming in the back way
0:19:50 > 0:19:52but we saw Martin up a tree.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57Two of the more memorable characters were Howard and Hilda Hughes,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00naive, infuriating and a little bit odd.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03- IN HIGH-PITCHED NORTHERN ACCENT: - Hey up, lad!
0:20:03 > 0:20:06My name is Nathan Sidebottom.
0:20:06 > 0:20:13You see, I'm becoming terrified that I'm being touched by dark forces.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18Both Geraldine Newman and Stanley Lebor came from the theatre
0:20:18 > 0:20:20and had small parts in a number of TV series,
0:20:20 > 0:20:24such as Dr Finlay's casebook and The Naked Civil Servant.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26But their big break came
0:20:26 > 0:20:29when they were offered the parts of devoted couple Howard and Hilda.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33# Yodel-hey-hi-hi! # HE BLOWS HORN BADLY
0:20:33 > 0:20:37Just a minute, Howard. Just a minute, Hilda.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41Howard and Hilda were amazing cos they were both mad.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Howard and Hilda were part of a world that Martin COULD control,
0:20:46 > 0:20:48before Paul came along and disrupted it.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Howard, um...a simple man!
0:20:51 > 0:20:53An enthusiast.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56I used to think that a Jacuzzi
0:20:56 > 0:20:59was a little, hopping animal, you know!
0:20:59 > 0:21:03Howard is a kind of disciple to Martin.
0:21:03 > 0:21:04He sort of, um...
0:21:04 > 0:21:08will do whatever Martin asks him to do and Hilda tags along.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12Howard and Hilda, you really are a couple of funny old buckets!
0:21:12 > 0:21:14They're the sort of couple who...
0:21:14 > 0:21:17in real life you'd find deeply frustrating.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19They also wore exactly the same clothes.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21They both looked like twins!
0:21:21 > 0:21:24It's not always pleasant
0:21:24 > 0:21:28when someone comes up and says, "I loved your matching costumes."
0:21:28 > 0:21:30- "Well, what about my acting!"- Yes!
0:21:30 > 0:21:33I can see it's going to be one of those days
0:21:33 > 0:21:38when you keep me laughing endlessly! HOWARD LAUGHS A HIGH-PITCHED GIGGLE
0:21:38 > 0:21:42The only thing I think I put to them was I said,
0:21:42 > 0:21:44"You ought to be wearing the same clothes."
0:21:44 > 0:21:49- We talked about this before, didn't we? Geraldine thinks it was her idea.- It was my idea.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52May they find great happiness in their new home.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54And garden.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56And garden.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00It may be that I just thought of it at the same time.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06With the cast now in place, there was one important ingredient missing for a hit series -
0:22:06 > 0:22:08an attention-grabbing title.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Titles are terribly difficult.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20We went through something like 39 titles.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24E=MC2 was one of them, um...
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Oh, I can't tell you the trouble we had!
0:22:29 > 0:22:33After much head scratching the writers settled on the cryptic,
0:22:33 > 0:22:34Ever Decreasing Circles,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38a canny reference to Martin's tendency to disappear
0:22:38 > 0:22:40into his own anal little world.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44All I said was, "Why were there mole hills on my lawn and not on Paul's."
0:22:44 > 0:22:48You did not, you claimed the moles knew which lawn was which.
0:22:48 > 0:22:49AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:22:49 > 0:22:54You claimed that they had decided not to dig hills on Paul's lawn.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00The competition between Martin and Peter's part...
0:23:00 > 0:23:04was that Egan's part was good at everything.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07He was what they called at school an all-rounder.
0:23:07 > 0:23:12He'd be very good at mathematics, he'd be very good at football, very good at cricket.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14'My favourite episode was the cricket match.'
0:23:16 > 0:23:20Will somebody please tell me the bowler's name?!
0:23:32 > 0:23:33Howzat!
0:23:33 > 0:23:35Out.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39It was only during filming they discovered a potential problem.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44Peter Egan, unlike his character, couldn't actually play cricket.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Sydney Lotterby was terribly worried. He said,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52"He can't play cricket! He's no good! He can't play cricket!"
0:23:52 > 0:23:56I said, "Can't you do some magic with the camera? Something?"
0:23:56 > 0:24:00And then somebody said, put some music on the top.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14This was wonderful. This great man doing these great...
0:24:14 > 0:24:16And it looked wonderfully good.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Like a great batsman!
0:24:18 > 0:24:20And it worked a treat.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23But for Martin, it was his worst nightmare.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26It was like cutting him through with a knife.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30He - the captain. He - the man who'd arranged all the teas.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33He - the man who varnished the stumps.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38And his wife, trying to make it all right for him said,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41"Look, never mind. You're good at playing the piano.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44"You go next door to the bar...
0:24:44 > 0:24:46"and give us a tune on the piano.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49"You've always been good at that. You know you're good."
0:24:49 > 0:24:51And he says, "Yes, I am good at that."
0:24:51 > 0:24:58And at that very moment, through the door, you hear...
0:24:58 > 0:25:00PIANO PLAYS AND PEOPLE SING CHEERILY
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Yes, it is him.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08The question that was also asked an awful lot
0:25:08 > 0:25:12was about the relationship between Paul and Anne, Martin's wife,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15cos there was always a teasing kind of relationship.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Tricky, isn't it, when you come to think of it.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20It's not so easy. Take your time.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Take your time.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25'It's an odd situation. There's a single man
0:25:25 > 0:25:27'and then sometimes he's rather flirty with me.'
0:25:27 > 0:25:30And then you wonder whether I'll go off with him -
0:25:30 > 0:25:32a constant interest in that area.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39I seem to remember somewhere that in the first series,
0:25:39 > 0:25:43there was a final episode where Paul and Anne
0:25:43 > 0:25:48actually eloped together and by the time we got to the fourth episode,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52they realised that would be a total disaster. So it was never made.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55But that kind of underlying, um...tease
0:25:55 > 0:25:59was always threaded through the whole series.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03One of these days, I'm going to call your bluff.
0:26:05 > 0:26:06Who's bluffing?
0:26:07 > 0:26:13Slightly disappointing audiences of around 5 million watched the first series of Ever Decreasing Circles.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15The BBC would have expected more
0:26:15 > 0:26:17but they were willing to give the series
0:26:17 > 0:26:19every possible chance of success.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21They decided to go for a second series,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24so they repeated the first series again
0:26:24 > 0:26:28and the repeats of the first series got 7 million,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30which is quite remarkable,
0:26:30 > 0:26:34because then people talked about it and more watched the second series.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38'The second series itself got 9 million.'
0:26:38 > 0:26:40AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Anybody ever got 147 here?
0:26:42 > 0:26:44No.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45Hmm.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50And then it went from 9 million to 11 million to 13, 15 and so on and it was just wonderful.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:26:53 > 0:26:56That's four away. That's four away!
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Foul stroke, four away.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Well, don't just say it, put it up! Put it up!
0:27:01 > 0:27:05After the second series, the cast realised the show was a hit.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07But when they returned for series three,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10there had been an unexpected change in personnel.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Director, Sydney Lotterby, had left.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16I don't know why Sydney left. I don't know.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20I left because I was given the sack.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23I was called into the office one day, out of the blue,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25and told that, um...
0:27:25 > 0:27:29I wasn't giving enough direction to our principal actor.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33It hurt at the time... but there we are.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Sydney had been replaced by Harold Snoad,
0:27:36 > 0:27:41another of the BBC's most prolific and reliable comedy directors.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Sydney, I always thought, by nature, was an introvert...
0:27:45 > 0:27:50which is rather funny considering the wonderful comedy he produced.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53And Harold is an extrovert.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56So it was just a basic change of energy, I think.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Harold's first major sitcom was Oh, Brother!
0:27:59 > 0:28:01starring Derek Nimmo in 1968.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04The following year, he directed Dad's Army,
0:28:04 > 0:28:06before moving on to Are You Being Served?
0:28:07 > 0:28:10In 1978, Harold worked with writer Richard Waring
0:28:10 > 0:28:13and the series Rings On Their Fingers,
0:28:13 > 0:28:15then helped the doctors sitcom Don't Wait Up
0:28:15 > 0:28:17continue its smooth run through the '80s.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22He brought his experience and energy to an increasingly popular show.
0:28:22 > 0:28:27My favourite was when Martin has to go to Belgium, to Bruges,
0:28:27 > 0:28:30to attend a conference
0:28:30 > 0:28:33and, um...a colleague of his does the dirty on him,
0:28:33 > 0:28:36in as much as he encourages him to get drunk
0:28:36 > 0:28:40and then gets a local good-time girl to come into Martin's bedroom.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43MARTIN GROANS
0:28:52 > 0:28:55And he's so distraught at the fact
0:28:55 > 0:28:58that he thinks he's been unfaithful to Anne...
0:28:58 > 0:28:59How many did you have?
0:28:59 > 0:29:01I can't remember.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03Did you meet this girl in the bar?
0:29:03 > 0:29:06Can't remember.
0:29:06 > 0:29:07Somewhere else?
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Can't remember.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14We're certainly piecing this together, aren't we, Martin?
0:29:14 > 0:29:18It's only later on that Paul's character finds out,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21from the same man who put Martin into all this,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24that it was a prank and didn't really happen.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27- Rex! Rex Tyler. - Yes, who wants to know?
0:29:27 > 0:29:30Paul, I'm Martin Bryce's neighbour, remember?
0:29:30 > 0:29:32Oh, yes, hello, squire!
0:29:32 > 0:29:33All right?
0:29:33 > 0:29:38Rex, since Martin came back from Bruges, he's been like a frightened rabbit!
0:29:38 > 0:29:40Well, come on! Let us in on it.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46I got him drunk and paid some Belgian bird to go into his room!
0:29:46 > 0:29:49He wakes up in the morning... she says,
0:29:49 > 0:29:51"Thanks for a wonderful night."
0:29:51 > 0:29:53And he, prize prune, believes her!
0:29:56 > 0:29:58Oh, come on, darling, don't say you don't get it as well?
0:29:58 > 0:30:01Oh, yes, I get it.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04- Then why aren't you laughing? - I'm Anne Bryce.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10If someone takes over from you, you think, "I bet he's not as good."
0:30:10 > 0:30:12But, of course, he was! Damn him!
0:30:13 > 0:30:15Say you laugh,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18you must by the very nature of laughing go like this...
0:30:18 > 0:30:21HE LAUGHS EXAGGERATEDLY
0:30:22 > 0:30:24No.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27When we laugh, we always lean forwards.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32- Like this. - HE LAUGHS EXAGGERATEDLY
0:30:32 > 0:30:34Esmonde and Larbey, teamed with Briers,
0:30:34 > 0:30:38had struck gold with their balance of dark humour and farce,
0:30:38 > 0:30:41where the comedy was more in the characters than the situation.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44Nothing's ever made us laugh that much.
0:30:44 > 0:30:49Well, a good sitcom should be about people who you know -
0:30:49 > 0:30:52people that you've met, people you work with -
0:30:52 > 0:30:53recognisable people.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56people used to say on Ever Decreasing Circles,
0:30:56 > 0:30:59"I love you as Martin Bryce cos I've got an uncle like that."
0:30:59 > 0:31:03"I like Martin Bryce cos I've got one in the office - drives us mad."
0:31:03 > 0:31:06You know, Howard, some people would laugh if they could see us now.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09Why? We don't look particularly silly, do we?
0:31:09 > 0:31:11No, but they think we do.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15- Who?- People like those so-called alternative comedians.
0:31:15 > 0:31:16Les Dawson - that crowd.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19By 1987, and the end of the fourth series,
0:31:19 > 0:31:23the comedy landscape was undergoing a transformation.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25Alternative comedians were elbowing in.
0:31:25 > 0:31:30Sofa-driven sitcoms like Ever Decreasing Circles just weren't fashionable.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33When the fourth series ended,
0:31:33 > 0:31:38everyone moved onto their separate projects and it looked like the end of Ever Decreasing Circles.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42Esmonde and Larbey had already been enjoying success with Brush Strokes.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46Peter Egan co-starred in BBC Sitcom Joint Account with Hannah Gordon.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49And Richard Briers returned to the theatre,
0:31:49 > 0:31:52as well as indulging his taste for villainy in Doctor Who.
0:31:52 > 0:31:57But such was the lasting popularity of Ever Decreasing Circles
0:31:57 > 0:32:01that in 1989 it was brought back for a one-off Christmas Eve special.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05It was an episode that saw major changes ahead for the Bryces
0:32:05 > 0:32:08because the normally super-careful Martin got Anne pregnant.
0:32:10 > 0:32:11Oh, Anne!
0:32:13 > 0:32:17He'd heard his firm was relocating
0:32:17 > 0:32:20and he had to move away from his friends and his house
0:32:20 > 0:32:23and there are a lot of emotional moments in it as well.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31What hadn't changed was the one-up-manship between Martin and Paul.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35Sorry, long queue.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38Did you see Roland Twining? He was incredible!
0:32:38 > 0:32:40That wasn't Mr Twining.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43He twisted his ankle just before he was due to go on.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46But if that wasn't Roland Twining, then who on earth...?
0:32:53 > 0:32:55You have to say he's a brilliant actor
0:32:55 > 0:33:01who got what was necessary out of this extraordinary character Esmonde and Larbey had written.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18So, after 27 episodes, it was an emotional goodbye to the close...
0:33:18 > 0:33:21but not to the cast.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26After Ever Decreasing Circles, Esmonde and Larbey continued the run of Brush Strokes,
0:33:26 > 0:33:29produced at times by both Harold Snoad and Sydney Lotterby -
0:33:29 > 0:33:31the best of both worlds.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34Snoad then took charge of Keeping Up Appearances,
0:33:34 > 0:33:37while Lotterby worked with Bob Larbey on As Time Goes By.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41The last series that Esmonde and Larbey wrote together for Briers
0:33:41 > 0:33:44was an anti-climax as Down To Earth ran for just seven episodes.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55Gave myself a bit of a scare, there.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59Peter Egan mixed theatre with television and film
0:33:59 > 0:34:04and in 200 made a not altogether successful return to sitcom with Cry Wolf
0:34:04 > 0:34:07but returned to TV comedy with Home Again.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10Geraldine Newman returned to the theatre...
0:34:10 > 0:34:12as did Stanley Lebor,
0:34:12 > 0:34:14who also appeared alongside Penelope Wilton
0:34:14 > 0:34:17in the children's classic The Borrowers.
0:34:20 > 0:34:25Penelope Wilton recently popped up as Simon Pegg's mum in the movie Shaun Of The Dead,
0:34:25 > 0:34:27which established a new genre -
0:34:27 > 0:34:29the genre romantic comedy, or zom-rom-com.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36I'm sorry, Mum.
0:34:38 > 0:34:39Do it!
0:34:39 > 0:34:42BANG!
0:34:42 > 0:34:45After Down To Earth, Richard got himself going again
0:34:45 > 0:34:48with a number of critically-acclaimed performances.
0:34:49 > 0:34:54And exhibited a darker side to his acting talent in Inspector Morse.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58Any time you want to do it again...
0:34:58 > 0:35:01Once was quite enough.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03Well, if that's your attitude...
0:35:04 > 0:35:06Actually, you could do it a thousand times
0:35:06 > 0:35:09and I still wouldn't support Dennis!
0:35:09 > 0:35:11You Americans are so naive.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14What the hell do you mean?
0:35:14 > 0:35:17Dennis once had an affair with my wife.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19Never told you that, did he?
0:35:19 > 0:35:20He ruined my marriage.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25I've awaited a long time for the chance to ruin his. Thank you for being so obliging.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27But you said you...
0:35:27 > 0:35:31You sold yourself like a common whore...for nothing.
0:35:31 > 0:35:32Dennis will never be master.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37- You bastard.- See you at Founders' Feast, my dear.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39I was opening a fete in Scotland
0:35:39 > 0:35:42and two dear old ladies my age came up and said,
0:35:42 > 0:35:44"Oh, Mr Briers, we saw Morse."
0:35:44 > 0:35:48I said, "Oh." She said, "I wish you wouldn't do those parts."
0:35:48 > 0:35:50Do your worst!
0:35:50 > 0:35:53In 2000, he returned to our television screens
0:35:53 > 0:35:57to delight audiences as eccentric Hector in Monarch Of The Glen.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00Monarch Of The Glen turned up and I thought it was a very nice script,
0:36:00 > 0:36:04a wonderful part, a character part where I could pinch scenes!
0:36:04 > 0:36:07A scene-stealing part, which I like at my age now!
0:36:07 > 0:36:10I've got no shame any more.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12DOG WHIMPERS
0:36:19 > 0:36:21Useless?
0:36:21 > 0:36:23Useless?!
0:36:29 > 0:36:31Ah.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34No-one can teach you timing.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37It's just something you have, or you haven't.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39And Richard has it in spades.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42He knows it all.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45He knows ever nuance of comedy.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49Richard Briers is absolutely superb, wonderful, a great joy to work with.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52And Richard has been keeping younger viewers happy
0:36:52 > 0:36:54with the cartoon series Roobarb
0:36:54 > 0:36:56which he's voiced with his loveable side
0:36:56 > 0:37:01since 1974 and continues today as Roobarb and Custard Too.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05I do now 27 voices.
0:37:05 > 0:37:10- AS CUSTARD:- Of course, Custard's always been a great voice to play
0:37:10 > 0:37:13because he sends up Roobarb rotten.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Custard, the ringmaster, announced that,
0:37:16 > 0:37:18"The fantastic Roobarb... #
0:37:18 > 0:37:20of the one dog slippers company would,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23"...juggle for their entertainment....
0:37:23 > 0:37:26"be fired from a canon for their excitement..."
0:37:31 > 0:37:35And he has this terrible laugh when Roobarb does something wrong.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38He goes, "Oh, there he goes again. All right, clever guts?"
0:37:38 > 0:37:40HE MIMICS CUSTARDS LAUGH
0:37:42 > 0:37:47Stay there, mate, I'm coming round that side of the table.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53The quality of Richard Briers' unique performance as Martin Bryce
0:37:53 > 0:37:56is one of the many elements that makes Ever Decreasing Circles
0:37:56 > 0:37:58a classic and well-remembered sitcom.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00I'm going to do something now, mate.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02'Wonderful scripts...'
0:38:02 > 0:38:05Wonderful directors. A terrific cast.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07'It just worked.'
0:38:08 > 0:38:10And even though Richard Briers
0:38:10 > 0:38:13has left the young sitcom leads behind him,
0:38:13 > 0:38:17he hasn't ruled out a comeback if the right role comes along.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19'Yes, I would go back.'
0:38:19 > 0:38:22I'd like to be an old, cantankerous grandpa -
0:38:22 > 0:38:25not a lot to say but all the best lines.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27That would suit me fine!
0:38:27 > 0:38:31This sort of thing requires a bedrock, Martin. You are one.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33Well, it's very nice of you to say so.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36Thank you, Martin.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39That's quite all right, Howard.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42And a big thank you from me, Martin.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48Subtitles by Laura Jones and Peter Hastie - Red Bee Media Ltd 2006
0:38:48 > 0:38:52E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk