0:00:02 > 0:00:04The comedy writer Bob Larbey died recently at the age of 79.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07He and his writing partner John Esmonde
0:00:07 > 0:00:10wrote some of the funniest and best-loved comedies
0:00:10 > 0:00:11of the 20th century.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Please Sir!, Brush Strokes,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Ever Decreasing Circles - all thanks to them.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19And of course, the comedy
0:00:19 > 0:00:21that launched my own television career -
0:00:21 > 0:00:23The Good Life.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26They were sharp observers of suburban life,
0:00:26 > 0:00:28and their cleverly-crafted words
0:00:28 > 0:00:31gave us all a glimpse behind the net curtains
0:00:31 > 0:00:34of some of the best-loved comedy characters ever written.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Your tea and biscuits, Miss Farnaby.
0:00:38 > 0:00:39You didn't knock.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41Sorry.
0:00:44 > 0:00:45Mr Hedges!
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Two hours on the square to bring the roses back to your little cheeks,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52and then... How very nice of you to come!
0:00:53 > 0:00:56- Just the one, Mrs Wembley? - Just the one, Sam.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Oh, damn and blast.
0:00:59 > 0:01:00What now?
0:01:01 > 0:01:03I need a pee.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06You pig!!
0:01:10 > 0:01:12Veronica - I lo... I lo...
0:01:12 > 0:01:13Huh?
0:01:13 > 0:01:16I'll, er, get a taxi cos we'll be able to drink tonight.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Why have you taken to changing in the bathroom?
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Vanity, I suppose.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Bits of me that used to ripple tend to wobble these days.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Jerry, home.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49Born in 1934, Bob Larbey was the youngest son of a carpenter,
0:01:49 > 0:01:51and grew up in Lambeth, South London.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55He was educated at the Henry Thornton School in Clapham,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57which is where he met John Esmonde.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59They became lifelong friends,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02and eventually, writing partners.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05After completing National Service,
0:02:05 > 0:02:07they both found themselves in humdrum jobs
0:02:07 > 0:02:10that did little to stimulate them.
0:02:10 > 0:02:11To escape the tedium,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15Bob and John began writing comedy material together.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18They submitted a few sketches to BBC Radio,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21and eventually, they were writing for shows like
0:02:21 > 0:02:23I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25'Making only their 83rd appearance on BBC Radio,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28'it's the new, improved I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again!'
0:02:29 > 0:02:34Then, their first television situation comedy came in 1966,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36with Room At The Bottom.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41But their big break came on ITV in 1968,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45when they captured the funny side of their South London school days
0:02:45 > 0:02:47and Please Sir! was born.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49BELL RINGS
0:02:49 > 0:02:50Is that your car...in my playground?
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- Yes, it is.- Oh, mobile, are we?
0:02:53 > 0:02:55It gets me away quicker from you lot, Duffy.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Well, Mr Potter, it's taxed and insured.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01It is parked directly over my manhole cover.
0:03:01 > 0:03:02Now, what would have happened?
0:03:02 > 0:03:05I say, what would have happened if I'd been down there?
0:03:05 > 0:03:06Ah... Well now, look -
0:03:06 > 0:03:09if I'd have thought there was any possibility of that, Mr Potter,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11I'd have brought a steam roller to school
0:03:11 > 0:03:13and left it there over the weekend.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Please Sir! had been turned down by the BBC,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19so its success must have smarted.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22But the BBC weren't so slow on the uptake
0:03:22 > 0:03:25once the next script landed on their doorstep.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27- Oh, you shouldn't have bothered! - All our love!
0:03:27 > 0:03:29- You can't afford it!- No!
0:03:29 > 0:03:31I should have a look at them first, mate.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40At the time, Esmonde and Larbey were both approaching 40.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43So, they again drew on their own experience
0:03:43 > 0:03:45of reaching that landmark age,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48and wondering what life was all about.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Richard Briers was approaching 40 as well.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54"Mozart and Mendelssohn were dead by 40 -
0:03:54 > 0:03:55"why aren't you?"
0:03:57 > 0:03:59How thoughtful.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02They had originally considered setting the show
0:04:02 > 0:04:06on a yacht, and having the Goods sail out of the rat race that way.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Instead, they brilliantly captured the spirit of the times
0:04:10 > 0:04:14and made the Goods dig up their Surbiton garden instead.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Now, that IS a miracle!
0:04:27 > 0:04:31If one of you so much as sniggers, I'm going straight back indoors.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Margot Leadbetter is one of those characters
0:04:34 > 0:04:36who come along once in a blue moon.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40Ghastly and vulnerable, lovable and maddening,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42she was a delight to play.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46I have itemised the components of my rates bill scrupulously.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48As every citizen should, Mrs Leadbetter.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51I am not a citizen, I am a resident.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come round here like this.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Oh, heavens above, dear, we're old friends - what does it matter?
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Lift up a moment, would you?
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Yes. Oh, just a moment. All right, Jenny, I'm coming!
0:05:04 > 0:05:07That was Jenny... calling from her sick bed.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09- Margot!- Good evening, Tom.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Good evening. What are you doing?
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Evening, Barbara. I'm so sorry.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18You said eight, which I took to mean eight for 8.30,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21which naturally implies that we should arrive at 8.15, doesn't it?
0:05:21 > 0:05:23It's still only 8.14.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28The Good Life mixture of sharp observation and big heart
0:05:28 > 0:05:32assured Esmonde and Larbey's place in the comedy pantheon.
0:05:32 > 0:05:33Ah!
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Yes! An unpretentious little peapod Burgundy,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40but I think you'll like its impudent charm. Mm-hmm...!
0:05:40 > 0:05:42Does it travel?
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Travel? All of ten feet.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48There we are - Chateau Good, '75.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51Whoops!
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Now, look, love - we've got to expect setbacks.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56We've just had one - let's put it behind us and battle on.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59- To the future.- To the future.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06SHE GASPS
0:06:07 > 0:06:10If that's the future, I'm going to kill myself!
0:06:10 > 0:06:11Hoh!
0:06:12 > 0:06:15It's hurting the back of my eyes.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- Look for the good in all men, hey, Matthew?- Yes, indeed.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Well, don't waste your time with me because there ain't none!
0:06:22 > 0:06:23Right, you lot...!
0:06:23 > 0:06:25For their next venture, the pair returned
0:06:25 > 0:06:28to their National Service days, in Get Some In!
0:06:28 > 0:06:33It told the story of a hapless bunch of RAF recruits in 1955,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36and launched the career of Robert Lindsay.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Oh, cor, blimey, look at it!
0:06:40 > 0:06:41'Ere, feel that.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Esther Williams could have a swim in that.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47- That's pneumonia for the lot of us. - There are no curtains!
0:06:48 > 0:06:50And they reckon the Gorbals is slums.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52I'd as soon be stuck in Barlinnie for two years.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54I ain't standing for this - I know my rights.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Did I hear you mention rights?
0:06:57 > 0:07:00- Yeah.- Well, you're a National Serviceman -
0:07:00 > 0:07:01you haven't got any rights.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03I could complain to an officer.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Yes, you can do that - providing you go through the correct channels.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Right - what's the correct channels then?
0:07:10 > 0:07:11Me!
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Now get this, and get this straight.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16My name is Marsh -
0:07:16 > 0:07:19B-A-S-T-A-R-D, Marsh!
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Larbey and Esmonde continued to write together
0:07:23 > 0:07:24throughout the late '70s.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29And then in 1982, Bob had his first solo success,
0:07:29 > 0:07:34when he teamed real-life husband and wife Judi Dench and Michael Williams
0:07:34 > 0:07:37in his first romantic comedy.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39About last night, erm...
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Yeah, now, now, look, Mike - we're both grown-up,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43we don't have to analyse things.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46We don't have to give it ratings out of ten!
0:07:46 > 0:07:48We... What ABOUT last night?
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Well, I was, er,
0:07:51 > 0:07:52I was just going to say I'm...
0:07:52 > 0:07:55glad that it's out of the way.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00- Out of the way?- Well, no, no - I...
0:08:00 > 0:08:02No, I didn't mean it to sound like that.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04Wh-What I mean to say is, well, there was a...
0:08:04 > 0:08:07- a sort of barrier... - Oh!- ..between us,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09- and now that we're over it... - Over it...
0:08:09 > 0:08:12- ..well, it should release some of the...tension, and...- ..tensions.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14- Yes.- And we can be...
0:08:14 > 0:08:15We can be more er, re... Er...
0:08:15 > 0:08:17- More relaxed.- ..relaxed, yes.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20- Oh, yes, yes. - More...more easy.- Easy. Oh, yes.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Back again with John Esmonde,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26Ever Decreasing Circles hit the screens in 1984.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31Richard Briers returned to play the monstrous Martin Bryce,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35giving him JUST enough vulnerability to make the audience love him.
0:08:36 > 0:08:37It was another huge hit.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Here's a poser.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41What's everybody's favourite jam?
0:08:41 > 0:08:42ALL: Oh...
0:08:42 > 0:08:43Oh, well...
0:08:47 > 0:08:50I'd have to go for Hilda's cherry.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53I've got a funny one, I have.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Marrow and ginger!
0:08:55 > 0:08:58I'm a straight up and down damson.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Strawberry for me.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04- Martin?- Well, now, if you're pushing me into a corner about it,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06blackcurrant.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Oh! What about you, Anne?
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Raspberry.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Their next stroke of genius came in the shape
0:09:14 > 0:09:17of a painter and decorator called Jacko,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20with an eye for the ladies and the gift of the gab -
0:09:20 > 0:09:23drawing from their brief stint as wall painters.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25She intends to kill you.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29I mean, do you seriously think the level of your remarks
0:09:29 > 0:09:31contains any wit at all?
0:09:31 > 0:09:34I've heard them all before - bowling a maiden over,
0:09:34 > 0:09:36fine leg, slip...
0:09:36 > 0:09:38The only one you missed out was "whoops" when I bend down.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40Do men really say that, then?
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Probably useless at the game itself.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45I'd like to see you looking so smug if you were out in the middle
0:09:45 > 0:09:47facing Sheila's bouncers.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Now, you said that, Linda, not me.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57In 1992, Bob Larbey went solo again,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00and wrote the beautifully-observed As Time Goes By -
0:10:00 > 0:10:02another project for Judi Dench.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06But this time, her sparring partner was the wonderful Geoffrey Palmer.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Would you like to come?
0:10:08 > 0:10:09Why?
0:10:09 > 0:10:10Well...
0:10:10 > 0:10:11Something to do.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14- It would get you out.- What do you mean, it would get me out?
0:10:15 > 0:10:17I don't spend the evenings knitting
0:10:17 > 0:10:19with an old shawl round my shoulders!
0:10:19 > 0:10:20Get ME out, then.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Well, you're going anyway.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Look, I don't see what all the fuss is about, it's perfectly simple -
0:10:26 > 0:10:29I'm asking you to a party, all you have to do is say yes or no.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Oh, all right.
0:10:31 > 0:10:32No.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36During his quietly brilliant career,
0:10:36 > 0:10:41Bob wrote and co-wrote over 450 TV episodes,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44each running around 50 pages,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47and often written on a typewriter at his kitchen table.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50His writing was sublimely funny,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52and his characters masterfully constructed
0:10:52 > 0:10:55and inherently human.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59I would say they were more miniature drama than situation comedy,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02touching on the light and shade of real life.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05To me, he was a master.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07But to those who didn't know him personally,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11he opened up the hilarious world of ornamental ponds,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Neighbourhood Watch, mismatched romance,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17naughty boys...
0:11:17 > 0:11:19and pot-bellied pigs.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21And all I'd like to say is,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24thank you very much, Bob.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26You and John made us laugh -
0:11:26 > 0:11:27a lot!
0:11:29 > 0:11:32And...one, two, three, one, two, three...
0:11:32 > 0:11:35- What's the matter with you? - Stand on your beds!!
0:11:36 > 0:11:37Do sit down!
0:11:37 > 0:11:39# ..Last song together
0:11:39 > 0:11:43# There's no other way
0:11:43 > 0:11:45# We can say goodbye. #