A Tribute to Roger Lloyd Pack

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0:00:05 > 0:00:08Just bung those in the kitchen for me, if you would.

0:00:08 > 0:00:09Right-oh...!

0:00:09 > 0:00:12CRASH! AUDIENCE LAUGHS

0:00:12 > 0:00:16Roger Lloyd-Pack died recently, aged 69.

0:00:16 > 0:00:18He was a dear friend and colleague,

0:00:18 > 0:00:21who was really loved by those of us who knew him.

0:00:21 > 0:00:25He was also genuinely loved by millions of people

0:00:25 > 0:00:27who admired his work.

0:00:27 > 0:00:31Charming and brilliant, passionate about left-wing causes

0:00:31 > 0:00:33and with ambition to play King Lear,

0:00:33 > 0:00:37he was nothing like the dim-witted street sweeper, Trigger,

0:00:37 > 0:00:39he played in Only Fools And Horses.

0:00:39 > 0:00:43But he was absolutely wonderful as Trigger as well,

0:00:43 > 0:00:45and proud of it.

0:00:45 > 0:00:47This is a tribute to the great man.

0:00:55 > 0:00:59Roger Lloyd-Pack was born in Islington, North London, in 1944,

0:00:59 > 0:01:02the son of the actor Charles Lloyd-Pack.

0:01:02 > 0:01:06Going into what he referred to as the family business,

0:01:06 > 0:01:09Rog studied at RADA, and one of his earliest appearances

0:01:09 > 0:01:13was in this - he was very, very young.

0:01:13 > 0:01:16- MAN SPEAKS WITH RUSSIAN ACCENT: - In the year 1913,

0:01:16 > 0:01:18we had new neighbours.

0:01:19 > 0:01:21Her name was...Lily.

0:01:27 > 0:01:31He quickly got a reputation as a fine character actor,

0:01:31 > 0:01:33and mixed work on stage

0:01:33 > 0:01:36with a succession of small parts on television,

0:01:36 > 0:01:38in programmes like these...

0:01:43 > 0:01:45You won't get rid of me.

0:01:46 > 0:01:49I'll get back - you'll see.

0:01:49 > 0:01:50I'll get back.

0:01:54 > 0:01:57It's my wife. She's left me.

0:01:57 > 0:02:00And I think she's living with a man on the other side of the street.

0:02:00 > 0:02:03Oh! And you want to watch her?

0:02:03 > 0:02:05Does this really work?

0:02:06 > 0:02:09Well, you must know what you're getting into.

0:02:09 > 0:02:11It's hard,

0:02:11 > 0:02:13bruising graft.

0:02:13 > 0:02:16I'm not claiming miracles, but, yes, it does work.

0:02:16 > 0:02:20Then along came Roger's breakthrough, in 1981,

0:02:20 > 0:02:24when he was cast as Colin "Trigger" Ball

0:02:24 > 0:02:26in Only Fools And Horses.

0:02:26 > 0:02:29Initially intended as just a supporting character,

0:02:29 > 0:02:34Trigger was so funny and so popular and so perfectly acted,

0:02:34 > 0:02:37that he eventually appeared in almost every episode

0:02:37 > 0:02:41of the long-running series, which is consistently voted

0:02:41 > 0:02:45as the most popular sitcom in the history of British TV.

0:02:45 > 0:02:49Ah, there he is. Oi, Trigger! You know my brother, don't you, hey?

0:02:49 > 0:02:51Yeah, 'course I do. How're you going, Dave?

0:02:51 > 0:02:54Sorry I'm late, Del Boy, I had to pop round me sister's

0:02:54 > 0:02:56to arrange an alibi for next Thursday.

0:02:56 > 0:02:59- Joycey...!- Del, Del...- Mmm!

0:02:59 > 0:03:02- What?- Why do they call him Trigger - does he carry a gun?

0:03:02 > 0:03:04No! It's cos he looks like a horse.

0:03:04 > 0:03:06LAUGHTER

0:03:06 > 0:03:08He was a regular at the Nag's Head pub,

0:03:08 > 0:03:10and an old friend of Del Boy,

0:03:10 > 0:03:14and...absolutely not the cleverest person in the world!

0:03:14 > 0:03:17How d'you walk into a Mind Your Head sign - didn't you see it?

0:03:17 > 0:03:19Well, of course I saw it!

0:03:19 > 0:03:21But in those days, I couldn't read.

0:03:21 > 0:03:23LAUGHTER

0:03:23 > 0:03:26Good-natured but slow on the uptake,

0:03:26 > 0:03:30Trigger famously referred to Rodney as Dave -

0:03:30 > 0:03:33always, just always.

0:03:33 > 0:03:35Year after year.

0:03:35 > 0:03:37And it never got any less funny.

0:03:37 > 0:03:39All right, Dave?

0:03:39 > 0:03:41LAUGHTER

0:03:42 > 0:03:44All right, Del? Dave?

0:03:45 > 0:03:48Ladies and gentlemen, will you please raise your glasses

0:03:48 > 0:03:51to our future mum and dad, Cassandra and Rodney!

0:03:51 > 0:03:54- ALL:- Cassandra and Rodney!

0:03:54 > 0:03:55Dave. >

0:03:55 > 0:03:57LAUGHTER

0:03:57 > 0:03:59Trig - why d'you call me Dave?

0:04:00 > 0:04:02My name's not Dave.

0:04:02 > 0:04:04My name's Rodney.

0:04:04 > 0:04:07- I thought it was Dave?- It's Rodney.

0:04:07 > 0:04:09You sure?

0:04:09 > 0:04:11Yeah, I'm positive.

0:04:11 > 0:04:14Rog was an amazing man to work with,

0:04:14 > 0:04:16an incredibly skilled comedian

0:04:16 > 0:04:20made great by the fact that he was a really remarkable actor.

0:04:20 > 0:04:24This is a very famous clip, but it does perfectly illustrate

0:04:24 > 0:04:27the skill of Roger's timing and reactions.

0:04:27 > 0:04:32As someone who worked with him, I know his sense of comedy was...

0:04:32 > 0:04:35well, flawless.

0:04:35 > 0:04:38I think we're on a winner here, Trig, all right?

0:04:38 > 0:04:42Play it nice and cool, son. Nice and cool, you know what I mean?

0:04:54 > 0:04:58Rog called his role in Only Fools both a blessing and a curse,

0:04:58 > 0:05:02and was rather puzzled about his popularity with audiences.

0:05:02 > 0:05:04But beloved he was,

0:05:04 > 0:05:07and he did it all over again when we were lucky enough

0:05:07 > 0:05:10to get him to agree to be in The Vicar Of Dibley,

0:05:10 > 0:05:12in which he played Owen Newitt,

0:05:12 > 0:05:16the farmer and parish councillor with the earthy manner,

0:05:16 > 0:05:19a curious love for his animals,

0:05:19 > 0:05:23and a hatred for any kind of personal hygiene.

0:05:23 > 0:05:25I spend so much time in the stable's toilet,

0:05:25 > 0:05:28I'm thinking of sending out 'change of address' cards.

0:05:28 > 0:05:32Owen was often late for parish council meetings.

0:05:32 > 0:05:36Sorry I'm late, a sheep exploded.

0:05:36 > 0:05:37Nasty business.

0:05:37 > 0:05:40- Would you like a quick recap? - Well, make it quick -

0:05:40 > 0:05:42the buggers are popping like champagne corks out there.

0:05:42 > 0:05:45Famous for his love of swearing...

0:05:45 > 0:05:47- Bugger.- You...

0:05:47 > 0:05:50- Your chance to ring in with your memories of Dibley...- Bugger.

0:05:50 > 0:05:54Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger!

0:05:54 > 0:05:59And he also proved himself to be one of TV's great romantic heroes.

0:05:59 > 0:06:04Oh, well, the joy of those first kisses, eh, Owen?

0:06:04 > 0:06:06Well, I wouldn't know. I've never had a proper kiss.

0:06:06 > 0:06:08Oh, haven't you?

0:06:08 > 0:06:12Except for Daisy, and she was a cow, so that doesn't count, does it?

0:06:12 > 0:06:14What, you kissed one of your cows?

0:06:14 > 0:06:17No, the gamekeeper's daughter. A right cow, she was.

0:06:18 > 0:06:24Oh, go on, then, you great big loser. Give us a quick kiss.

0:06:24 > 0:06:26- Here goes!- Right.

0:06:39 > 0:06:43I have such incredibly happy memories of working with Roger.

0:06:43 > 0:06:47He was always sweet, always gentle, always funny,

0:06:47 > 0:06:48often giggled,

0:06:48 > 0:06:53and was always willing to push things just a little bit too far.

0:06:53 > 0:06:57He was comically pitch-perfect, utterly reliable.

0:06:57 > 0:07:02A kind of genius, really, in this strange, strange role,

0:07:02 > 0:07:07giving the show class, and even a bit of edge and outrage.

0:07:07 > 0:07:11The more outrageous it got, the more truthful it weirdly became.

0:07:11 > 0:07:16Best news I've had since they made having sex with animals legal again.

0:07:16 > 0:07:18They haven't.

0:07:18 > 0:07:20Really?

0:07:20 > 0:07:23Oh. That's not good.

0:07:23 > 0:07:27Whilst he was making the whole of the UK laugh on TV,

0:07:27 > 0:07:30Roger was also a hugely successful stage actor,

0:07:30 > 0:07:34receiving critical acclaim for many of his performances,

0:07:34 > 0:07:37in particular in plays by Harold Pinter.

0:07:37 > 0:07:43All we have left are the bombs which polish the skulls of the dead.

0:07:43 > 0:07:45And, more recently, as the Duke of Buckingham

0:07:45 > 0:07:47in Richard III at The Globe.

0:07:47 > 0:07:51And he didn't just limit himself to two shows on telly.

0:07:51 > 0:07:53Why didn't you do something?

0:07:53 > 0:07:56- There was nothing that could be done.- There's always something.

0:07:56 > 0:07:58Drugs, electric shocks, something!

0:07:58 > 0:08:01Not in this case. Have you been drinking?

0:08:01 > 0:08:02What if I have?

0:08:02 > 0:08:04Kill him!

0:08:06 > 0:08:08HE GROANS

0:08:11 > 0:08:14Meanwhile, throughout all the years of acting,

0:08:14 > 0:08:19Roger supported not only Spurs but also the Labour Party,

0:08:19 > 0:08:21and was politically active

0:08:21 > 0:08:24for the causes he felt most passionately about.

0:08:24 > 0:08:27They say they're going to make money through selling off buildings

0:08:27 > 0:08:30and they can make services better for people like you.

0:08:30 > 0:08:31Well, I don't feel that's so.

0:08:31 > 0:08:33If you're going to cut the beds by half

0:08:33 > 0:08:35and get rid of half the nursing staff,

0:08:35 > 0:08:38I don't see how that is making things better.

0:08:38 > 0:08:42He was a really lovely, complicated, interesting man.

0:08:42 > 0:08:45I feel so lucky to have been able to spend time with him,

0:08:45 > 0:08:48watch him being a great comic actor,

0:08:48 > 0:08:52and know him as a man of great charm and integrity.

0:08:52 > 0:08:55He'll never be forgotten by those who knew him,

0:08:55 > 0:08:58and, of course, he'll never be forgotten

0:08:58 > 0:09:03by everyone in the UK with a sense of humour and a TV set.

0:09:09 > 0:09:12Right...Owen.

0:09:16 > 0:09:20A-And, erm...you've come to audition for...?

0:09:20 > 0:09:22The King.

0:09:25 > 0:09:28Of course, there were three kings and you are obviously one of them.

0:09:28 > 0:09:30That's right.

0:09:37 > 0:09:41And there could be no finer tribute to Roger than this next programme.

0:09:41 > 0:09:47So, sit back and enjoy this classic episode of Only Fools And Horses.