Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney's creation came about in 1972 as a pilot. James Beck played Bert Jones, a workshy scrounger who could give 'Rab C. Nesbitt' competition in terms of laziness. His long suffering wife is Betty ( played by gorgeous Jo Rowbottom ) who tries to make the best of her life with the bone-idle Bert. They live in a cramped caravan in a filthy gypsy site next door to the aforementioned and common-as-muck Wally and Lil. Lil is an old harridan with a fondness for gossip while Wally is a drunken layabout light on brain-cells.
James Beck made the part of Bert his own but his death in 1973 just prior to the screening of the second series meant a change of character by the arrival of series three. Jonathan Cecil and the lovely Gay Soper replaced Bert and Betty as Jeremy and Susan Chrichton-Jones. An upwardly mobile couple. Whilst not gaining the same affection as their predecessors, they proved popular enough for the show to carry on for another two seasons. Arthur English played Wally in the pilot but when the series began proper, Arthur Mullard was rightly picked to play him. The Briggs were so popular they were later used in Wolfe and Chesney's feature film 'Holiday On The Buses' and then were given their own sitcom spin-off - the much funnier 'Yus, My Dear'.
'Romany Jones' if nothing else compensated for the cancellation of 'On The Buses' and should not be judged so harshly. All of the show bar the pilot ( having been wiped ) was released on DVD in 2011 by Network and makes for entertaining viewing.
James Beck made the part of Bert his own but his death in 1973 just prior to the screening of the second series meant a change of character by the arrival of series three. Jonathan Cecil and the lovely Gay Soper replaced Bert and Betty as Jeremy and Susan Chrichton-Jones. An upwardly mobile couple. Whilst not gaining the same affection as their predecessors, they proved popular enough for the show to carry on for another two seasons. Arthur English played Wally in the pilot but when the series began proper, Arthur Mullard was rightly picked to play him. The Briggs were so popular they were later used in Wolfe and Chesney's feature film 'Holiday On The Buses' and then were given their own sitcom spin-off - the much funnier 'Yus, My Dear'.
'Romany Jones' if nothing else compensated for the cancellation of 'On The Buses' and should not be judged so harshly. All of the show bar the pilot ( having been wiped ) was released on DVD in 2011 by Network and makes for entertaining viewing.