As 'On The Buses' drew to a close, Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney tried out ideas for other sitcoms. 'Romany Jones' broke new ground in that it focused on the British underclass. It was a vehicle for 'Dad's Army' star James Beck, casting him as the bone idle 'Bert Jones', who lives on a run-down caravan site with new wife Betty ( Lucille Ball-lookalike Jo Rowbottom ). Their neighbours ( and some would say the show's true stars ) were the uncouth 'Wally Briggs' ( Arthur English in the pilot, Arthur Mullard in the series ) and nosey 'Lil' ( Queenie Watts ).
The humour was vulgar and rude, but what else do you expect from Wolfe and Chesney? Yes, some of it came from the appalling lack of hygiene and manners from the Mullard character, but it was no worse than you'll find in 'Steptoe & Son'. Beck's character was not far removed from 'Private Walker'; if there was a way to make money by doing as little work as possible, Bert would be sure to find it. The first season alone saw him trying to breed broiler rabbits and keep a goat.
With the two Rons busy on other shows, other writers - many of whom had worked on 'On The Buses' - were used, amongst them Chris Boucher, later to write for 'Dr.Who' and 'Blake's 7'. In his 'Radio Times Guide To T.V. Comedy', Mark Lewisohn branded the show an insult to Britain's gypsy population. How many gypsies were offended by it? How many even had access to television? The public liked it enough to put it in The Top 20 of most watched programmes. There never was a 'Romany Jones' film, alas, but Wally and Lil found their way into the final 'On The Buses' picture in 1973.
Prior to the transmission of Season 2, James Beck died of peritonitis. This talented comedy actor, once touted as the new Sid James, proved impossible to replace, so Wolfe and Chesney wrote Bert and Betty out, bringing in a new couple - bowler-hatted city gent 'Jeremy Crichton-Jones ( the late Jonathan Cecil ) and débutante wife 'Susan' ( Gay Soper ). The show ran for two more seasons, spawning a spin-off in which the Briggs acquired a council house - 'Yus My Dear'.
The first two series are out on D.V.D, with ( hopefully ) the rest to follow. Its pleasant enough viewing, but no comedy classic. Roger Whitaker's title theme is infuriatingly catchy to boot!
The humour was vulgar and rude, but what else do you expect from Wolfe and Chesney? Yes, some of it came from the appalling lack of hygiene and manners from the Mullard character, but it was no worse than you'll find in 'Steptoe & Son'. Beck's character was not far removed from 'Private Walker'; if there was a way to make money by doing as little work as possible, Bert would be sure to find it. The first season alone saw him trying to breed broiler rabbits and keep a goat.
With the two Rons busy on other shows, other writers - many of whom had worked on 'On The Buses' - were used, amongst them Chris Boucher, later to write for 'Dr.Who' and 'Blake's 7'. In his 'Radio Times Guide To T.V. Comedy', Mark Lewisohn branded the show an insult to Britain's gypsy population. How many gypsies were offended by it? How many even had access to television? The public liked it enough to put it in The Top 20 of most watched programmes. There never was a 'Romany Jones' film, alas, but Wally and Lil found their way into the final 'On The Buses' picture in 1973.
Prior to the transmission of Season 2, James Beck died of peritonitis. This talented comedy actor, once touted as the new Sid James, proved impossible to replace, so Wolfe and Chesney wrote Bert and Betty out, bringing in a new couple - bowler-hatted city gent 'Jeremy Crichton-Jones ( the late Jonathan Cecil ) and débutante wife 'Susan' ( Gay Soper ). The show ran for two more seasons, spawning a spin-off in which the Briggs acquired a council house - 'Yus My Dear'.
The first two series are out on D.V.D, with ( hopefully ) the rest to follow. Its pleasant enough viewing, but no comedy classic. Roger Whitaker's title theme is infuriatingly catchy to boot!
