It was July 1972, and a new BBC television comedy series was in the offing.
Called Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? it would be set on Tyneside and pick up from the original series (simply titled The Likely Lads) which had been a hit in the mid 1960s. Starring James Bolam and Rodney Bewes as lifelong pals Terry Collier and Bob Ferris, the rebooted, all-colour '70s sequel would chart the humorous scrapes of the two best friends, now slightly older and more careworn, as they dealt with life in a new rapidly changing decade.
Our two photographs taken this month 50 years ago show Bewes and one of the show's two creators and writers, Whitley Bay -born Ian La Frenais, standing on the Gallowgate End terraces at St James' Park. The pair were checking out a number of potential outside locations for the new show.
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Thirty-five-year-old La Frenais said: "I’ve persuaded the BBC to shoot the outside scenes actually in the North East this time. The new series will show the lads several years older, having been through marriage and divorce, and other life situations."
The tour of the area would take in Newcastle, Blaydon, Gateshead, Whickham, Killingworth and the Quayside, much of which presented a vastly differing landscape to the one the former pupil at Newcastle's Dame Allan’s Grammar School had left in 1964 when he headed south to London to team up with Dick Clement to write the original series of the Likely Lads. La Frenais and Clement would also go on to create other television comedy masterpieces such as Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Porridge.
Once completed, Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? would be a huge hit, running between January 1973 and December 1974, over two series and a Christmas special. Sadly, St James' Park failed to make an appearance in the new show, though there were frequent Newcastle United references throughout.
There were a handful of BBC Radio 4 episodes in 1975, before Bolam and Bewes reunited one last time for a spin-off, shot-on-location feature film a year later. Soon after, a misunderstanding led to a fall-out between the pair and they never spoke again.
If Bolam in later years was hugely reticent about the success of the Likely Lads, Bradford-born Bewes was always effusive about the show and his time working in the North East. The actor told the Chronicle in 2013: "I really enjoyed filming the series back in the 1970s. It was such fun. We had a wonderful time.
"I'm very fond of Newcastle - and I pretty much had the freedom of St James' Park at the time. I remember the Daily Mirror paid me £500 to write a match report. It was Newcastle v Chelsea. I sat next to Newcastle United captain Bobby Moncur who was injured at the time – and basically wrote down his running commentary. The report was published in the paper, I was paid my £500, so Bobby said 'where's my cut?' I had to say 'not this time, mate.’ After all, he was Scottish!"
If Rodney worked hard filming in the region, he also seems to have enjoyed a lively social life. He said: "I would have dinner with Bobby Moncur and his lovely wife. In fact, I was friendly with most of the Newcastle players. I'd socialise with Ian Le Frenais, and I was very friendly with John Gibson (the Chronicle's legendary sports writer). Do send my best wishes to Gibbo."
Rodney Bewes died in 2017, a week before his 80th birthday. Ian La Frenais, now 85, lives in California, United States. James Bolam, now 87, lives in South East England.
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