Over recent months we've been marking the 50th anniversary of the classic television sitcom Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? with stories comparing some of the outside locations used in the 1973 series and how those same scenes look today.
First broadcast on BBC1 in January 1973 - and a sequel to the original 1960s black and white offering The Likely Lads - the two series and a Christmas special would run until the end of 1974. Written by Whitley Bay-born Ian La Frenais and his sidekick Dick Clement, the rebooted show - now in colour - charted the escapades of two lifelong pals Terry Collier (played by James Bolam) and Bob Ferris (played by Rodney Bewes) now approaching middle age, mourning their lost youth, and doing their best to adapt to the changing world of the 1970s.
Whatever Happened To... was a major success, at its peak drawing 27 million viewers across the country. The show - then and now - held a special affection for people in our part of the world. Despite Bolam actually hailing from Sunderland and Bewes from West Yorkshire, the series was set on Tyneside, with many of the outdoor scenes captured on location in Newcastle and Northumberland.
