| The Royle Family | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash |
| Starring | Ricky Tomlinson Sue Johnston Caroline Aherne Ralf Little Craig Cash Liz Smith |
| Opening theme | Oasis – "Half the World Away" |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 23 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Andy Harries |
| Producer(s) | Glen Wilhide |
| Location(s) | Wythenshawe, Manchester, England |
| Running time | 28 min. (18 episodes) 45 min. (2 episodes) 60 min. (3 episodes) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC |
| Picture format | 16:9 576i (SDTV) 16:9 1080i (HDTV) (2008-09 christmas specials) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original airing | Original run: 14 September 1998 – 27 November 2000 Xmas specials: 25 December 1999 – present Specials: 29 October 2006 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
The Royle Family is a popular, BAFTA award-winning[1] television comedy drama produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, with specials in 1999,2000,2006, 2008 and 2009.[2] It is about the lives of a television fixated Manchester family, the Royles.
The series features simple production values and a stereotypical portrayal of state benefit dependent family life at the turn of the millennium. It, therefore, has something in common with kitchen sink drama. The scripts contain often banal conversations. Almost all of the episodes take place in the Royles' home; most centre on the telly-centric living room. The first series of the show was written by Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash, who also acted in it, along with poet and comedian Henry Normal. In the second series Aherne and Cash were joined by Carmel Morgan, and finally the third series was written by Aherne and Cash alone.
In a list of the 100 greatest British television programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000 and voted on by industry professionals, The Royle Family was placed 31st. In a 2004 poll to find Britain's best sitcom, The Royle Family was placed 19th out of 100 nominations.
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The first series ran on BBC Two in 1998, quickly gaining a following such that it was moved to BBC One for the second series in 1999, when it became even more popular. A Christmas special appeared in 1999, followed by a third series and another Christmas special in 2000.
After Aherne announced that she would not write or star in any more episodes, Ricky Tomlinson also pulled out to ensure the show's end. However, on 7 April 2006, the BBC announced that Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash were to write a script for a one-off special, which was broadcast on 29 October 2006.[3] The episode received widespread critical acclaim, having been watched by over 8 million viewers.[4]
In 2008, The Royle Family returned for a Christmas special, the first one since 2000. The episode was called "The New Sofa" and aired on Christmas Day , It was also the first special since "The Queen of Sheeba" in 2006. In January 2009 , It was reported that they were in talks for two more specials. A Special "The Golden Eggcup" aired on Christmas Day 2009 , winning 11.74m Viewers, making it the highest rated show broadcast in the week plus ending December 26, 2009 and the highest ratings up to date of The Royle Family [5].
Two volumes of scripts from the series have been published: The Royle Family The Scripts: Series 1 by Caroline Aherne, Craig Cash, and Henry Normal. London: Granada Media/Andre Deutsch, 1999, and The Royle Family The Scripts: Series 2 by Caroline Aherne, Craig Cash, and Carmel Morgan. London: Granada Media, 2000.
Each episode appears to take place in real time. However, the passage of time as indicated by the changing programmes on the Royles' TV sometimes suggests that the action has been compressed. "The Queen Of Sheba", however, jumps forward in time in a more conventional manner, while "The New Sofa" is set over two days. While the one off specials take a more traditional sitcom structure, many scenes are still run for longer than standard, paying homage to the 'real time' nature of the older series. Unlike most sitcoms the show is filmed in 16mm film using a single camera. Multi-camera videotape is standard for UK sitcoms. Along with the absence of an audience or a laugh track, this gives the show a noticeably different look and feel to usual sitcoms.
For the first three series, all of the action took place within the Royles' house. This changed on the special episode "The Queen Of Sheba" of which part was filmed in a hospital as Norma Speakman fell ill and died. Additionally, in the 2008 Christmas episode, most of the action took place in Dave and Denise's home. Much of the filming of the 2009 Christmas special took place in a caravan at a holiday park, also featuring intermediate scenes in Twiggy's car which Dave was driving for the journey there.
The show's theme tune is "Half the World Away" by Oasis, which can be found on the "Whatever" single and the B-side compilation The Masterplan.
A total of 23 episodes of The Royle Family have been aired to date. The newest episode called, 'The Golden Eggcup' was aired [6] on Christmas Day, 2009.
| Name | Portrayed by | Character history |
|---|---|---|
| James "Jim" Randolph Royle | Ricky Tomlinson | Sarcastic and temperamental, Jim spends his days in his armchair watching the television and doing as little as possible. Jim has a short temper, and regularly berates his family, in particular Antony and his mother-in-law Norma, though on occasion shows a more caring side, especially in moments when his family needs him. |
| Barbara Royle (née Speakman) | Sue Johnston | Barbara lives for her family, though her caring nature is often taken advantage of by Jim and Denise. Barbara worked part time at the bakery, and for a time was the only member of the family to have a job. She is often forgetful and a little scatter-brained. She and Denise chain smoke. Actors Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston previously played a married couple, Sheila and Bobby Grant, in Merseyside soap Brookside in 1982. |
| Denise Best (née Royle) | Caroline Aherne | The only daughter of Jim and Barbara, Denise is extremely lazy and self-centred. She married Dave in the first series, and they have two children, Little David and Norma, though she rarely parents her children, instead passing duties onto everyone else. Denise is known for pulling right back on a ciggie. Her and Barbara love smoking and often fill the ash tray. |
| Antony James Royle | Ralf Little | Antony is the only son of Jim and Barbara, and is generally treated as a slave by all of his family; he is often the subject of their mocking. Although originally unemployed with little prospects, it was revealed in the 2006 special that Antony had gone on to become a successful businessman. He became engaged to Emma, and they have one son, Lewis, though he and Emma are no longer together. |
| David "Dave" Best | Craig Cash | Denise's boyfriend and later husband, Dave is incredibly dimwitted but well-meaning. He is the sole provider for his family, which consists of him, Denise and children Little David and Norma. Dave is laid back, and rarely speaks out against Denise's selfish and lazy actions. As the series' have progressed he seems to have become more slow and dopey. Dave is a supporter of Manchester City as seen by him wearing a vintage City shirt in the 2009 Christmas special. |
| Norma Speakman | Liz Smith | Barbara's demanding elderly mother. Norma regularly visited the family, much to the annoyance of Jim who regularly bickered with her. Norma regularly bored her family with useless information about her best friend Elsie, or things she had seen on television. She later moved in with the Royles when her health declined, and she died in the 2006 special at the age of 90. |
| Cheryl Carroll | Jessica Hynes | The daughter of Joe and Mary, and the best friend of Denise who treats Cheryl almost as badly as she does her brother. Cheryl lives next door to the Royles, and constantly battles her weight, going from one unsuccessful diet to the next. Cheryl is portrayed as unlucky in love, and had a brief fling with Twiggy following a sequence of unsuccessful speed dates. |
| Mary Carroll | Doreen Keogh | Mary lives next door to the Royles with her husband Joe and daughter Cheryl. She hails from the Republic of Ireland, and is portrayed as a chatty busybody, in direct contrast to her husband. Although unseen in the 2009 special, The Golden Egg Cup, Mary is often referred to and is apparently now suffering from severe incontinence. |
| Joseph "Joe" Carroll | Peter Martin | Joe is the husband of Mary and father of Cheryl. Joe is a man of very few words, a regular source of mocking by Jim and Antony, though after a few drinks generally became more social, and has on a couple of occasions proven to be a lovely singer, ironically. |
| Twiggy | Geoffrey Hughes | Twiggy is a family friend of the Royles, and regularly visits, usually with rip-off materials or stolen goods to sell on. He has been in prison, and fathered at least two sons, and later dated Cheryl, though the relationship didn't last. |
The 2008 Christmas special, entitled "The New Sofa" was the first that took place mainly outside of the Royles' house. It began at the Royles', but moved to the Bests' house early on.[7] Ralf Little did not appear in this episode, but his character is referenced. The hour-long special aired on Christmas Day 2008
On 29 December 2008 it was revealed that following the Christmas special (which attracted 10.6 million viewers, making it the 5th most watched show on Christmas Day and the 5th most watched for the entire week ending December 28, 2008 [8]) the BBC, Cash and Aherne were to meet to discuss making further episodes of the show. It was stated that Aherne had agreed "in principle" to discuss a deal that looked set to, at the very least, make two more specials inbetween 2009 and 2010 with the BBC hoping they will accept a deal for a full series.[9]
The Royle Family returned as part of Comic Relief, on Friday 13 March 2009. It also marked the return of Ralf Little as Antony, who joined Dave, Denise, Jim and Barbara in the one-off mini episode[10] Much speculation in the British press during 2009 suggested the show was to return for a special at Christmas 2009. This was later confirmed by the BBC.
The most recent special, 'The Golden Eggcup', was aired on 25 December 2009 at 9pm on BBC One and also in HD on the BBC HD channel. [11] The episode was the most watched show on TV on Christmas Day and for the entire week ending December 26, 2009, attracting an audience of 11.74 million viewers [12].
| DVD Title | Disc # | Year | Ep. # | DVD release | Christmas Specials | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||||||
| Complete Series 1 | 1 | 1998 | 6 | 16 January 2007 | 6 November 2000 & 15 May 2006 | 6 November 2006 | — | |
| Complete Series 2 | 1 | 1999 | 7 | 15 January 2008 | 6 November 2000 & 15 May 2006 | 3 March 2007 | 1999 | |
| Complete Series 3 | 1 | 2000 | 7 | — | 19 November 2001 & 15 May 2006 | 3 March 2007 | 2000 | |
| The Queen of Sheba | 1 | 2006 | 1 | — | 30 October 2006 | — | — | |
| The New Sofa | 1 | 2008 | 1 | — | 26 January 2009 | — | — | |
| The Golden Eggcup | 1 | 2009 | 1 | — | 25 January 2010 | — | — | |
| The Very Best of... | 1 | 1998 - 2000 | 8 | — | 25 November 2002 | — | 1999 & 2000 | |
| Complete Series 1 - 3 | 3 | 1998 - 2000 | 20 | — | 15 May 2006 | 9 March 2008 | 1999 & 2000 | |
| Complete Series 1 - 2006 special | 4 | 1998 - 2006 | 21 | — | 13 November 2006 & 1 September 2008 | — | 1999, 2000 & 2006 | |
| Complete Series 1 - 2008 special | 5 | 1998 - 2008 | 22 | — | 24 August 2009 | — | 1999, 2000, 2006 & 2008 | |
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