One-off characters who became regulars
- Thread starter WellyMan
- Start date
There were quite a few, Auntie Wainwright & Billy Hardcastle, I'm sure there are others...
RickAns
Dedicated Member
Wasn't Norah supposed to only have had only a limited part - one off, maybe? But then she became so popular the viewers wanted more? She called her husband a different name as she drug him out of a pub. Only for his name to be changed to Wally later on. Also, upon a quick check of the pilot episode Compo called him Harold when chatting with Norah.
Norman Wisdom and Smiler were brought back for more, thankfully.
Norman Wisdom and Smiler were brought back for more, thankfully.
That's a good point. Wasn't Smiler first seen in hospital and then later became a regular?
Good point, may seem a silly question but was Clem who lads went to see in hospital the same character as Smiler? I noticed that clem spoke with a London accent (where Stephen Lewis was from) yet he adopted a Yorkshire accent for Smiler ?
Clearly there were a few others who became regulars as different characters such as June Whitfield
Clearly there were a few others who became regulars as different characters such as June Whitfield
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
Other way around ?
Oopsie, yep, you're right. My bad.
I'm going to go on a stretch here. They just aired Cheering Up Gordon over the weekend on public television here in the States. It's a fuzzy picture, but I'd almost swear that was Jean Alexander admonishing Foggy for stepping out on the balcony in his pajamas at the beginning of the episode.
mikey1965uk
Dedicated Member
I'm not sure about that. I may dig out the dvd and have a look. Here's a lovely little fact. Gordon or rather Phillip Jackson (who played Gordon) appears as a major character (a nasty biker) in the world famous and highly popular rock/pop video Take On Me by Aha. He is of course transformed into an animated character but it is indeed Phillip.
That must have been a very fuzzy picture, it wasn't Jean Alexander I'm afraid. Jean was a well known actress in 76.
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I agree. She started off as a " Guest appearance"
imitation700mb
Dedicated Member
Edie and Auntie Wainwright were credited as "Guest Appearances" long after they had become regulars. Edie was a "Guest Appearance" in the last episode I watched "Stop that Castle" from 1992, 6 years after she first appeared in 1986. I wonder why that was?
Sarkus
Dedicated Member
I'm not sure Alvin qualifies. He appeared in the holiday special but then in a supporting role in the final episode of the same series. Usually, a one-off is someone who appears once in a series/season with no intent or plan that they come back. They committed to at least two Alvin appearances before seeing what the audience reaction was.
We've debated that before. I think its the same character even though they never call him Smiler in the first appearance and never call him Clem when he reappears. My reasoning is that when he returns he references the little dog and the wife from the earlier episode (dog died, wife divorced him). Others disagree, though.
I think it was just done out of respect. She was a big film star in her day, and I suppose the crew wanted to make her name stand out a bit, without overshadowing the main trio.
It's not really a 'guest appearance' after one or two appearances - but there you go.
They did the same with Jean Alexander, who wasn't a film star, but hugely popular because of her Coronation Street work.
I think it also helped to be female (reading between the lines) if you were also a top star, to get a really noticeable star billing.
I never understood why it was so important to alter Clem Hemingway into Smiler.
I think the name Clem Hemingway is far funnier.
The name 'Smiler' is a once-only joke. Once you've said it, it's not funny anymore, certainly not after 50 times.
But then again, I've never found nicknames to be funny anyway.
I think the name Clem Hemingway is far funnier.
The name 'Smiler' is a once-only joke. Once you've said it, it's not funny anymore, certainly not after 50 times.
But then again, I've never found nicknames to be funny anyway.
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
It may be colloquial to the North East but you can make many more ooh er missus 
jokes/comments in respect of names out of Clem's than you can Smiler !
jokes/comments in respect of names out of Clem's than you can Smiler !
There wasn't really much to differentiate Smiler from his On The Buses character Blakey. In fact take away the Yorkshire accent and you could have written the character as Blakey retiring to Yorkshire.