The Royle Family

infobox television
show_name = The Royle Family


caption = The Royle family: (clockwise from top left)
Antony, Barbara, Dave, Denise, Jim, Norma.
genre = Sitcom
picture_format = PAL (576i)
audio_format = Stereo
runtime = 28 min. (18 episodes)
45 min. (2 episodes)
60 min. (2006 special)
creator = Caroline Aherne
Craig Cash
developer =
producer = Glen Wilhide
executive_producer = Andy Harries
starring = Ricky Tomlinson
Sue Johnston
Caroline Aherne
Ralf Little
Craig Cash
Liz Smith (1998–2006)
country = UK
language = English
opentheme = Oasis - "Half the World Away"
network = BBC
first_aired = 1998 - 2000,
2006-

num_episodes = 21
website = http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/r/roylefamilythe_66602940.shtml
imdb_id = 0129711
tv_com_id = 3308

"The Royle Family" is a popular, BAFTA award-winning [ cite web | title = BAFTA Winners | url = http://www.bafta.org/site/page129.html | accessdate = 2007-05-20 ] television sitcom produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, with a special episode in late 2006. [ cite web | title = The Royle Family - Queen of Sheba | publisher = BBC Press Office | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/wk44/unplaced.shtml#unplaced_theroyles | accessdate = 2006-11-05 ] It concerns the lives of a working class Manchester family, the Royles.

The series is remarkable for its simple production and realistic portrayal of working-class family life at the turn of the millennium. It, therefore, has something in common with kitchen sink drama. The scripts contain often banal conversations and episodes commonly revolve around a family occasion, such as the marriage of the family's daughter Denise, the birth of her first child, and the child's christening. All the episodes take place in the Royles' home, which appears to be a typical British council house or similar; most centres 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 31^st. In a 2004 poll to find Britain's best sitcom, "The Royle Family" was placed 19^th out of 100 nominations.

The show was made by rival company and 3sixtymedia partner Granada Television.

On 11 June, 2008, Ricky Tomlinson told Paul O'Grady on his chatshow that the show will be returning for a Christmas special. The special will presumably not star Liz Smith's character Nana, who died in the 2006 episode, 'Queen of Sheba'. Nevertheless, in an interview with Smith, she requested lightheartedly "Please, can I come back as her sister?" This, therefore, may not completely rule out any role portrayed by Liz Smith.

Description

The show is a comic and poignant satire of family life. It is most commonly supposed that the series is set in the Manchester suburb of Wythenshawe, where creator Caroline Aherne was raised. In one episode, Dave Best (Craig Cash) asks Jim Royle (Ricky Tomlinson) "did you see County the other day?". This is in reference to Stockport County. It is often assumed that the programme may be set in the Heaton Norris area of Stockport eight miles south of Manchester, birthplace of co-creator Craig Cash.

A modern comedy of manners, the family rarely do anything other than watch television, banter and occasionally eat, smoke and drink. Every episode takes place in the family home, in the living room and/or kitchen, and only in the final episode does the show move outside the family home (with some scenes taking place in a hospital). Most episodes lack a plot but most have a theme or at least a topic of discussion to hold it together. The show lacks conventional, set-piece jokes. Many of the humorous situations involve awkwardness, badly told jokes, crassness (usually on Jim's part), irony and the fact that the Royle family on the television often reflect the lives of the families watching it. In this it has similarities to the docu-comedy format.

It is shot in single-camera style, with no audience or canned laughter.

Series

The first series ran on BBC Two in 1998, quickly gaining a cult following and 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. This episode was the last when Caroline Aherne decided to move to Australia to escape the press, after a bout of depression and a suicide attempt. 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 April 7 2006, the BBC announced that Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash were to write a script for a one-off special which was broadcast in the U.K on 29 October 2006. [ cite web | title = The Royle Family (BBC One) - Film and tv - Entertainment - Manchester Evening News | url = http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/film_and_tv/s/226/226775_did_you_see_the_royle_family_bbc1.html | accessdate = 2008-08-05 ]

According to The Sun a Christmas special is currently being written [http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article1132608.ece] and this was confirmed by Ricky Tomlinson on the 5 June 2008 episode of Countdown. On 11 June Ricky Tomlinson once again confirmed the special on the 11 June 2008 episode of The Paul O'Grady Show

Characters

The Royles

* James "Jim" Royle, played by Ricky Tomlinson, is the father and patriarch of the Royle family. Jim was born in the early 1940s and is overweight, unemployed and lazy. Ignorant and boorish, he is prone to being quick-tempered and scathing to those around him. Since he was made redundant during the Thatcher administration of 1979-1990, Jim has been unemployed and is preoccupied with family expenditure and frequently loses his temper over money matters, particularly the burden of daughter Denise's wedding. He is loud-mouthed, opinionated, and very public about his bodily functions (for example, by announcing his visits to the toilet). However, he can also be very affectionate and sentimental. A competent banjo player, he has a raucous belly-laugh (usually in response to his own jokes) and is something of a party animal. He spends an overwhelming amount of time sitting in an armchair watching television.

* Barbara Royle (née Speakman), played by Sue Johnston, mother and domestic drudge to the Royle family is married to Jim. Barbara is the family's only wage-earner, working part-time at a local bakery. Barbara is a typical motherly figure and is a lot more hard-working than her husband. She often scolds Jim for bad language or improper conversation. Barbara is the most diplomatic family member, often using her soft voice and motherly charm to settle arguments.

* Antony Royle, played by Ralf Little, born in 1981, is the dogsbody of the family. Son of Jim and Barbara, he is constantly ordered around by the family, performing nearly every errand that needs doing, and seems incapable of standing up to them. In an ironic twist in the later series, Antony becomes street-smart and in the second and third series, becomes the character with a possible 'better' future, in the form of wealthy girlfriend Emma. In series three, it is announced that Antony and Emma are to wed and Emma is also pregnant. By the 2006 special he has become a businessman and dropped into the Royles household on the way to a conference in Milton Keynes, however he and Emma have split up, and it is implied that he has a new girlfriend.

* Lewis Royle, played by Connor Marsh, Antony and Emma's son.

The Bests

* David "Dave" Best, played by Craig Cash, is Denise's husband and father to Baby David. He works as a furniture remover and part-time, mobile disco proprietor. Dave is hen-pecked by Denise, unable to stand up to her unless he is slightly drunk. He settles in with the Royle family well, taking pride of place on their sofa. He likes gammon, and he likes pineapple, but doesn't agree with them together, citing it as mixing "sweet and sour" - eventually prompting Jim to shout "alright Dave we get the picture about the bloody gammo!".

* Denise Best (née Royle), played by Caroline Aherne, is the neurotic daughter of Jim and Barbara, wife to Dave and mother to Baby David. Denise is portrayed as fussy, greedy and lazy. She and Dave began dating in 1993 and married in 1998. She is unemployed and does very little besides occasionally going to "The Feathers" pub, with a habit of getting drunk, and sitting in the family living room watching the television. Her excuses for not doing chores are adapted to fit the situation. In the second series, she complained about having to carry the baby (explaining her habit of eating and drinking for two) and in the third she was always 'too busy with the baby', despite having people like Cheryl and Emma care for him when she wanted to smoke. She also thought that the fact that Cheryl was his godmother meant that he was Cheryl's responsibility. Throughout the show, Denise frequently mentions an unseen character named Beverly Macca, whom she seems jealous of. In series two and three, Denise and Dave are living in their own house but still come round to the Royle home frequently, this being common in extended families.

* David Keanu Ronan Best, played by twins Matthew and James Hughes and in 2006 by Craig Cash's son Harry Cash, is Denise and Dave's son, born on December 25 1999. In one episode, Dave mentions that four previous generations of his family were all called 'David', making the baby David Best V. Baby David is arguably more loved by Dave than Denise, as he spends many hours worrying over the baby and has even constructed a farmyard for him. Denise meanwhile, uses any excuse to avoid spending time with her son. His school suggested he had ADHD but it was revealed instead that he simply could not be bothered to pay attention properly.

* Norma Orchard Tallulah Porsche Best, Dave and Denise's daughter, born in 2006, named after Nana.

* Mr David & Mrs Best are Dave's parents, and are never seen throughout the entire series. Dave's father is apparently disabled, although Jim has implied on occasion that he believes he is faking it to avoid work, the irony being that Jim avoids work at every opportunity and even claims benefits. Dave's mum is a less well known character, although she did buy a suit from Marks and Spencer for Dave and Denise's wedding which prompted Barbara to buy a more expensive suit so as to “not let the side down”.

The Speakmans

* Norma Jean Speakman, played by Liz Smith, is Barbara's mother and is known to the family (and several of their friends) as Nana, with only Jim calling her by her first name. Norma appears in most episodes; in the few in which she is absent, she is a major topic of conversation. Norma and Jim share a mutual dislike and are not afraid to show it. She has an irritating habit of constantly discussing death and recounting trivial anecdotes from her past and is fond of a drink, a fact which she unconvincingly tries to hide. She lived in a flat on the other side of town next door to her best friend the late Elsie (never seen) who died in late 2000, but by the 2006 episode she has moved into the Royle household where she is bedridden and cared for by the family. Towards the end of the episode, she is found unconscious by Barbara and is taken into hospital. After the regular cast of the show say their goodbyes to her, she dies in hospital. According to Barbara, her final words were "Trevor McDonald". Her ashes now sit on top of the television in the living room.

The Carrolls

* Mary and Joe Carroll, played by Doreen Keogh and Peter Martin, are the Royles' next-door neighbours. Mary, of Irish descent, is constantly cheery and provides a stark contrast to her husband Joe, who is extraordinarily quiet and boring, except when he is drunk. Joe's monotone personality always saps Jim's usually cheery nature.

* Cheryl Carroll, played by Jessica Hynes, is Denise's best friend, and daughter to Mary and Joe. Plump Cheryl is constantly on diets but always fails to stick to them, ensuring that she is in a perpetual state of despondency about her figure. Cheryl is frequently the butt of Jim's (and occasionally even her father Joe's) jibes. It is implied at the end of "The Queen of Sheba" that she and Twiggy are to become an item.

The Kavanaghs

* Emma Kavanagh, played by Sheridan Smith, is Anthony's wealthy girlfriend and mother of his son Lewis. She comes from Altrincham, a wealthy suburb of Greater Manchester, which according to the Royles, is 'posh'. She is vegetarian, which poses problems for Barbara, and later becomes engaged to Anthony; however, by the 2006 episode they have apparently split up.

* Roger Kavanagh, played by John Henshaw, is Emma's father and appeared in the Christmas episode of Series 3. Roger comes from a working class background but has gained wealth, which he boasts about constantly, for example boasting to Jim about his Aston Martin, his box at Old Trafford, frequent social encounters with Joe Longthorne, and about the fact that he had paid for sex.

* Valerie Kavanagh, played by Sharon Duce, is Emma's mother and appeared in the Christmas episode of Series 3. Valerie has had implants for Christmas, which were bought by Roger, as well as a 'Dyson' vacuum cleaner. The implants are talked about and noticed by the Royles, mainly by Barbara. Valerie also has had liposuction for her birthday from Roger. Valerie is unsure of and somewhat supercilious towards the Royles; when Barbara announces that they should visit the Kavanagh residence, Valerie grimaces.

Other characters

* Darren Sinclair-Jones, played by Andrew Whyment, is Anthony's dim but well-meaning best friend. He often visits the Royles, usually to visit Anthony, however he often pulls up a chair and watches television with the family. Darren is known for often bending the law, and getting himself into trouble. All of his brothers are in prison. Darren's mum is usually ill or in hospital and Darren's dad is usually in the pub and drinking.

* Twiggy, played by Geoffrey Hughes is Jim's best friend who always has something knock-off (stolen) to sell to Jim. His character has a son, Lee, from his failed marriage. Has dated Michelle (Sally Lindsay) and it is implied that he will start dating Cheryl at the end of the 2006 special. Twiggy has a 'heart of gold' and usually sells jeans, Arabic shampoo, knock off sports gear etc - a bit of a scouse Del Boy. He was dating a woman who worked at the petrol station and after buying her a gold ankle bracelet, putting up a load of shelves and grouting her bathroom, his mate Duckers, told him that he was "knocking her off" as well.

* Beverly Macca is never seen, but is mentioned on numerous occasions. Her older brother Tony, who is a friend of Dave's is also mentioned. All that is known of her is that she had two children before the age of 18, is attractive, and was a one-time girlfriend of Dave. Denise is extremely jealous of Beverly and she and Dave frequently argue about her when drunk.

* Duckers, who is also never seen, is the local, notorious "hard-man", simply being known as Duckers. Duckers also was once "knocking off" the woman who Twiggy was dating, but confessed because they were mates. He also was the first person outside of the Royle/Best family to learn of Denise's pregnancy, after being told by Anthony at the off license.

* Sandra Beswick, is the local hairdresser. Denise mentions how she has gone mobile and called herself "Sandy Scissors." She is never seen but mentioned frequently in Series 1.

*'Leggins' Lorraine, is the single-mother of four, who is never seen (but never appeared in any episodes) without being in her leggings, across the road from the Royles. Barbara mentions that she has been 'sterilised' in the second series.

*Carol Never seen, but is mentioned in in Series 1, Episode 2, when she is spotted by Barbara looking out of her window at a new neighbour's new car. Barbara describes her as a 'nosy devil' and adds 'you'd think she'd never seen a car before (the joke being Barbara, Dave, Denise and Anthony are also looking out the window at the new car).

*Black Roy Never seen, apparently does not take care of himself and is overweight. Jim got extremely jealous when he found out that Roy had Sky Digital.

*Black Roy's White Wife Never seen, apparently waits on Roy 'hand and bloody foot'.

*Derek(Steve Huison) appears in the "Queen of Sheba" episode as one of Cheryl's blind dates and respondant to her lonely hearts advert in the local newspaper.

*Michelle(Sally Lindsay) Twiggy's loudmouthed, unpleasant girlfriend, only appers in episode six (Baby David's Christening) of series three.

*PJ(Brendan O'Carroll)A pensioner who appears in the "Christening" episode and also appears at Norma's wake in the "Queen of Sheba" episode. PJ's house has a problem on the upstairs landing which is PJ's urine.

Future

On April 7, 2006, the BBC announced that Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash were to write a script for a one-off special. In this hour-long episode entitled "The Queen of Sheba", Liz Smith's character 'Nana' died suddenly, surrounded by her family. It was broadcast in the U.K. on BBC1, on 29 October 2006 at 21:00 GMT The episode received widespread critical acclaim, having been watched by over 8million viewers [ cite web | title = BARB Weekly Viewing Summary w/e 2006-10-29 | publisher = BARB | url = http://www.barb.co.uk/viewingsummary/weekreports.cfm?report=weeklyterrestrial&RequestTimeout=500 | accessdate = 2008-10-03 ] .

According to The Sun newspaper a Christmas special is currently being written. In June 2008 it was announced by Ricky Tomlinson that the show would return for a 2008 Christmas special. Tomlinson has twice announced this on television, firstly on Channel 4's long-running game show Countdown, and secondly live (incidentally also on Channel 4) on The Paul O'Grady Show.

In September 2008 it was rumoured that a 4th series would be produced in time for a 2009 release but this is yet to be confirmed.

Trivia

* 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 and a laugh track, this gives the show a noticeably different look and feel to usual sitcoms.
* 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.
* All of the action takes place in the Royles' house; the camera never leaves the house. If the Royles look out of the window the camera looks at them and not what they are looking at. The only images from outside are glimpses of programmes on the Royles' TV. This changed on the special episode "The Queen Of Sheba" of which part was filmed in a hospital as Norma Speakman fell ill and passed away.
* The show's theme tune is "Half the World Away" by Oasis. The song can be found as the B-Side to "Whatever" and on the album "The Masterplan".
* Each series appeared to lead up to an event. The first led to Denise and Dave's wedding; the second saw Denise now pregnant with their child and led up to the birth (Denise went into labour in the Christmas special) and the third saw the addition of Baby David and the run-up to his christening and his first birthday on Christmas Day. Jim also received Sky Digital as a present.
* The name "The Royle Family" is a pun on the British Royal Family. The rude manners of the Royles are in contrast with the supposed refined manners of the Queen and her family. The joke was taken to its conclusion by impressionist Alistair McGowan on his television show, with a series of sketches featuring the Royal Family as the Royle Family. The Duke of Edinburgh character played Jim, with Queen Elizabeth II as Barbara, The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker-Bowles as Dave and Denise and The Duke of York as Anthony, wearing the top half of a Royal Navy uniform along with a pair of tracksuit trousers.
* Also notable is the pairing of Sue Johnston and Ricky Tomlinson as husband and wife, as the two were well known for playing another married couple, Bobby and Sheila Grant, on Channel 4's long-running soap opera "Brookside". Similarly, Ralf Little and Sheridan Smith also went on to reprise their roles as an onscreen couple, Johnny and Janet, in the later sitcom "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps".
* The sitcom Spaced parodied the show's intro sequence on the final episode ("Leaves") of its second series. This sequence featured "Spaced" actors Simon Pegg, Nick Frost et al playing out the actions of the Royles. Jessica Hynes (née Stevenson) co-wrote and starred in "Spaced" after her success in "The Royle Family".
* Jessica Hynes is padded out with a fat suit to play Cheryl, being much slimmer than the character in real life.
*Peter Martin received time off from playing Len in Emmerdale to take part in the Queen of Sheba episode.
* TV shows that were featured on the Royles' television included, Antiques Roadshow, Family Fortunes, Boot Sale Challenge, Coronation Street, Wish You Were Here...?, Emmerdale, (most significantly) Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Changing Rooms, Full Circle with Michael Palin, EastEnders, Strike It Lucky, Tomorrow's World, Noel's House Party, Deal Or No Deal, The Graham Norton Show, TFI Friday, Animal Hospital, Birds Of A Feather,Hollyoaks, Home and Away and Ready Steady Cook

DVD releases

References

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/r/roylefamilythe_66602940.shtml The Royle Family] at the BBC
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