Here’s a fun writing exercise. Have your characters gather around a fire for warmth and help one another compose a letter to their bank manager. This is still one of my favourite scenes in any sitcom, and it shows all four characters with a clear voice. Even Neil, being the passive one in the setup, gets his own moments. And not just Boomshanka – his line ‘well spotted Vyvyan’ is great too.
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For a long time now I’ve been wanting to write an old-fashioned programme guide. One you can hold in your hand and thumb through, make notes on, spill coffee on. So I did. Proctology: A Bottom Examination is my deep dive into Bottom, the hit BBC Two sitcom starring Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson. That’s…
Keanu Reeves is 56. That makes him eight years older than Clive Dunn was when he was first cast in Dad’s Army. But don’t panic, Clive Dunn was always playing much older characters than his own age. Keanu Reeves is 56. That makes him seven years older than Stephanie Cole was when she was first…
