Trivia

The series was originally going to be set in Liverpool. The BBC subsequently commissioned a series with parallels to The Likely Lads which was set in Liverpool but with two female leads – The Liver Birds, created by Carla Lane and Myra Taylor.

The setting is not named explicitly; but in Double Date, when football results are on TV, the Lads are most interested in those of League Division Two – which in 1964-65 included both Middlesbrough and Newcastle United, but not Sunderland (division 1), Darlington or Hartlepools United (both div 4).[1] In The Suitor the town of West Hartlepool is named, but this might not be the exact setting.

Most location work was filmed in or around West London. Some of the railway station scenes seen in Entente Cordiale were shot at Maidenhead.

Brian Miller was the original choice for the role of Bob Ferris before Rodney Bewes.

Although 20 episodes were filmed in total, only 8 survive today. The rest were wiped by the BBC during the 1970s.