The Likely Lads

The Likely Lads is a 1976 British comedy film directed by Michael Tuchner, starring James Bolam and Rodney Bewes. It is a spin-off from Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, although it shares its title with the earlier 1960s British television series The Likely Lads, of which Whatever was the sequel. The screenplay is by the scriptwriters of the television show, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais; and the principal roles of Bob and Terry, as well as those of Bob's wife Thelma and Terry's sister Audrey, are played by the original television cast. This film was the final screen appearance of Bewes and Bolam together. At the time of the film's release, the two had fallen out over a quarrel involving the press, and never spoke to each other again. Bolam denied there was a rift between the two men when Bewes died in November 2017. Plot An opening pre-credits sequence shows the conception of both Lads during a Second World War air raid. After the opening titles the film cuts to Bob and Terry, both aged about thirty, playing football with some boys.