''Billy Liar'' is a

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

of 26 30-minute episodes over two series made by

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

in 1973–1974 which starred

Jeff Rawle Jeffrey Alan Rawle (born 20 July 1951) is an English actor. He is known for portraying George Dent in the news-gathering sitcom ''Drop the Dead Donkey''. He also portrayed Silas Blissett in ''Hollyoaks'' from December 2010 until 2012. Rawle ret ...

as Billy Fisher. In addition there was a short five-minute long special as part of the '' All Star Comedy Carnival'' broadcast on 25 December 1973.''Billy Liar'' - Nostalgia Central website
/ref> The semi-comical premise is based around William Fisher, a Northern working-class 19-year-old living with his parents and grandmother in the fictional town of Stradhoughton in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. Bored by his job as a lowly

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

for Shadrack, an

undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker (British English) or mortician (American English), is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as ...

, and just as bored at home Billy spends his time indulging in fantasies and dreams of life in the big city as a comedy writer.''Billy Liar'' - British Classic Comedy website
/ref> The series was based on the 1959 semi-autobiographical novel '' Billy Liar'' by

Keith Waterhouse Keith Spencer Waterhouse (6 February 1929 – 4 September 2009) was a British novelist and newspaper columnist and the writer of many television series. Biography Keith Waterhouse was born in Hunslet, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. H ...

, which was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and finally into the TV series. The scripts were by the play's writers,

and

Willis Hall Willis Edward Hall (6 April 1929 – 7 March 2005) was an English playwright and radio, television and film writer who drew on his working-class roots in Leeds for much of his writing. Willis formed an extremely prolific partnership with h ...

, with the story being updated to the 1970s. The theme was sung by

Peter Skellern Peter Skellern (14 March 1947 – 17 February 2017) was an English singer-songwriter and pianist who rose to fame in the 1970s. He had two top twenty hits on the UK Singles Chart - " You're a Lady" (1972), which typifies his signature use of b ...

. George A. Cooper reprised his West End role as Billy's father. Other regular cast members included

Pamela Vezey Pamela Vezey (19 September 1932, Bath, Somerset – 18 June 1992) was an English actress best known for her roles as Kath Brownlow/Fellowes in ''Crossroads'' and as the mother of Carol and Trisha Yates in the children's television series ''Gran ...

as Alice,

Colin Jeavons Colin Abel Jeavons (born 20 October 1929) is a retired British television actor. Career Jeavons' earliest television role was as Jules Neraud in an episode of the 1956 anthology series of teleplays ''Nom-de-Plume''. Broadcast live, it is unkno ...

as Shadrack,

May Warden May Warden (9 May 1891 – 5 October 1978) was an England, English actress and comedian. Career Although she acted in other films and TV shows, in Germany and Scandinavia she is best known for her role as Miss Sophie in the 1963 comedy sketch '' ...

as Billy's grandmother, and Sally Watts as Barbara. Several new girlfriends were also introduced. Guest appearances were made by

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a Briti ...

Windsor Davies Windsor Davies (28 August 1930 – 17 January 2019) was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the sitcom '' It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' (1974–1981) over its entire run. The show's popularity resulted ...

Mollie Sugden Mary Isobel Sugden (21 July 19221 July 2009), known professionally as Mollie Sugden was an English actress. She was best known for being an original cast member in the British sitcom '' Are You Being Served?'' (1972–1985) as senior saleswoman ...

Magnus Magnusson Magnus Magnusson, (born Magnús Sigursteinsson; 12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007) was an Icelandic-born British-based journalist, translator, writer and television presenter. Born in Reykjavík, he lived in Scotland for almost all his life, a ...

Kathy Staff Kathy Staff (born Minnie Higginbottom; 12 July 1928 – 13 December 2008) was an English actress known for her work on British television. She is best known for her portrayal of Nora Batty in ''Last of the Summer Wine'', the longest running sit ...

and

Roy Kinnear Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was a British character actor. He was known for his roles in films such as The Beatles' ''Help!'' (1965), Clapper in '' How I Won the War'' (1967) and Planchet in ''The Three Musketeer ...

, among others. The series has never been

rerun A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word ...

on television, although the first series was released on Region 2 DVD in August 2006. The second series was released in March 2007. The complete series was released in May 2018. The series ''Billy Liar'' was shown on the Seven Network in Australia during the non-ratings season of 1975–1976, on CBC Television in Canada in 1975–1976, and on

RTÉ 2 (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...

in Ireland in 1982. An American adaptation entitled '' Billy'' and starring

Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including ''Cocoon'', ''Police Academy'', ''Three Men and ...

Peggy Pope Florence Margaret "Peggy" Pope (May 15, 1929 – May 27, 2020) was an American actress of stage, television and film. Early life Pope was born in Montclair, New Jersey. Her father was a notable doctor in the area. She graduated from Smith Col ...

, and James Gallery aired briefly on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in 1979.

Cast

*Billy Fisher -

*Geoffrey Fisher- George A. Cooper *Alice Fisher -

*Mr Shadrack -

*Billy's grandmother -

*Barbara - Sally Watts

Episode guide

Series One (1973)

Christmas Special (1973)

''Billy Liar'' featured as a short five-minute-long special as part of the '' All Star Comedy Carnival'' on 25 December 1973, an annual Christmas-special containing new mini-episodes of popular British

Series Two (1974)

References

External links

''Billy Liar'' (1973 TV series)
-

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Billy Liar (TV series) 1973 British television series debuts 1974 British television series endings ITV sitcoms 1970s British sitcoms English-language television shows