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''The Green Green Grass'' is a

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

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 ne ...

, created and initially written by John Sullivan, produced by Shazam Productions for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

. It is a sequel/spin-off of the long-running sitcom ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until t ...

'' and stars

John Challis John Spurley Challis (16 August 1942 – 19 September 2021) was an English actor. He had an extensive theatre and television career but is best known for portraying Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in the long-running BBC Television sitcom ''Onl ...

Sue Holderness Susan Joan Holderness (born 28 May 1949) is an English actress on both stage and screen having had appearances in '' Bless This House'' (1974), '' The New Avengers'' (1977), ''Canned Laughter'' (1979), ''The Sandbaggers'' (1980), ''The Cleopatr ...

and Jack Doolan. Four series and three

Christmas special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared in in literature and Christmas music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptation ...

s were originally broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

between 2005 and 2009. The series follows three supporting characters from ''Only Fools and Horses''; Boycie (

), his wife Marlene (

) and their teenage son

Tyler Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

. In the first episode, they are forced to flee from

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

to escape the wrath of the Driscoll brothers. They decide to set up home on a

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

Synopsis

Boycie Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce (born 31 January 1948) is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', played by John Challis. His story is continued in the spin-off series '' The Green Green Grass'' in which Boycie and hi ...

(played by

) is forced to relocate from

after providing crucial evidence against the fearsome Driscoll brothers regarding

illegal immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...

and

drug smuggling The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drug prohibition, prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibitionism, prohibit trade, except under license, ...

, resulting in the Driscolls' imprisonment. He is the lead witness in the case and finds himself in trouble when every single other witness changes their statement and the Driscoll brothers walk free. In an attempt to save his life, Boycie and his wife, Marlene (

) and son Tyler ( Jack Doolan) move overnight to the agricultural town of Oakham,

, along with their pet

Rottweiler The Rottweiler (, ) is a breed of domestic dog, regarded as medium-to-large or large. The dogs were known in German as , meaning Rottweil butchers' dogs, because their main use was to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered mea ...

, Earl. Upon arrival at Winterdown Farm, Boycie begins to realise that challenging the Driscolls may have been the easier option. The situation focuses primarily on their attempts to run the farm efficiently through utilising the current staff consisting of Elgin Sparrowhawk ( David Ross), Bryan (

Ivan Kaye Ivan Blakeley Kaye (born 1 July 1961) is an English actor and producer. His international fame came with roles in historical drama shows like the Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan in all three seasons of ''The Borgias (2011 TV series), The Borgias' ...

), Jed (Peter Heppelthwaite) and Imelda Cakeworthy (

Ella Kenion Ella Kenion (born 18 June 1969) is an English comedy actress, known for shows such as ''The Catherine Tate Show'', Five's sketch shows ''We Know Where You Live'' and ''Swinging'', and in BBC Four's ''Fear of Fanny''. However she is best known ...

). As the series progresses, Boycie and Marlene began to settle into their surroundings, however, situations occasionally arise – usually involving their Welsh neighbour, Llewellyn. Tyler was soon sent to school to finish his GCSEs. The elitist in Boycie is often his own hindrance, as he found out when he attended the Agricultural Ball in 2005, where his photo was taken and published in a magazine that stated where he would be that

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. However, luck ensured that Boycie remained at home when he was snowed in and missed his plane, thus not getting scammed by con artists and not getting murdered by the Driscoll brothers, who had travelled to meet him. As the series progressed further, Boycie started to use artificial fertiliser on his

organic farm Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and re ...

, applied to be mayor, fired Mrs Cakeworthy, only to rehire her and, to Marlene's disdain, became obsessed with Tyler's promiscuous French exchange. He also ended up naked in front of Tyler's girlfriend through a massage gone wrong, and took part in a pub quiz, in which a £10,000 bet with Llewellyn – of his own money – was up for grabs. In 2006, a whole year after they escaped, Boycie allowed Marlene to invite her sister Petunia up to stay; she was, however, followed by the Driscoll brothers, without anyone knowing. They attacked the farm's staff and tied them up in the barn (including Boycie's Rottweiler, Earl). When Boycie realised something was wrong he went to investigate the barn only to come face to face with two sawn-off shotguns. Following the Driscoll brothers' visit, life on Winterdown Farm is tranquil. Marlene, Tyler and Boycie have adapted and are beginning to enjoy country life. However, they cannot return to Peckham due to a deal between the Driscoll brothers and Boycie – he would allow them to bury a secret item (later revealed to be 5 million

Spanish peseta The peseta (, ), * ca, pesseta, was the currency of Spain between 1868 and 2002. Along with the French franc, it was also a ''de facto'' currency used in Andorra (which had no national currency with legal tender). Etymology The name of th ...

s in cash) on his land and he must protect it. The events of 2006 still had repercussions in 2007, even though Farm Idol was accepting auditions and Earl was missing in the woods. Also, Boycie began to worry about his health after finding out about a genetic similarity between him and past generations (but still worrying about it after finding out that his biological father was a captured Nazi-German pilot). A death was about to hit the farm hard though, Brian's pet turkey, Paxo. The departure of

Lisa Diveney Lisa Ann Diveney (born 1984) is a British actress, best known for playing Beth in the ''Only Fools and Horses'' spin-off ''The Green Green Grass''. She has also appeared in an episode of BBC drama ''Call the Midwife''. Biography Early life an ...

as Beth was then filled with the arrival of Samantha Sutherland, who played Sara, Tyler's new girlfriend. Boycie fell in fear of the Driscoll brothers once more when they turned up at The Grange and machine gunned his front door down when he refused to answer it. Also, paranormal experts investigate the house, Boycie decides to take some old items to the ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (g ...

'' and Boycie and Marlene decide to renew their vows for their fortieth wedding anniversary, but realise they might not be legally married at all. The humour comes from several sources. The interaction between characters is essential and much is made of the character's individual traits, such as Boycie's arrogance, Elgin's dim-wit, Bryan and Jed's ineptitude, Imelda's

slacking A slacker is someone who habitually work aversion, avoids work or lacks work ethic. Origin According to different sources, the term ''slacker'' dates back to about 1790 or 1898. "Slacker" gained some recognition during the UK, British Gezira Sch ...

work-ethic and Llewellyn's rivalry with Boycie. There are also several

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...

s, including Boycie's attempts to be a gentleman farmer and his yearning for respect which he never gets, Boycie's fear of the Driscoll brothers and Marlene's alleged sexual affair with a now-unseen

Del Boy Derek Edward Trotter, more commonly known as Del Boy, is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'' and one of the main characters of its spinoff series, ''Rock & Chips''. He was played by David Jason in the original se ...

, and the fact that Tyler is possibly Del's son.

Production

Background

Writer John Sullivan had the idea for a spin-off to the sitcom ''

'' in 1997; its commission was announced in 2003 and the premise for the series was established in the final ''Only Fools and Horses'' episode "

Sleepless in Peckham "Sleepless in Peckham...!" is the final episode of BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses''. It was first screened on 25 December 2003 as the third and final part of the early 2000s Christmas trilogy, and as the eighteenth and final Christmas special ...

" in 2003. The prequel was shelved and spin-off ''The Green Green Grass'' was then developed to follow secondary characters, Boycie, Marlene and their son Tyler as they escape the Driscoll brothers and attempt to live in the countryside of

. ''The Green Green Grass'' was announced in June 2005, written by Sullivan and made by his production company Shazam Productions, its first series. The series notably expanded on the characters, giving them greater depth and, particularly in the case of Boycie, more warmth and humanity than previously displayed in the parent series. The series introduced many new characters played by actors who are relatively unknown. Characters from ''Only Fools and Horses'' did not pass over to the spin-off, though there were four exceptions to this. The first was Denzil ( Paul Barber), who appeared in the début episode. The Driscoll brothers have made three appearances since the show's debut. Sid ( Roy Heather) made a brief cameo appearance in the 2005 special. Boycie has also made many veiled references to

Del Del, or nabla, is an operator used in mathematics (particularly in vector calculus) as a vector differential operator, usually represented by the nabla symbol ∇. When applied to a function defined on a one-dimensional domain, it denotes ...

, Rodney and

Uncle Albert Albert Gladstone Trotter, better known as Uncle Albert (19 November 1920 – 2001), was a fictional character in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', portrayed by Buster Merryfield. He was introduced during the fourth series as a replace ...

. John Sullivan made it clear from the beginning that no characters from ''Only Fools and Horses'' would make an appearance, as if one character appears then viewers would expect the rest to follow, damaging the program's ability to stand alone. He indicated in February 2007, to the ''Only Fools and Horses Appreciation Society'' that "some old faces may appear over the next couple of series". The prequel to ''Only Fools and Horses'', ''

Rock & Chips ''Rock & Chips'' is a British television comedy-drama miniseries and a prequel to the sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses''. The show is set in Peckham, southeast London, during the early 1960s, focusing primarily on the lives of Del Trotter, Freddie ...

'' was announced in July 2009.

Writers

The main writer of ''The Green Green Grass'' was John Sullivan. He wrote all six episodes of the first series and the extended length special, " One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock" in 2005. He also wrote the episode " Here's to You, Mrs Boyce" in series two and co-wrote another three episodes of the second series as well as the 2006 Christmas special. He co-wrote the episode " Sweet Sorrow" for the third series and the 2007 Christmas special with Keith Lindsay. Sullivan has written three of the episodes in series four. Jim Sullivan, John Sullivan's son, wrote two episodes for series two and three episodes for series three. He also wrote two episodes for the fourth series. Derren Litten wrote the episodes " Bothered and Bewildered" and " Brothers and Sisters" in series two. He has not since written for ''The Green Green Grass''. For the second series, James Windett wrote " Schoolboy French" and Paul Alexander wrote the episode " More Questions Than Answers". David Cantor has written for both the third and fourth series. He wrote three episodes of the third series and the episode " Calendar Boys" for the fourth. Meanwhile, Keith Lindsay co-wrote both the episode "Sweet Sorrow" and " The Special Relationship" for the third series/special. He also wrote the episode "

The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Winter ...

" for the fourth series.

Filming

Most episodes were filmed in front of a live audience at

Teddington Studios Teddington Studios was a large British television studio in Teddington, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, providing studio facilities for programmes airing on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky1 and others. The complex also provide ...

(the 2005 special was recorded at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

). There are three major sets; The Pub, Boycie's Front Room and Boycie's Kitchen. Other sets are irregularly used. Outdoor shots are constantly used for footage of on and around the farm. Footage of the local village is often used. Location shooting of Boyce's farm was recorded at John Challis' own home near

Leintwardine Leintwardine ( ) is a small to mid-size village and civil parish in north Herefordshire, England, close to the border with Shropshire. History Roman A popular misconception is that the Romans called the village ''Branogenium''. Branogenium in ...

, on the

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

border, and the surrounding area. The pilot for the series was recorded on 24 November 2004 at Teddington Studios. The remainder of the series was shot over June–August 2005. A Christmas special was also filmed. The second series and 2006 special were filmed over the summer months of 2006 and the third series was filmed during the summer of 2007. The fourth series was filmed during the summer months of 2008 however the series did not begin to air until 8 January 2009.

Theme music and titles

Sullivan wrote the theme music for ''The Green Green Grass'' when he wrote the first series. He wrote the lyrics to explain the title and why Boycie and his family were running away to the countryside. Music for most sitcoms, such as ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes foll ...

'' have remained instrumental. However, John Sullivan wanted a theme tune that explained the obscure title (as with Only Fools and Horses) and reasons for the characters' sudden dash. The song is performed by John Sullivan.

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

performed the end credits for series four episode, " Animal Instincts". They perform in a charity concert set up by Tyler, but they are not seen. The theme tune does not feature in the concert. The

opening credits In a motion picture, television program or video game, the opening credits or opening titles are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen ...

see the title, "The Green Green Grass by John Sullivan", appear on screen. However, from series two onwards, the on-screen credit states that the show is "created by John Sullivan". The only other text to appear during the opening credits is the name of the individual episodes such as "Keep on Running". Opening credits have never featured cast names. The show was always broadcast in the 16:9 ratio widescreen. The closing credits for the program varied episode by episode. Most of the first series episodes featured the standard rolling format. However, some episodes featured a scrolling bar across the bottom of the screen. The series'

end credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...

used a full-length version of the opening theme tune as the credits appear on screen. The end credits occasionally appeared over continuing footage (" Home Brew"), or a slideshow of photographs (" For Richer For Poorer") or a shot of a river, forest or part of Winterdown Farm.

Cast

Overview

Guest appearances

Regular characters

'' (

) – A dubious former-used car salesman turned gentleman farmer. He is a frightful snob and looks down at most of the people in Oakham. Boycie made sporadic appearances in ''Only Fools and Horses'' before becoming the central character in ''The Green Green Grass''. Boycie used to be a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. He is very self-centered and arrogant and likes to boast about his social status back in Peckham and his money. He used to be teased by

due to his low sperm count. This is a joke that has continued into the spin-off series, along with the ongoing joke referring to an unseen affair between Marlene and Del. He was forced to leave Peckham after testifying against the Driscoll Brothers in court. ''

Marlene Marlene may refer to: People * Marlene (given name), including a list of people with the name * Marlene (Burmese businesswoman), Nang Kham Noung (born 1991) * Marlene (Japanese singer) (born 1960), a Filipina jazz singer active in Japan Film * ...

'' (

) – Marlene was initially just an unseen character in ''Only Fools and Horses''. She is a cheerful, slightly daft, optimistic person who is speculated to have had an ongoing affair with Del which resulted in the birth of Tyler. The ongoing joke continued into ''The Green Green Grass'', as Jack Doolan, who plays Tyler, has looks similar to David Jason. The character has been expanded massively for the spin-off series but is still the same loving wife who Boycie married in 1968. ''

'' ( Jack Doolan) –The character of Tyler made several appearances in ''Only Fools and Horses'', although he was portrayed by different actors. His similarity in appearance to Del Boy has led to a continuation of a running gag dating back to the late 1980s. It has been speculated in both ''Only Fools and Horses'' and ''The Green Green Grass'' that Tyler might be the outcome of a fling between Marlene and Del. One of his appearances in ''Only Fools and Horses'' was in the episode "The Jolly Boys' Outing", in which

told him one of his many war stories. Tyler made other appearances in the show (the last having been as a toddler in the 1991 'Miami Twice' double-bill), but was not featured heavily until the beginning of ''The Green Green Grass''. His introduction in the spin-off hyped the speculation that Tyler might have been a result of something between Marlene and Del. '' Elgin'' ( David Ross) – Elgin Sparrowhawk is the farm manager of Winterdown Farm. He is a rather strange man, who likes to appear a bit thick to ensure his workload remains light, but likes to show people that he is capable of outsmarting Boycie any day. He always carries his briefcase with a string shoulder strap around with him, to help remind people that he is still farm manager, even though it looks empty on occasions. His wife is unseen, but apparently has a glass eye. He has said on occasions that she dislikes him, and at one point he started to have his mail redirected to Boycie's house just to ensure that she does not find out that he is still living there. He has shown deep affection towards his wife on many occasions, although he obviously fancies Marlene. Whenever she has her back turned, he is copping an eyeful; on one occasion he went as far as to dive across to kitchen floor in an attempt to woo an unsuspecting Marlene. '' Bryan'' (

) – Bryan is the farm's herdsman. He again likes to appear a bit thick so that he can take advantage of Boycie's ignorance. He has, on occasions, reduced his workload by bluffing to an out-of-his-depth Boycie. Bryan can be a little over the top on occasions, especially when thinking about his ex-girlfriend Myrtle. In one particular episode, he states that she chucked him seven times, and every time he found exactly the same wedding ring in a second-hand shop. It is sometimes hard to believe that Bryan's stupidity is a put-up job. Little else is known about the character besides the fact that he lives alone in a caravan on the edge of Winterdown Farm. ''

Jed Jed or JED may refer to: Places * Jed River, New Zealand * Jed Water, a river in Scotland * Jed, West Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community People and fictional characters * Jed (given name), a list of people and fictional charact ...

'' (Peter Heppelthwaite) – Jed is the farm's ploughman. He again likes to think he's appearing a bit thick, but, in reality, viewers are led to believe that Jed is genetically thick. He is renowned for having a family of five children. He is often the brunt of a joke, whereby he and his wife are 'too lazy' to use contraception. Jed's workload has also been known to expand from ploughman to various other areas of expertise, such as in the episode " Home Brew" when he gets involved in Ye Potato Cyder business. He is also known for attempting to escape his wife, such as when he turns up unexpectedly in one particular episode, in the middle of the night, at Bryan's caravan after having a blazing row with his wife. Bryan just accepts this as a usual occurrence and lets him in. '' Mrs Cakeworthy'' (

) – Mrs Cakeworthy is The Grange's housecleaner. Various jokes have been made to her expense, referring to her non-cleaning and biscuit-eating habits. She has even on occasions been asked to lift her legs whilst Marlene does the hoovering. Boycie sacks her in the episode " Bothered and Bewildered" after he catches her sitting around doing nothing. However, after some strange experiences he re-hires her. Mrs Cakeworthy has a husband who has been seen on occasions, most notably in the 2006 Christmas special " From Here to Paternity". She has also been seen to hold seances within the house. Mrs Cakeworthy is also said to have a dust intolerance. '' Llewellyn'' ( Alan David) – Llewellyn is Boycie's next-door neighbour. Boycie continually refers to him as a mad Welshman. He has been known to look after himself and puts his thoughts before others. In one episode, he told the police about Boycie using Artificial Fertiliser on his Organic Farm. This could have put Boycie in prison for up to five years. Llewellyn has a daughter called Rhian, who is Tyler's English teacher. Rhian has appeared in two episodes. '' Beth'' (

) – Beth is Tyler's girlfriend until the end of the third series. She is clever, attractive and vegetarian. Over the three years she spent as Tyler's girlfriend, she had her patience put to the test. First, Tyler showed no interest in supporting her horse racing protests, then he put meat before her, and, to top things off, she peers through the window to see Boycie completely naked, thanks to Earl, in ''Mother Earth''. ''

Sara Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * ''Sara'' (2010 film), 2010 Sri Lankan Sinhal ...

'' (Samantha Sutherland) – Sara is Tyler's latest girlfriend. She is slightly weird in the sense that she is a fan of Tyler's band, Puddle of Agony. Tyler eventually asked her out in the episode " Your Cheating Art", after some help from his mum and Dora. Tyler even managed to get her to strip naked for a piece of artwork. '' Ray'' (Nigel Harrison) – Ray is Beth's father and landlord of the local pub. Ray does not particularly like Tyler, as he believes that his daughter could have done better. He first appeared in the episode "Testing Times" and appeared in another ten episodes since. He is known to lash out in extreme circumstances, such as the misunderstanding in "From Here to Paternity" in which he punches Boycie. ''

The Driscoll Brothers This is a list of characters from the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'' and its prequel, '' Rock & Chips''. Overview Regular characters Recurring characters Major Minor PC Terry Hoskins Police Constable Terence "Terry" Hoskins ( Chris ...

'' (

Roy Marsden Roy Marsden (born Roy Anthony Mould; 25 June 1941) is an English actor who portrayed Adam Dalgliesh in the Anglia Television dramatisations (1983–1998) of P. D. James's detective novels, and Neil Burnside in the spy drama ''The Sandbagg ...

and

Christopher Ryan Christopher Ryan (born Christopher Papazoglou; 25 January 1950) is a British actor best known for his roles as Mike TheCoolPerson in the BBC comedy series '' The Young Ones'', Dave Hedgehog in the BBC comedy series ''Bottom'', Tony Driscoll in t ...

) – First seen in '' Little Problems'' in ''Only Fools and Horses'', the brothers cause Boycie to make a rushed dash to the countryside in an attempt to escape from them. They appeared in the 2005 Christmas Special, '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock'' but they did not manage to catch him. They made their third ever appearance in ''Brothers and Sisters'' when they finally caught up with Boycie and made him a deal. '' Dora'' (

June Whitfield Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress. Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy ''Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...

) – Dora is Marlene's mother. She is hated, as always in classic comedy, by Boycie, her son-in-law. She is reluctant to let him in her house and is always making uncalled-for comments towards him. He became more tolerant of her as the series progressed. In an ''Only Fools and Horses'' episode, Dora forbade Boycie to stay with her when his gas-effect log fire gases them out so he had to stay with Del Boy.

Other characters

Guest actors were brought into ''The Green Green Grass'' on an infrequent basis however, there were a few guests stars over the thirty-two episodes of the sitcom. The first guest star was in the very first episode, ''

Keep on Running "Keep On Running" is a song written and first recorded by Jackie Edwards. It became a hit in the UK for The Spencer Davis Group; their version reached number one in the charts. Recordings "Keep On Running" was written by Jamaican singer-songwrit ...

'' which saw Denzil ( Paul Barber), an ''Only Fools and Horses'' regular, warn Boycie about the Driscoll Brothers' release from prison and the fact that they know who grassed them up. Another character from the parent sitcom who made an appearance was Sid ( Roy Heather), who made a cameo appearance, on the set of The Nag's Head, in the 2005 Christmas special. Occasionally guest actors were essential to the plot such as when Tyler fell in love with his school teacher, Rhian (Karen Paullada) and four con men tried to get Boycie to invest in a fictional polo club. This included appearances from

Sara Crowe Sara Crowe is a Scottish film and stage actress who mainly plays comedy roles. Biography Career After beginning her career on stage and in television, Crowe began to take film roles, including a part in ''Carry On Columbus'' and as the 'first ...

Liz Robertson Liz Robertson (born 4 May 1954) is an English actress and singer and the widow of playwright and lyricist Alan Jay Lerner. She is especially well known for her performances as Madame Giry, having played the role in the original cast of '' Love Ne ...

Roger Alborough Roger Alborough (born 19 February 1953) is a British TV and Theatre actor appearing in many dramas on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and in film. Recent work includes Black Mirror by Charlie Brooker Thieftakers 2, The 8 Days that Made Rome, Washington ...

and Matthew Marsh in the special, '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock''. Other guest stars, essential to the plot included the Farm Inspector (David Cann) in the episode '' Testing Times'', Simon (Ian Bonar) in '' Here's to You, Mrs Boyce'' and Laurence (Beatriz Romilly) in '' Schoolboy French''. Further guest appearances in the series included

Paul Bown Paul Bown (born 11 October 1957) is an English actor. Acting career Bown is best known for playing a leading role in the Granada Television sitcom '' Watching'' (1987–1993) and '' Casualty'' in 2000 more recently as Philip Reid in BBC's ''H ...

as Colin Cakeworthy,

Lucy Briers Lucy Jane Briers (born 19 August 1967) is an English actress. Her film, stage and television roles have included appearances in '' Pride & Prejudice'' (1995) and sitcom '' Game On''. Early life Briers was born on 19 August 1967 in Hammersmith, ...

as the Doctor,

Fiona Bruce Fiona Elizabeth Bruce (born 25 April 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader, and television presenter. She joined the BBC as a researcher for ''Panorama'' in 1989, and has since become the first female newsreader on the ''BBC News at Ten'', ...

as herself in two separate episodes, Jeremy Clyde as Tristram and the Animal Protestors, as played by Danny Morgan and Tony Bignell. Also, Henry Sandon appeared as himself as did

Nick Ross Nicholas David Ross (born 7 August 1947) is a British radio and television presenter. During the 1980s and 1990s he was one of the most ubiquitous of British broadcasters but is best known for hosting the BBC TV programme ''Crimewatch'', whic ...

in series one. Stephen Evans appeared as the Vicar in '' For Richer For Poorer''.

Ricky Hatton Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world championships at li ...

also appeared in one episode have a pint in the pub. Well-known actors who appeared in the program include

Paula Wilcox Paula Wilcox (born 13 December 1949) is an English actress. With a career spanning over 50 years, she is best known for her role as Chrissy in the popular ITV sitcom ''Man About The House'' from 1973 to 1976. She has also had roles in TV shows ...

who played Pertunia, Marlene's sister, in the episode '' Brothers and Sisters'',

George Wendt George Robert Wendt Jr. (born October 17, 1948) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Norm Peterson on the television sitcom ''Cheers'' (1982–1993), which earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy ...

who played Cliff Cooper, a rich American soldier revisiting old haunts, in the 2007 Christmas special, '' The Special Relationship'' and

(details above) as Dora. All three well-known actors played important roles in their individual episodes, either as the person who led the Driscoll Brothers to Boycie, the father of one of Boycie's staff or as a pain-in-the-backside mother-in-law.

Episodes

Thirty-two episodes of ''The Green Green Grass'', mostly written by John Sullivan, were broadcast on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

between 9 September 2005 and 5 March 2009. The show aired in four series (2005–07; 2009) and also aired three

editions (2005–07). All of the regular series episodes had a running time of 30 minutes, and all subsequent specials had a running time ranging from 40 to 50 minutes. All the episodes were shot in front of a live audience, with an added laughter track. The three extended length specials were aired at

. The first, aired 2005, was 50 minutes in length and featured a guest appearance from The Driscoll Brothers (

and

). The second special, aired 2006, was 45 minutes in length and featured only the main and recurring cast members. The third, aired 2007, was 40 minutes in length and featured a guest appearance from

Reception

The first episode of ''The Green Green Grass'' attracted an average of 8.88 million viewers, giving the channel a 41.7% audience share. Viewership had slipped considerably by 2009 when the debut episode for the fourth series attracted 4.07 million viewers (16.5% share), with the series closing to 4.38 million (18.8% share). All four series along with the 2005–7 specials have been repeated on

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

in the UK.

Home releases

The complete series has been released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

, along with the three Christmas specials.

References

External links

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''The Green Green Grass''
at British TV Comedy {{DEFAULTSORT:Green Green Grass, The 2000s British sitcoms 2005 British television series debuts 2009 British television series endings BBC high definition shows BBC television sitcoms English-language television shows Television shows set in Shropshire British television spin-offs Television shows shot at Teddington Studios