Though Nicholas Lyndhurst may well be cemented into viewers' minds as drippy Rodney Trotter from 'Only Fools & Horses', it must also be pointed out that he has taken on leading roles in other successful television sitcoms such as 'The Two Of Us' ( in which he starred with Janet Dibley ), 'The Piglet Files' ( which also featured Serena Evans and Clive Francis ) and, perhaps his most successful solo vehicle, 'Goodnight Sweetheart', written by the prolific Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran, the same duo behind 'Birds Of A Feather' and 'The New Statesman'.
It was an entertaining vehicle for the 'Only Fools' star in which he played hen pecked TV repair man Gary Sparrow from Cricklewood whose fiery businesswoman wife Yvonne is constantly trying to find ways of bettering their social standing. Gary's only real friend is Ron, an overweight, womanising slob who works for a printing firm and whose marriage to Stella ( Nimmy March ) is a sham. One day, Gary's life seems to take a surreal turn when he is sent to carry out a job at Duckett's Passage.
Upon entering the passage he finds himself somehow transported back to 1940. After walking into the Royal Oak pub, he strikes up a friendly relationship with the barmaid Phoebe Bamford whose husband Donald is away at the front. It becomes clear that Gary and Phoebe have intimate feelings for one another, much to the disgust of her cantankerous father Eric. Gary also makes friends with the local 'bobby' Reg Deadman, whose kind nature makes up for his incompetence.
Eric was killed off after the first series during an air raid after David Ryall decided not to return to the role. Gary later becomes a time-travelling bigamist when he marries Phoebe and later fathers a son who ends up becoming considerably older than him! Dervla Kirwan ( what a honey she was! ) initially played Phoebe but was replaced after series three with the equally sexy Elizabeth Carling. Both were good in their own right but Kirwan in my opinion was the best. Yvonne was portrayed in the first three series by the sexy Michelle Holmes. Holmes was excellent in the role and it did not work at all when Emma Amos took over from her. Victor McGuire was hilarious as the devious Ron, as was Christopher Ettridge as the dopey Reg. Much of the humour came from Gary's yarn spinning on how he is a songwriter. He serenades Phoebe and indeed others with post wartime songs such as Elton John's 'Your Song' which he claims to have invented it himself. I vividly remember one funny sequence in which he performs for Phoebe Rolf Harris' 'Two Little Boys', only for the man himself to appear and bust him. Another very funny moment that sticks out is Ron unwittingly going on a singles holiday for swingers over 60! The show ended after series six with Gary stuck in the past when the time portal closes.
For the uninitiated, 'Goodnight Sweetheart' is no 'Only Fools & Horses' but it is very funny, if not fantastic. On September 2016, a reunion special was made as part of the BBC's 'Landmark Sitcom Season' ( which has seen the return of 'Keeping Up Appearances' and 'Are You Being Served?' ), set seventeen years on from where it last left of with Gary managing to return to the present. It had lost none of its offbeat charm. In fact, rumour has it that a new series may be in the offing. Let's hope so.
It was an entertaining vehicle for the 'Only Fools' star in which he played hen pecked TV repair man Gary Sparrow from Cricklewood whose fiery businesswoman wife Yvonne is constantly trying to find ways of bettering their social standing. Gary's only real friend is Ron, an overweight, womanising slob who works for a printing firm and whose marriage to Stella ( Nimmy March ) is a sham. One day, Gary's life seems to take a surreal turn when he is sent to carry out a job at Duckett's Passage.
Upon entering the passage he finds himself somehow transported back to 1940. After walking into the Royal Oak pub, he strikes up a friendly relationship with the barmaid Phoebe Bamford whose husband Donald is away at the front. It becomes clear that Gary and Phoebe have intimate feelings for one another, much to the disgust of her cantankerous father Eric. Gary also makes friends with the local 'bobby' Reg Deadman, whose kind nature makes up for his incompetence.
Eric was killed off after the first series during an air raid after David Ryall decided not to return to the role. Gary later becomes a time-travelling bigamist when he marries Phoebe and later fathers a son who ends up becoming considerably older than him! Dervla Kirwan ( what a honey she was! ) initially played Phoebe but was replaced after series three with the equally sexy Elizabeth Carling. Both were good in their own right but Kirwan in my opinion was the best. Yvonne was portrayed in the first three series by the sexy Michelle Holmes. Holmes was excellent in the role and it did not work at all when Emma Amos took over from her. Victor McGuire was hilarious as the devious Ron, as was Christopher Ettridge as the dopey Reg. Much of the humour came from Gary's yarn spinning on how he is a songwriter. He serenades Phoebe and indeed others with post wartime songs such as Elton John's 'Your Song' which he claims to have invented it himself. I vividly remember one funny sequence in which he performs for Phoebe Rolf Harris' 'Two Little Boys', only for the man himself to appear and bust him. Another very funny moment that sticks out is Ron unwittingly going on a singles holiday for swingers over 60! The show ended after series six with Gary stuck in the past when the time portal closes.
For the uninitiated, 'Goodnight Sweetheart' is no 'Only Fools & Horses' but it is very funny, if not fantastic. On September 2016, a reunion special was made as part of the BBC's 'Landmark Sitcom Season' ( which has seen the return of 'Keeping Up Appearances' and 'Are You Being Served?' ), set seventeen years on from where it last left of with Gary managing to return to the present. It had lost none of its offbeat charm. In fact, rumour has it that a new series may be in the offing. Let's hope so.