At 15 he turned semi-professional footballer with Kettering Town and then Leicester City where a damaged knee put him out of the game for good. Eking out his funds by sleeping in station waiting-rooms, Bill hitch-hiked to more working men's clubs, then to a Butlin's holiday camp at Skegness in where he appeared as Billy Williams in support of upcoming star Terry Scott.
Between holiday seasons he was a coalman, commercial traveller and salesman, then in he teamed up with Scott again at Butlin's in Filey. He was then given a chance to tour Germany in Piccadilly Hayride and then went to Korea before landing a spot at London's notoriously difficult Windmill Theatre before getting a number of TV appearances on the BBC where he was described as 'a natural for television.
During the s Bill gave up television to concentrate on the theatre and was off our screens for seven years before returning in as a character in the Armchair Theatre presentation, Never Mind The Quality, Feel the Width , which went on to become a successful sitcom although Bill dikdn't stay on to star in it.
Sporadic appearances followed on television Sykes, Till Death Us Do Part and in the movies Steptoe and Son Ride Again , as well as the Carry On and Confessions series' and in the early s he came up with the idea of an uncouth character with delusions of culture. Last one Free postage.
See all 19 - All listings for this product. About this product Product Information Bill Maynard stars as the council labourer, hapless handyman and all-round public nuisance in this classic Yorkshire television sitcom from the pen of award-winning writer Alan Plater Beiderbecke. Additional Product Features Number of Discs. Show more Show less.
Ratings and reviews Write a review. Most relevant reviews See all 13 reviews. Loads of laughs for a reasonable price. It a just buy Glad to have seen this on dvd, was it years ago, well worth getting. Black Widow Blu-Ray, 5. Add content advisory. Did you know Edit. Quotes [Accompanied by a double thumbs-up gesture] Selwyn Froggitt : Magic! User reviews 6 Review. Top review. The Past Is Another Country Finally released on DVD is a series I found hilarious as a child. This and 'Some Mothers'and 'The Goodies' were the height of comedy for an 8 year old I caught the repeats.
Man Child Selwyn, well meaning but a walking disaster area, creates mayhem despite the best of intentions and goodwill. Maynard actually saves the show with a powerhouse performance of energy, attacking unexceptional scripts with gusto and delivering a well balanced performance injected with physical comedy.
Watching as an adult, its hard to miss the bleakness of the show though. Looking at it post Eighties it shows a narrow way of life and outlook, peopled with characters of limited horizons.
The Pilot Episode shows why some characters were wisely changed: The office characters with their sexual overtones wisely discarded, the Mother greatly softened and the homosexual suggestions of the older brother removed with the introduction of a girlfriend. Looking at this episode the Family seem like a bunch of genetic misfits. Selwyn should be a sad case, a socially inept, stupid middle aged man with no love life ever but Maynard, as stated, saves this situation remarkably.
Perhaps most interestingly, it shows a certain outlook and lifestyle that would be lost forever after the defeat of the Miners Strike. Or perhaps it simply lost out to progress itself. Whether it was worth preserving is something you can judge better for yourself by watching this series. Details Edit.
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