The Royle family pose on their famous sofa

The Royle Family, 1998

Popular BAFTA award winning sitcom The Royle Family will reach twenty this September.

The original series ran for 3 seasons.  It was resurrected in 2006 for a one off special “The Queen Of Sheba”.  Returning for a Christmas day special in 2008 after which it became a regular Christmas TV fixture with episodes in 2009, 2010 and the what would turn out to be the last ever episode in 2012.

After the 2012 episode fans were sure there would be more, indeed Ricky Thomlinson said he felt sure they would do another in 2016.  However in July of 2016 Caroline Aherne sadly passed away after a battle with cancer.

Summary

The show gives a stereotypical portrayal of state benefit dependent family life at the turn of the millennium.

The action generally is set in the Royle’s front room sitting round the TV and involving  banal conversations.

Clips

 

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Cast

Ricky Thomlinson
Sue Johnson
Caroline Aherne
Ralf Little
Craig Cash
Liz Smith (1998 – 2006)
Sheridan Smith (1999 – 2000)
Geoffrey Hughes (1998 – 2008)
Andrew Whyment (1999- 2000)

Details

Channel: BBC2 (1998), BBC1 (1999 – 2008)
Written By:
Henry Normal (1998)
Ricky Tomlinson (1998)
Caroline Aherne (1998 – 2009)
Craig Cash (1998 – 2009)
Carmel Morgan (1999 – 2006)
Produced By: Granada Television for BBC
Original Transmission Details:
Series: 14th September 1998 – 27th November 2000
Christmas specials: 25th December 1999, 2000, 2008, 2009 and  2012
Specials: 29th October 2006