50 Fun Facts About The Royle Family

Which Oasis B-side to 'Whatever', sung by Noel Gallagher, is The Royle Family's theme tune?

Half the World Away was written and sung by Noel Gallagher, who admits it sounds 'exactly the same' as a Burt Bacharach tune and is surprised he has never been sued for it.

Which actor plays Jim Royle, having been jailed in 1973 as one of the picketing builders called the Shrewsbury Two?

Ricky Tomlinson was a plasterer sentenced to two years for conspiracy to intimidate after the 1972 builders' strike; the Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in March 2021, 48 years later.

Which two-word catchphrase punctuates Jim Royle's outbursts from his armchair in The Royle Family?

'My arse!' greets most of what the telly offers; Jim is written as a misanthropic, cynical slob who spends his days in the armchair doing as close to nothing as possible, yet shows understanding when the family really needs it.

Which 2006 special, The Royle Family's first new episode in six years, sees Nana die after moving in with the Royles?

The Queen of Sheba drew more than 8,000,000 viewers and won Nana's actress a British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress the following year, alongside a BAFTA nomination for Best Comedy Performance.

Producer Glenn Wilhide called it 'a big fight' to make The Royle Family without which sitcom staple of 1998?

A laugh track was standard issue for British sitcoms of the time, but The Royle Family was shot on 16 mm film with a single camera and no studio audience, so the long silences could sit.

Which actress, who made her film breakthrough at 49 in Mike Leigh's Bleak Moments, plays Nana in The Royle Family?

Liz Smith was born Betty Gleadle and was selling toys in Hamleys one Christmas when Mike Leigh's message reached her; she went on to a BAFTA for the 1984 film A Private Function.

Before The Royle Family, which spoof chat-show host asked Debbie McGee what attracted her to millionaire Paul Daniels?

Mrs Merton's Paul Daniels line came second in a 2006 poll of TV's best one-liners; the pensioner's show ran from 1995 to 1998, and her on-screen son Malcolm was played by the future Dave Best.

Which actress plays Barbara Royle while spending eleven years as profiler Grace Foley in Waking the Dead?

Sue Johnston worked for Beatles boss Brian Epstein and as a tax officer before acting, and was a 2000 BAFTA nominee for Barbara, losing to her own screen daughter.

In which Liverpool soap had The Royle Family's Jim and Barbara already played married couple Bobby and Sheila Grant?

Brookside was shot in real houses that Mersey Television bought on a cul-de-sac in Croxteth, Liverpool; the Grants moved into number 5 when the soap began on 2 November 1982.

Which Royle Family co-writer plays Dave Best and took over narrating Gogglebox after his writing partner died in 2016?

Craig Cash came to comedy from DJing on the south Manchester radio station KFM, and shares two BAFTA Television awards for the show with the partner who wrote every episode with him.

Which Royle Family co-creator plays Denise and won the 2000 BAFTA for Best Comedy Performance for the role?

Caroline Aherne beat both of her screen parents, nominated in the same category, on a night the show led the field with four nominations and also took Best Scripted Comedy.

Which actor plays Antony, the Royle family dogsbody, having quit Manchester medical school in 1998 to act?

Ralf Little later played semi-professional football for clubs including Maidstone United and Edgware Town, and spent six series as Jonny in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.

Which actor plays Twiggy, the Royles' dodgy-goods dealer, having been binman Eddie Yeats in Coronation Street?

Geoffrey Hughes played Twiggy from 1998 until 2008, and in between was conman Vernon Scripps in ITV's Heartbeat from 2001 to 2005; he died in 2012, aged 68.

Which Keeping Up Appearances character did Twiggy's actor play in all 44 episodes across five series?

Onslow came between two soaps for the same actor: Coronation Street's binman Eddie Yeats before, and Heartbeat's conman Vernon Scripps after, with the Royles' Twiggy running alongside.

Which Beatle did Twiggy's actor voice in the 1968 film Yellow Submarine, thirty years before The Royle Family?

Paul McCartney was voiced by a Kirkdale, Liverpool-born actor who, decades later, spent 1998 to 2008 turning up at the Royles' with rip-off materials or stolen goods to sell.

Which Spaced co-creator plays Cheryl, Denise's perpetually dieting best friend from next door, in The Royle Family?

Jessica Hynes was credited under her birth surname Stevenson at the time; she co-wrote and starred in Spaced with Simon Pegg and later won a BAFTA as Siobhan Sharpe in W1A.

Darren's actor, Andrew Whyment, has played which Coronation Street character since leaving The Royle Family in 2000?

Kirk Sutherland has kept him on the cobbles for over two decades, long enough to win a British Soap Award for comedy performance and to finish runner-up on I'm a Celebrity in 2019.

Which future Mrs Biggs BAFTA winner plays Emma, Antony's well-off first girlfriend, in The Royle Family?

Sheridan Smith went on to spend 2001 to 2009 as Janet in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, opposite Antony's actor again, before Mrs Biggs earned her the 2013 BAFTA for Best Actress.

Which Caribbean-set BBC detective series cast Antony Royle's actor as DI Neville Parker from 2020 to 2024?

Death in Paradise kept him in the Caribbean for five years; before that he had co-written and starred in his own Sky 1 sitcom, The Café, set in Weston-super-Mare.

Which Stockport pub sitcom did Dave Best's actor, a Royle Family co-writer, create with Phil Mealey in 2003?

Early Doors kept its Royle cousin's habits, shot with no studio laughter and rarely leaving the bar of The Grapes; a stage version, Early Doors Live, won a Manchester Evening News award in 2019.

Inspired by which TV cook does Denise take on Christmas dinner in the 2008 Royle Family special The New Sofa?

Nigella Lawson's influence produces a Christmas dinner cooked by the family's laziest member, in a special that pulled 10.6 million viewers on Christmas Day 2008.

To which Welsh resort do Jim and Barbara Royle take a caravan holiday for their 50th wedding anniversary in 2009?

Prestatyn's caravan park hosts Jim, Barbara, Dave and Denise in The Golden Egg Cup, the 2009 Christmas special that drew 11.74 million viewers, one of the show's biggest audiences.

On which investment show does Dave hope to pitch an invention in the 2012 Royle Family special Barbara's Old Ring?

Dragons' Den is the dream for Dave in the final special, while Joe is looking for love and a new neighbour causes havoc in the Royle household; it was the last episode made before Denise's actress died in 2016.

Which Downton Abbey actress plays Saskia, Antony's pregnant nurse girlfriend, in 2010's Royle Family Christmas special?

Joanne Froggatt was already Anna Bates at Downton by then, a role that brought her a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in January 2015; she had begun on Coronation Street as Zoe Tattersall.

Which poet co-wrote series one of The Royle Family and co-founded Baby Cow Productions with Steve Coogan in 1999?

Henry Normal published his first poetry collection, Is Love Science Fiction?, at nineteen, ran Baby Cow until 2016 and received a special BAFTA for services to television in 2017.

Which 2001 mockumentary promotes Jim Royle's actor from Norwich City to the national team job, '4-4-2' rant included?

Mike Bassett: England Manager sends its hero to the finals in Brazil, where England beat Argentina with a punched goal, a nod to the 'hand of God'; the film became a cult favourite among football fans.

Jim Royle's actor, a plasterer by trade, was born in which seaside resort rather than his adopted Liverpool?

Blackpool's Bispham district was his birthplace in 1939, to parents from Liverpool; he received the Freedom of Liverpool in October 2014, and his 2003 autobiography spent five weeks atop the best-selling new books chart.

Which Vicar of Dibley parish councillor, killed off in the 1996 Easter special, was played by The Royle Family's Nana?

Letitia Cropley was killed off after just seven episodes; the actress went on to Grandma Georgina in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and an MBE in 2009, at 87.

Which New Order bassist married The Royle Family's Denise actress in 1994, a marriage that ended in 1997?

Peter Hook co-founded Joy Division before New Order; the couple met in January 1994 and married in Las Vegas that July, three years before the split.

Born in Ealing, The Royle Family's Denise actress was raised from the age of two in which Manchester district?

Wythenshawe was home from the age of two for the daughter of an Irish railwayman; she died of lung cancer in July 2016 at her home in Timperley, aged 52.

Which one-word forecast did The Royle Family's Denise deliver as Chanel 9 weather girl Poula Fisch on The Fast Show?

'Scorchio!' accompanied a forecast of 45 °C for every location on the spoof channel; her other Fast Show regulars included Renée, the chattering wife of silent Roy, and the Checkout Girl.

Which Manchester-based ITV company produced The Royle Family for its rival, the BBC, from 1998 to 2008?

Granada kept the credit through 2008, after which the final three specials were badged ITV Studios, so an ITV company made one of the BBC's best-loved sitcoms either way.

On which channel did The Royle Family's first series air before its following earned a promotion for series two?

BBC Two aired the six-episode first series in autumn 1998; the BBC moved series two to BBC One a year later, where every later episode and special stayed.

After which medical procedure does Nana move in with the Royles in series two, to Jim's open annoyance?

A cataract operation puts Nana in the Royles' house to recuperate, with Jim unable to hide his annoyance; the following episode drew 6.69 million viewers and also saw Antony's band split up.

In The Royle Family's very first episode, the phone bill shows somebody has been ringing which Scottish city?

Aberdeen's phone calls open the 1998 debut, which aired on 14 September and, like almost every episode that followed, never leaves the Royles' house.

Where does Barbara Royle work part-time, for a while the only member of the Royle household holding down a job?

A bakery job makes Barbara the family's only earner for a time; she lives for her family, and her caring nature is often exploited by Jim and Denise.

Which sparkling drink, with cake and photographs, marks Jim Royle's birthday in series one of The Royle Family?

Pomagne is the Royles' idea of fizz for the birthday episode, which aired in October 1998 and drew 4.2 million viewers in a first series still finding its audience.

Antony, who wanted a record deal for his band in series three, has become what by The Royle Family's 2006 special?

A successful businessman who no longer lives in Manchester is how 2006 finds the boy the family treated as a dogsbody, ordered to answer the door, make tea and babysit.

The Royle Family won the BAFTA for best sitcom in 2000 and again in which year, for a one-off special?

2007's BAFTA went to a single special that beat three full series, Green Wing, The IT Crowd and Pulling, seven years after the first win.

Which Royle Family director went on to direct 16 episodes of Succession and the 2022 film The Menu?

Mark Mylod also produced 37 episodes of Succession, and The Menu was his first film in 11 years; his other British credits include Cold Feet and Bang Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer.

The Royle Family's Mary, Doreen Keogh, had played which Coronation Street character, the Rovers Return's first barmaid?

Concepta Riley ran up 320 Coronation Street episodes for a Dublin-born actress who also coached Barbra Streisand in a cockney accent for On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.

What surname do the Royles' chatty Irish neighbour Mary, her monosyllabic husband Joe and their daughter Cheryl share?

Carroll is the name next door: Mary is Barbara's best friend, Joe's monosyllables are a regular source of mockery from Jim and Antony, and Cheryl is Denise's best friend.

Almost every scene of The Royle Family takes place where in the house, with the television always on?

The living room is where the Royles sit, smoke, bicker and watch, and almost all 25 episodes never leave the house; the single-camera film shoot kept the cameras in the room with them.

Which department store's 2015 Christmas advert used Norwegian singer Aurora's cover of The Royle Family's theme?

John Lewis's advert took Aurora's version to number 11 in the UK and sent the 1994 original to a chart peak of number 56, twenty-one years after it was first tucked away on a B-side.

Which 2008 BBC One drama by The Royle Family's Dave Best and Phil Mealey cast Steve Coogan as a gambling addict?

Sunshine's Bob 'Bing' Crosby cannot resist betting on horses; a gambling helpline director called the three-parter 'a fantastic illustration of the archetypal problem gambler'.

Denise and Dave return from one of Dave's DJ gigs rowing about which woman in series one of The Royle Family?

Beverly Macca is the name that sours the evening in the fifth episode, one week before Denise and Dave's wedding closes the first series, with 4.07 million watching.

How does Jim Royle try to earn a fortune in the 2012 special while Barbara hunts for her lost wedding ring?

Scratch cards are Jim's get-rich plan in Barbara's Old Ring, the 2012 finale that drew 9.9 million viewers, the last time the family gathered on screen.

Where in the house does Denise go into labour in the 1999 Royle Family Christmas special, as Jim tries to comfort her?

The bathroom upstairs becomes the delivery room while the rest of the house stays in front of the telly; it is Jim, of all people, who is left trying to comfort Denise.

What do Denise and Dave name the son whose christening buffet closes The Royle Family's third series?

David, or Baby David, gets a christening that occupies most of series three, with Jim and Twiggy decorating the dining area and Barbara laying on the buffet for the finale.

Barbara Royle's demanding elderly mother, known to everyone as Nana, carries which surname in The Royle Family?

Speakman is Nana's name, Norma Jean Speakman in full; the actress playing her was 76 when the show began and 84 when her character died.