ricky tomlinson nearly said no to royle family revival

Posted: 5th December, 2008

Liverpool legend Ricky Tomlinson has revealed that he came close to saying no to reprising his iconic role as house layabout Jim Royle in the upcoming Christmas special of The Royle Family.

In an interview on Richard & Judy’s New Position last night on Watch (at 8pm), former Brookside star Ricky admitted that the success of last year’s comeback episode had discouraged him for signing up for another stint in the classic British sitcom – “I wasn’t going to do it because I thought ‘we’ve done the Queen of Sheba’ last year, and it was such a huge success, it was wonderful, and I actually said to John Russell our wonderful producer ‘I don’t fancy doing it John.”

It was only when Ricky read the scripts that he was persuaded, won over by Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash’s inimitable brand of humour – “John said ‘well have a read of the script’ and when I read the script I couldn’t wait to go it was fabulous. It’s absolutely wonderful.”

Ricky also sung the praises of his co-star Caroline, a frequent face in the tabloids earlier in the decade after a lengthy battle with depression and alcoholism. In the series Caroline plays Jim’s daughter Denise. “Caroline Aherne is the most generous person in the world, she gives all the good lines to me and to Sue Johnstone,” he said with affection. “She’s fantastic. I’ve never seen her healthy, fitter, happier…she lives back in Manchester now.”

The full interview aired Richard & Judy’s New Position on Thursday 4^th December at 8pm on Watch.