He was born Walter Williams in Heath End, Farnham, Surrey, the son of a gardener, also Walter, and Edith, a laundry worker. The family moved to Leicestershire, where he attended Kibworth Beauchamp grammar school. At the age of 11 he was already earning more than his father by doing comedy turns in clubs. Johns, Victor (12 March 1977). "The new role that fits the bill - even though it's a big surprise". Liverpool Echo: 7 . Retrieved 3 March 2023.

Arkwright’s lust for Gladys was, Baron felt, a healthy repudiation of the idea that men idolise only slim women. “There are millions of big ladies out there married to men who think they’re wonderful,” she said. Some years after Barker’s death, the show’s other star, David Jason, headlined a revival – Still Open All Hours (2013-16) – which led to a return for Baron’s skilful comedic creation.After three series, the show looked to have ended, but a further series was made in 1980 in which Selwyn took charge of a failing holiday camp. This series titled this time just 'Selwyn', featured only Maynard from the original cast. 'Selwyn' was not popular and plans for a return series were scrapped. Brandwood, Neil (31 March 2011). Victoria Wood: The Biography. Ebury Publishing. ISBN 9780753546574. Maynard was born in Farnham, Surrey, whereupon his family moved north to Leicestershire. He was educated at Kibworth Beauchamp Grammar School. Maynard lived in Sapcote, Leicestershire during the latter part of his life. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1983-87 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018 . Retrieved 9 March 2016. Maynard was working as an assistant buyer for a Leicester clothes wholesaler when he met Muriel Linnett. They married in 1949 and had a son and a daughter. He worked in local repertory companies and then went to Butlins holiday camp, Skegness, where he met the comedy actor Terry Scott. In 1955 the two of them appeared on TV in Great Scott, It’s Maynard. After this he had his own comedy and music show, Mostly Maynard, which lasted five episodes.

Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith (1996). The Guinness Book of Classic British TV. Guinness. ISBN 9780851126289. experience as a comedian at Butlin's for the holiday camp setting. [10] Plater was not involved with this fourth series and Robert Keegan, who had played Maurice, considered the removal of the supporting cast a potential mistake "as I think viewers of situation comedy like to get to know lots of characters". [33] A proposed fifth series was not produced after disappointing audience reactions. [2] Maynard confirmed the series had finished in May 1980, telling the media "if you keep on with the same character all the time, people won't accept you as anything else. If I do [play Selwyn again], it will be when people have begun to forget about him." [34] [35] Reception and legacy [ edit ] Yorkshire Tyne Tees Television, which produced the show, remained silent, perhaps so as not to offend the ITV schedulers. Maynard had no such compunction. His involvement in Heartbeat ended in 2000, but he played Greengrass again in The Royal in 2003. Hildred, Stafford (26 September 1976). "Not much fun from Selwyn this time..." Birmingham Evening Mail: 2 . Retrieved 3 March 2023. The Gaffer is an ITV situation comedy series of the early 1980s, that starred Bill Maynard and was written by businessman Graham White. It was made for the ITV network by Yorkshire Television.In later years, it was suggested that during the production of series 3, White (the creator of the show) protested that Maynard kept changing his scripts too much, thus embittering the relationship between the two and so a planned fourth series was cancelled. White revealed details of the dispute which ended the series in a 2014 newspaper interview [1]. Graham White published a sequel novel entitled "The Gaffer's Guerillas" which takes the story into the present day [2]. The series was filmed in Skelmanthorpe, a West Yorkshire village at the foot of the Pennines between Huddersfield and Barnsley. Froggitt (brilliantly played by veteran comic Bill Maynard) is a hopelessly incompetent labourer in the Public Works department of the Scarsdale town council. Huge of body but tiny of intellect, Froggitt is equally inept whether he's digging a ditch for a water line, wiring a building, or fixing the plumbing. More than one house has burnt to the ground (or exploded outright) after Froggitt made the repairs. Retrospectively, Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt has been described as "a kind of Billy Liar for nutters" in The Guinness Book of Classic British TV. [42] In 2010, Michael Coveney of The Guardian wrote that the series exhibited Alan Plater's "gift of writing supple, salty dialogue for working-class characters", as with Plater's scripts for Z-Cars and its sequel Softly, Softly. [43] The series was an influence on Victoria Wood. [44] Selwyn was a deeply jovial man who has somehow deluded himself into thinking that he can fix anything. Unfortunately, the reverse was true.

After 60 years, Bill Maynard has last laugh on his critics". Leicester Mercury. 16 September 2013. Archived from the original on 27 October 2013 . Retrieved 9 March 2016. Watson, Chris (29 March 1977). "Oh no! Is this really tops?". Western Daily Press: 7 . Retrieved 3 March 2023. On stage she proved adept in musicals including Little Me (Prince of Wales, 1984-85), Stepping Out (Duke of York’s, 1985-86) and Follies (Shaftesbury theatre, 1987-89), in which she gave a showstopping rendition of Who’s That Woman as an ageing but still glamorous hoofer proving she’s still got it with light-footedness, expert tap, cussed verve and sassy elan. Local Pride awards honoured 'caring and amazing people' ". Bridlington Free Press. 5 November 2009 . Retrieved 12 January 2011.Mitchell, Linton (11 October 1978). "Selwyn is blasted out". Bristol Evening Post: 2 . Retrieved 3 March 2023. Born Lilian Ridgway in Urmston, Manchester, to Cyril, an interior decorator, and his wife, Lilian (nee Hawthorn), she started studying ballet aged four and attended Flixton girls’ high school as well as the Royal Academy of Dance. At 15, she said, “I realised there was so little room at the top in ballet, and being determined to get to the top I took up singing.” As a result, she began performing in pantomime at the Liverpool Empire, learning comic timing by watching from the wings every night. a b c Wakelin, Adam (30 March 2018). "Named after wine gums, a fortune squandered – Things you never knew about Heartbeat actor Bill Maynard". Leicestershire Live . Retrieved 1 June 2020. The change of setting from Scarsdale to a holiday camp may well have been suggested by Maynard. As Billy Williams, he had made his professional stage debut at Butlin’s Skegness in 1951 as support to Terry Scott.