The Royle Family

Image: The cast of The Royle Family series 3.

The Royle Family, the groundbreaking sitcom featuring a Wythenshawe working class family, first aired on BBC Two on 14 September 1998. Almost all the "action" took place in the Royle's living room, with the cast slumped in front of the television. It was filmed without an audience or laughter track, which added to the naturalism and intimacy of the setting. With very few major events, the comedy lay in the interaction of the brilliantly written and acted characters. It quickly entered the mainstream and transferred to BBC One.

Caroline Ahern and Craig Cash created The Royle Family and played Denise and her fiancé – later husband - Dave. Denise’s parents were Jim and Barbara, played by Sue Johnston and Ricky Tomlinson. Ralf Little was the Royle’s other child Antony and Liz Smith was Nana, Barbara’s mother. When the show began, the fact that viewers knew Johnston and Tomlinson from the hard-hitting soap opera Brookside added another dimension to the casting.

The Royle Family ran until 2000, when Ahern and Tomlinson stepped away from the production. It returned for several specials over the years. At the time of Aherne’s untimely death in 2016 another special was in the pipeline. The Royle Family led a resurgence of the sitcom and paved the way for other comedies such as Shameless and Car Share. Its direct influence can be seen in Gogglebox - narrated by Aherne and Cash.