Sitcom's creator Bob Larbey dies at 79

Prolific sitcom writer Bob Larbey – co-creator of The Good Life and Ever Decreasing Circles – has died at the age of 79.

With John Esmonde, his other classic comedy creations over more than 30 years in the business included Please Sir!, Brush Strokes and Mulberry.

The pair were at school in South London together, and after landing dull jobs spent their spare time writing comedy scripts, successfully submitting sketches for he likes of I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again and The Dick Emery Show.

Their first radio sitcom was Spare A Copper in 1965, featuring Kenneth Connor as a bungling policeman. They followed this with You’re Only Old Once, with Clive Dunn, and Just Perfick, adapted from the Larkin family stories of HE Bates.

Their big break came 1968 with ITV’s Please, Sir!, starring John Alderton as an idealistic young teacher in a London secondary modern – while their biggest success was The Good Life, which launched in 1975. At its peak it attracted audiences of 15million a week, with the Queen among its fans.

They twice teamed up again with the show’s star Richard Briers, for five series of Ever Decreasing Circles in the 1980s and one series of Down To Earth in 1995, the writers’ last project together. Esmonde died in August 2008, at his retirement home in Spain.

The writers' other big hit in the 1980s was Brush Strokes, about lothario decorator Jacko, played by Karl Howman.

Larbey also enjoyed a successful solo career writing the screenplays for the first four episodes of The Darling Buds of May, returning again to the work of Bates; and A Fine Romance and As Time Goes By, both starring Dame Judi Dench.

He died on Monday, survived by a son, although further details have not been made public.


Published: 5 Apr 2014