Men Behaving Badly and Royle Family stars return

Two sitcom pairings are to be reunited in separate reality TV projects

Men Behaving Badly stars Neil Morrissey and Martin Clunes are getting back together for a new travelogue.

While the Royle Family’s Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnson are taking part in a new episode of ITV’s family history show DNA Journeys.

Morrissey and Clunes will be travelling through France in a new three-part series called  Neil & Martin’s Bon Voyage. 

They will visit Normandy, the Alps and the Lot-et-Garonne region, in the southwest, where Morrissey has a second home with his own cider apple orchard.

Morrissey said: ‘It’s fantastic we have this golden opportunity to reunite so I can introduce my pal Martin to all the things I love so much about France, along with some Gallic treasures I’ve always wanted to see. 

‘I’ve fallen in love with this country, its glorious food, its delicious wine, and knowing Martin has an EU passport, I’m fairly certain he’ll be relocating here once I’ve finished with him.’

Clunes added: ‘I’ve grown to miss Neil more than ever since he’s absconded to a country which he claims has the best scenery, food and wine on earth.

‘Is he right? I intend to find out by devouring the lot of it and seeing what I can remember afterwards.’

The three-parter will air on Gold in 2025, and commissioning editor Kirsty Hanson said it will be ‘a warm, nostalgic and a privileged birds-eye view on Neil and Martin’s genuine and witty friendship’.

Meanwhile, Tomlinson will discover he’s not the first in his family to campaign for those less well-off in his episode of DNA Journeys, which airs on October 16.

The 85-year-old discovered his family has roots in the Lake District and one of his ancestors works as a tailor who campaigned to help people living in poverty.

He said: ‘I didn’t have a clue. I’m really quite pleased to know that. They were obviously not middle-class, but they were certainly a little bit above working class, being a businessman, and that fills me with joy actually. I’m made up with that.’

Meanwhile Johnson finds she has a Tory background, as she is related to William Prescottt, the MP for Tottenham in North London in the early 20th Century. He was a war hero who fought for good homes for returning soldiers.

Johnson, 80, says: ‘I couldn’t be prouder of him and the qualities he had. It’s something I’d aspire to. I admire him.".’

Published: 8 Oct 2024