The BEST episodes of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads
Every episode of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads!
Following on from The Likely Lads (BBC, 1964-1966), after five years in the army, Terry returns to Newcastle to find that Bob is now a middle manager, engaged to librarian Thelma and living on a new suburban estate. Bob is torn between his new life and his old working-class pleasures, as represented by Terry.
#1 - No Hiding Place
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/20/1973
Bob and Terry are desperate not to know the result of the England v Bulgaria football match, but with eight hours to go will they succeed in their mission?
#2 - End of an Era
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 4/3/1973
The day of the wedding dawns and the women are racing around getting ready for the big event. Meanwhile, Terry has his hands full looking after a nervous Bob.
#3 - Conduct Unbecoming
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/2/1974
When faced with a fight, Terry has a golden rule: 'Do unto others as they would do unto you - but do it first'.
#4 - The Great Race
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/5/1974
Bob and Terry argue about fitness over a pint and challenge each other to a cross-country cycle race to see who's the fittest.
#5 - Some Day We'll Laugh About This
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/19/1974
Terry suggests he look after the house when Bob and Thelma go away to Scotland for the weekend. Bob is reluctant at first, but agrees to hand over the keys when Terry promises to do some much-needed DIY. But Terry has an ulterior motive for making such a generous offer.
#6 - Storm in a Tea Chest
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/6/1973
Terry helps Bob move his most treasured possessions from his old house to the new one, but Thelma refuses to have his junk in their home.
#7 - In Harm's Way
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/26/1974
Bob is in so much pain from the injury caused by Terry's shoddy DIY that he goes to the hospital. Terry is working there as a porter, a fact he tries to hide from his friend, even going so far as to don a disguise. But his attempts to help Bob only cause him more harm.
#8 - The Old Magic
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/13/1973
Terry is disappointed that Bob has asked someone else to be his best man at the wedding, but eventually agrees to go out for a meal with his friend before he gets hitched. After a few drinks at the restaurant, they start to chat up a couple of pretty girls who are also eating there.
#9 - Affairs and Relations
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/5/1974
Bob takes time off from marriage to join Terry on a quiet weekend's fishing. He's racked by guilt, but he's not the guilty party.
#10 - The Expert
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/12/1974
Thelma has gone back to her mother, leaving Bob to bemoan his fate.
#11 - I'll Never Forget Whatshername
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/6/1973
Terry tries to track down some of his old flames, but probing into the past produces embarrassing results.
#12 - Home Is the Hero
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/16/1973
Thelma isn't happy that Terry and Bob have rekindled their friendship and she's worried that Terry will cause Bob to have second thoughts about their wedding. Terry starts to feel homesick for the army as his family don't exactly welcome him back with open arms.
#13 - The Shape of Things to Come
Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 4/9/1974
The death of disreputable old Uncle Jacob is received by the Collier family with a mixture of regret and relief. The funeral gives Bob an insight into his future.
#14 - Strangers on a Train
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/9/1973
Five years have passed. Bob has travelled to London to buy a wedding present and Terry has returned from Cyprus after a spell in the army. By chance, they meet on the last train home and the events of the past few years flood out.
#15 - Boys Night In
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 3/27/1973
Terry is horrified when Bob refuses to go on a stag night and insists on a quiet night in instead. But pre-wedding nerves mean Bob's plan to celebrate his nuptials sober goes awry.
#16 - Moving On
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/30/1973
Appalled by the changes in Newcastle, Terry considers leaving to get a job in Berwick. Meanwhile, his friend's wanderlust sets Bob thinking.
#17 - Birthday Boy
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/13/1973
Terry feels depressed when everyone, even his mother, forgets his birthday. To make up for it, Bob throws a surprise party, but preparations for the bash don't go according to plan.
#18 - Count Down
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/20/1973
Mrs Chambers has grandiose plans for Thelma's wedding to Bob that leaves the men feeling overwhelmed, so they decide to rebel.
#19 - The Go-Between
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/26/1974
Bob becomes more and more depressed by Thelma's absence and Terry's housekeeping. Finally, Terry can take no more and leaves him as well.
#20 - Cold Feet
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/23/1973
Bob is deeply involved in preparations for his forthcoming wedding to Thelma, completing a period of courtship that started in form 4B at Park Junior School. But Terry's return has caused Bob to have doubts, especially when Terry teases him that his fate was sealed long before their 11-Plus.
#21 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/27/1973
Bob thinks Terry needs new friends, but inviting him to Alan and Brenda's trendy dinner party might not be such a great idea.
#22 - Between Ourselves
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/19/1974
Thelma has left Bob and is still with her mother, leaving Terry to soothe Bob's furrowed brow. Bob is anxious in case people talk.
#23 - The Ant and the Grasshopper
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/15/1974
Bob's married life promises work, worry and wallpapering. Terry wastes the days away in the pub and the bookies, as happy as ever. Bob wonders who has the right answer.
#24 - Heart to Heart
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/8/1974
Bob comes back from his honeymoon to find that Terry is off his beer and is going out with Thelma's sister Susan. Is Terry in love?
#25 - Absent Friends
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/1/1974
Bob and Thelma are on a Norwegian honeymoon, far away from the influence of Terry - or so they think. Terry is striving to get to know Thelma's sister Susan a lot better.