Robert Lyndsay derides My Family scripts

As the much-derided comedy reaches its 100th episode, the actor provided fuel to its critics by saying: ‘There is some real dross in there and we are aware of it. Out of 100 episodes maybe we’ve done ten that you can say are really good shows.’

He and co-star Zoe Wanamaker once refused to record an episode, complaining the script was too bad.

And in today’s interview in The Times he admitted that sometimes they have ditched lines supplied by the huge team of writers and resorted to slapstick in a bid to get a laugh. ‘There was one episode where we didn’t like the dialogue so we just had a fight in bed,’ he said.

Wanamaker also admitted that the scripts were often left wanting. She said: ‘I don’t want to sound pretentious, but for an actor it is a challenge. You sometimes have to use all of your talent to make something that sticks in your craw sound OK.’

However, despite their serious reservations about their own work, the actors say it’s pure ‘snobbery’ that the show gets such bad reviews.

Lyndsay admits he no longer reads reviews because: ‘You know they are going to be nasty’, while Wanamaker said: ‘It’s just snobbery. The public own it now and the press can’t bear it.’

The 100th episode of My Family is on BBC One on Thursday – although the show is still lagging some way behind the record-holder Last Of The Summer Wine, which has 280 episodes and sill going strong.

Published: 5 May 2009