Marking 50 years since the show was first broadcast the actress, who played Barbara Good alongside Richard Briers as husband Tom, said: “I felt thrilled and very lucky to be working on a new BBC sitcom.
“We'd go driving into White City [the Beeb’s studios in London] and feel incredibly privileged to be working there. I did a lot of work for them, it was a time of great freedom and it was such a looked-up-to establishment.
“Hopefully, it'll get back its mojo one day.”
Felicity, 78, also says she has nothing but fond memories of filming the gentle sitcom about a suburban couple trying to become self-sufficient.
The show ran for four series and two specials, including a 1977 festive episode that drew 21 million viewers.
Also starring Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington as neighbours Margo and Jerry, it ended with a Royal Command Performance recorded in front of Queen Elizabeth — a huge fan.
Kendal, inset right, remains “terribly proud” of what the team achieved, crediting the scripts by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey. She told Radio Times: “Without the writing you’ve got nothing to play with.
“It also had a fundamental lesson we got it back in Covid but we’ve lost it again now — that every day is special and the simple things are worth a great deal more than all the millions, posh cars and big houses.
“That is not a way to happiness — I think this is what The Good Life was saying: you don’t need all that stuff to have a great time.”
Kendal landed the role after Briers saw her in the West End. She says of her co-star, who died in 2013 aged 79: “Dicky was on...
“We'd go driving into White City [the Beeb’s studios in London] and feel incredibly privileged to be working there. I did a lot of work for them, it was a time of great freedom and it was such a looked-up-to establishment.
“Hopefully, it'll get back its mojo one day.”
Felicity, 78, also says she has nothing but fond memories of filming the gentle sitcom about a suburban couple trying to become self-sufficient.
The show ran for four series and two specials, including a 1977 festive episode that drew 21 million viewers.
Also starring Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington as neighbours Margo and Jerry, it ended with a Royal Command Performance recorded in front of Queen Elizabeth — a huge fan.
Kendal, inset right, remains “terribly proud” of what the team achieved, crediting the scripts by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey. She told Radio Times: “Without the writing you’ve got nothing to play with.
“It also had a fundamental lesson we got it back in Covid but we’ve lost it again now — that every day is special and the simple things are worth a great deal more than all the millions, posh cars and big houses.
“That is not a way to happiness — I think this is what The Good Life was saying: you don’t need all that stuff to have a great time.”
Kendal landed the role after Briers saw her in the West End. She says of her co-star, who died in 2013 aged 79: “Dicky was on...
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Daily Express (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 18, 2025