Goodnight Sweetheart star’s real reason for quitting after ‘fuming’ over character scenes

Cult TV sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart, starring Nicholas Lyndhurst as time-travelling adulterer Gary Sparrow, ran on the BBC from 1993 to 1999.

The sitcom told the story of a time-travelling TV repairman Gary Sparrow, who was able to travel back from the 1990s to 1940s London during World War Two, after finding a time travel portal. Despite being branded "the strangest idea in TV history" the series had a loyal audience and at the height of its success, drew in 13.5 million viewers per episode.

In addition to Only Fools and Horses star Lyndhurst, it also featured Michelle Holmes, 58, who played Gary’s present day wife, Yvonne. However, the actress was replaced by Emma Amos in 1996. According to reports, Michelle left because she felt her character was underused. Hinting at the disappointment she may have felt about her lack of scenes, Michelle said in an interview that she wished Yvonne could participated in the 1940s time travel scenes.

She said: “I love the 40s and always wished I could do stuff in that era, especially the clothes, hair and makeup! We always worked together anyway as we rehearsed all week together, then filmed it in front of a live studio audience. So we were always together.”

Discussing her reason for leaving the show, she added: “I was so busy with different projects and a family member was also very very poorly and passed away just after the third series. I was doing Common as Muck, Firm Friends, Emmerdale and other stuff during that time and had another Common as Muck to complete.”

The show captured the imagination of viewers, with enthusiasts holding out hope for another network to revive the series.

Fans of the show were disheartened when creators Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran revealed via Twitter (now X) in 2016 that the BBC had decided against bringing the show back, stating: "Sadly, the BBC have passed on Goodnight Sweetheart, whilst acknowledging its excellence. Gary will have to find another TV channel."

The show's writer, Laurence, claimed his offer to write a new series was rejected because the BBC wanted to focus on new ideas, something he thinks was a mistake. “We could have done another series of Goodnight Sweetheart, but the BBC pulled back from that," he told the Daily Star.

“They got frightened that they were putting on too many old shows — shows that had already been seen. So instead, they put on shows that nobody wanted to watch. And that’s their choice.” He said: “You can’t be vicious to people anymore. Everyone has to be nice. And everyone has to be spoon-fed by the hand to safe places.

“You can’t talk about the things that you find funny because of what I believe is called cancel culture. So you avoid them. And if you avoid them, you lose your humour.”

The show's star, Nicholas, previously said that the reboot was only intended to be a one-off special, and was the last sitcom the BBC spent a lot of money on.