Celebrity workmates ...or hates?
Trouble acts and dream teams behind screen partnerships
The Likely Lads were household names in the 60s and 70s, with James as Terry and Rodney his upwardly-mobile pal Bob.
The actors fell out in 1976 after Rodney revealed a harmless, but personal, anecdote about James’ wife. They didn’t speak for 40 years and James refused permis- Hammond Clarkson and May Anthea & Eamonn ON screen, they are the greatest mates – three middle-aged petrolheads with the same sense of humour.
But now Grand Tour star James May has revealed he, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond are not the blokeish besties they appear, rarely hanging out after filming.
They’re not the only stars whose friendly banter stops when the director says “Cut!”
So, who are the mates and who are the hates (well, ish...) of showbiz?
sion for TV reruns of the The Likely Lads, costing Rodney repeat fees.
But when James died in 2017, aged 79, Rodney denied any feud and remembered him “with great warmth and happiness”. The relationship between special agents Mulder and Scully kept X Files viewers hooked for almost a decade, but David revealed: “We couldn’t stand the sight of each other.” And Gillian said: “It’s true we spent more time together than we have in any other relationship, but it doesn’t mean we were close.” The Star Wars robots’ bickering was nothing compared to the animosity of the stars in the costumes, Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker. Kenny (R2-D2) dubbed Anthony the “rudest man
I ever met”. The music legends split in 1970 but reunited for a tour in 1993 and almost came to blows. Manager Joseph Rascoff revealed: “If there’d been a knife on the table one of them would have used it.” The Corrie legends played Vera and Jack Duckworth and were lifelong friends away from the Street. When Bill died in 2012, Liz said: “He was my best friend and I loved him dearly. I will never meet anybody so kind and generous.” Liz, who died in 2017, said in 30 years of working together, the pair never had a row. They were Butch and Sundance, and sidekicks in The Sting, but the A-listers’ enduring friendship was the ultimate Hollywood bromance. Redford said: “We pushed aside our movie personas and just became friends.” The nation’s favourite comedy duo were friends, as well as partners, for 44 years. The late Victoria Wood, who made a TV drama about their early life, said: “Ernie found Eric funny, and Eric’s ribbing of Ernie came from affection.
“Eric’s wife said to me whenever she would go to see him and walk past the dressing room, she could always hear them laughing.”