But by that time he was ill himself. He had suffered a mild stroke on the first day of shooting of a new Heartbeat series. Doctors told him that he would be all right if he took it easy; but, despite listing his hobbies as “lying down”, taking it easy was not really his forte. For her tour de force turn as Violet Carson in the BBC Four play The Road to Coronation Street in 2010, she was nominated for a best supporting actress Bafta. Her film work included the Hammer horror Hands of the Ripper (1971), Barbra Streisand’s Yentl (1983), Carry On Columbus (1992), Woody Allen’s Scoop (2006), and Dream Horse (with Damian Lewis, 2020). experience as a comedian at Butlin's for the holiday camp setting. [10] Plater was not involved with this fourth series and Robert Keegan, who had played Maurice, considered the removal of the supporting cast a potential mistake "as I think viewers of situation comedy like to get to know lots of characters". [33] A proposed fifth series was not produced after disappointing audience reactions. [2] Maynard confirmed the series had finished in May 1980, telling the media "if you keep on with the same character all the time, people won't accept you as anything else. If I do [play Selwyn again], it will be when people have begun to forget about him." [34] [35] Reception and legacy [ edit ] Following the transmission of the pilot episode in 1974, Terry Dwyer of the Leicester Mercury compared the character to Frank Spencer from the BBC1 sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, commenting "he's another one-man disaster area, but unlike Frank has no feelings of inadequacy – just the reverse in fact. There's nothing he can not do and it was the exuberance and unshakeable optimism of the character that made last night's ITV comedy a lot of fun". [36] During broadcast of the second series, Chris Watson of the Western Daily Press praised Maynard's performance but criticised the "inconsistent scripts and rather obvious humour", commenting "the amiable buffon Selwyn Froggitt is currently the most popular character on TV, and that is a telling indictment of the current choice". [37] Celia Andrews of the Western Daily Press praised "the touch of naivete" in Maynard's performance, describing Froggitt as "a sort of human Aunt Sally meeting life's slings and arrows with a maniacal laugh." [38] The series was filmed in Skelmanthorpe, a West Yorkshire village at the foot of the Pennines between Huddersfield and Barnsley.

a b c d e f g h Maynard, Bill; Sheard, John (1997). Stand Up... And Be Counted (1sted.). Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-080-3 . Retrieved 9 April 2021. The cast included Russell Hunter as the radical union shop steward whose interest was in parting Moffatt from as much money as possible to better pay his members, and Pat Ashton as his ineffectual secretary Betty. Selwyn was a deeply jovial man who has somehow deluded himself into thinking that he can fix anything. Unfortunately, the reverse was true. After 60 years, Bill Maynard has last laugh on his critics". Leicester Mercury. 16 September 2013. Archived from the original on 27 October 2013 . Retrieved 9 March 2016.In later life, Maynard was mobility impaired, usually using a mobility scooter or wheelchair, having suffered from multiple strokes. He died in hospital on 30 March 2018, not long after falling and breaking his hip. [1] Filmography [ edit ] Film [ edit ] Year

Retrospectively, Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt has been described as "a kind of Billy Liar for nutters" in The Guinness Book of Classic British TV. [42] In 2010, Michael Coveney of The Guardian wrote that the series exhibited Alan Plater's "gift of writing supple, salty dialogue for working-class characters", as with Plater's scripts for Z-Cars and its sequel Softly, Softly. [43] The series was an influence on Victoria Wood. [44] Andrews, Celia (22 February 1977). "Oh yes, Selwyn is just my type". Western Daily Press: 3 . Retrieved 3 March 2023. a b c d Purnell, Tony (11 December 1977). "Oh no - it's not Simple Selwyn". The Sunday People: 3 . Retrieved 3 March 2023.Maynard had considered the third series the last, but was persuaded by Duncan Wood to return for a new version of the programme, simply titled Selwyn. [29] Maynard believed the programme had got into a rut and considered a new setting and supporting cast the best way to further develop his character. [33] Maynard drew on his 1950s Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1983-87 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018 . Retrieved 9 March 2016. Watching as an adult, its hard to miss the bleakness of the show though. Looking at it post Eighties it shows a narrow way of life and outlook, peopled with characters of limited horizons. The Pilot Episode shows why some characters were wisely changed: The office characters (with their sexual overtones)wisely discarded, the Mother greatly softened and the homosexual suggestions of the older brother removed with the introduction of a girlfriend. Looking at this episode the Family seem like a bunch of genetic misfits. Selwyn should be a sad case, a socially inept, stupid middle aged man with no love life(ever) but Maynard, as stated, saves this situation remarkably.