Q 01/05

Which Oasis B-side to 'Whatever', sung by Noel Gallagher, is The Royle Family's theme tune?

A) Don't Look Back in Anger

B) Half the World Away

C) The Masterplan

D) Talk Tonight

Answer · why

B) Half the World Away

Half the World Away was written and sung by Noel Gallagher, who admits it sounds 'exactly the same' as a Burt Bacharach tune and is surprised he has n...

Q 02/05

Which actor plays Jim Royle, having been jailed in 1973 as one of the picketing builders called the Shrewsbury Two?

A) Bernard Hill

B) Pete Postlethwaite

C) Ricky Tomlinson

D) Tom Georgeson

Answer · why

C) Ricky Tomlinson

Ricky Tomlinson was a plasterer sentenced to two years for conspiracy to intimidate after the 1972 builders' strike; the Court of Appeal quashed the c...

Q 03/05

Which two-word catchphrase punctuates Jim Royle's outbursts from his armchair in The Royle Family?

A) Sod off!

B) My arse!

C) Not likely!

D) Shut it!

Answer · why

B) My arse!

'My arse!' greets most of what the telly offers; Jim is written as a misanthropic, cynical slob who spends his days in the armchair doing as close to ...

Q 04/05

Which 2006 special, The Royle Family's first new episode in six years, sees Nana die after moving in with the Royles?

A) The New Sofa

B) The Golden Egg Cup

C) Barbara's Old Ring

D) The Queen of Sheba

Answer · why

D) The Queen of Sheba

The Queen of Sheba drew more than 8,000,000 viewers and won Nana's actress a British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress the following year, along...

Q 05/05

Producer Glenn Wilhide called it 'a big fight' to make The Royle Family without which sitcom staple of 1998?

A) A laugh track

B) A catchphrase

C) A studio set

D) A theme tune

Answer · why

A) A laugh track

A laugh track was standard issue for British sitcoms of the time, but The Royle Family was shot on 16 mm film with a single camera and no studio audie...