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Ricky Tomlinson says he still gets famous Royle Family quote shouted at him ’50 times a day’

The beloved Manchester-based sitcom about a television-obsessed family ran between 1998 and 2012.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 20th September 2021

The Royle Family’s Ricky Tomlinson has revealed he still gets his iconic catchphrase ‘my a***’ shouted at him around “50 times a day”.

Despite it being almost a decade since Jim Royle last featured on our screens, it looks like the character seems as popular as ever as Tomlinson – who was born in Lancashire, but has lived in Liverpool for most of his life – said fans of the beloved Manchester-based sitcom about a television-obsessed family just can’t resist shouting his catchphrase at him when they see him in public.

“If I go out at about 8am, by lunchtime if 50 people haven’t shouted across the road or as they pass me, my a***’ then I think there’s something wrong,” Ricky told the Daily Star.

“And when I go to watch Liverpool play, people come over and ask if I’ll do a photo with them, and I’ll say, ‘certainly, you can have as many as you bloody want’ – that’s what it’s about.”

He added: I love people who write in. I still get fan mail about The Royle Family and I love to reply to them. They take the time and trouble to write to a character called Jim who they feel like they know.

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“They say, ‘You’re just like my grandad’ [as] there are loads of people like Jim in real life.”

The beloved Manchester-based sitcom about a television-obsessed family ran between 1998 and 2012 / Credit: BBC iPlayer

The Royle Family ran for 25 episodes between 1998 and 2012, and Ricky said he still often catches episode on the TV – but ever since its creator and his co-star Caroline Aherne, who was raised in Wythenshawe, sadly passed away in 2016, Ricky says it has been bittersweet, admitting: “I love it when I see episodes [but] it’s emotional to watch them [as] I loved Caroline Aherne.

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“She was a one-off [and] she was so talented.”

Reminiscing on his fond memories of Caroline, Ricky continued: “When we finished work on a Friday, Caroline used to put a couple of decorators’ tables up and she’d put a few cans of Sainsbury’s mild beer for me, a couple of cans of lager for the camera lads and there would be a couple of bottles of wine for Sue Johnston and Caroline.

“And after every episode was finished, everyone from wardrobe to make-up got a lottery ticket off Caroline.”

Featured Image – BBC iPlayer

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Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral

Danny Jones Danny Jones

The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.

As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.

It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.

All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:

Pretty wild to watch it all back, right?

With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.

It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.

Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.

Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.

You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:

Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.

But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.

At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.

There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.

We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…

Five forgotten Manchester landmarks and sculptures from years gone by
We love looking back at the Greater Manchester of old.

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Featured Images — Charles Bowring (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group

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‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?

Danny Jones Danny Jones Pep Guardiola on Man City's dominance coming to an end post match press conference

Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.

Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.

A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.

In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.

Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.

As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”

Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.

“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.

On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.

He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.

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Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.

Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.

In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.

You can watch the highlights from the game down below:

Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — TNT Sports/Virgin Media Sport (screenshots via YouTube)

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