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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Boyzone to reunite for exclusive New Year’s Eve special on the BBC
Danny Jones
2025 has very much been the year of the comeback – be it Oasis, Britpop fashion in general, or short bobs and pixie cuts – so it’s only fitting that we round off the calendar with one last reunion, as throwback boyband Boyzone are set to feature on a TV special on the BBC this New Year’s Eve.
Turns out ‘All That I Need’ to make a year memorable is a load of 1990s nostalgia.
Now, obviously, despite plenty of other music names enjoying a second renaissance over the past 12 months or so, nothing is ever going to be quite as big as the Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour.
However, if you asked us to guess which group from the era were also going to reunite this year back in January, there’s not a chance we would’ve said Boyzone.
Boyzone are telling us about coming back together for one final run in their most unforgettable concerts yet 🎤
After news first began circulating earlier this week, it has now been confirmed that musician turned presenter Ronan Keating will be getting back together with two of his former bandmates.
Joining the 48-year-old for ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’, ex-Boyzone members Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch are part of an exciting live music lineup.
Other names include actor and singer, Shona McGarty, who recently starred on season 25 of I’m A Celeb, as well as fellow 90s pop artist Louise Redknapp and singer-songwriter Calum Scott.
The exclusive reunion comes after the success of the recently aired Boyzone: No Matter What documentary show.
Spread across three parts on Sky, the docuseries (named after their hit song from 1998) looks back on the career and journey up the charts back in their heyday, all the way up to the present. After seemingly striking a chord with fans and the lads themselves, it looks like they’re not done after all…
Yes, not only is the festive TV special going to see three of the original members performing alongside each other again, but
Here’s hoping that turns into a springboard for something even bigger, and we get a Manchester arena show sometime soon.
As for the programme itself, ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’ will be broadcast on BBC One and made available on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday, 31 December 2025.
One in 10 Brits are fired or disciplined after their work’s Christmas party, new survey finds
Emily Sergeant
We’re in peak office Christmas party season right now.
With just a week to go until the big day itself is here, many businesses across the UK are treating their staff to night out to celebrate both the festive season and all of the hard work they have been putting in throughout the year… and as you can expect, these are usually quite eventful gatherings, shall we say.
But now, a survey by has shed light on just how ‘eventful’ they actually are, as a new survey has revealed that, apparently, one in ten Brits face some sort of disciplinary action or dismissal due to their behaviour at Christmas parties.
The study was conducted by After Drink, and included more than 2,000 participants.
During the research, it was highlighted that 89% of employees admitted to drinking alcohol at these events, Lad Bible reports – with 65% of these confessing that they drank “excessively”.
One in 10 Brits get fired or disciplined after their work’s Christmas party / Credit: Kraken Images | Mimi Thian (via Unsplash)
There are a multitude of incidents which could lead to disciplinary action in the workplace nowadays, but according to the survey, some of the common reasons following festive celebrations with colleagues included inappropriate comments (23%) and even getting into fights (21%).
16% of these incidents were because of drug use during the event, while inappropriate interactions with colleagues accounted for 14%.
Some of the legal reasons you can be fired from your place of work after a Christmas party include gross misconduct, drunken behaviour, and fighting of any kind.
Despite all these risks, however, Christmas parties still remain as popular as always, and a whopping 79% of respondents said they are planning to attend theirs this year.
Emily Sergeant -
20th September 2021 
