The feud between Rodney Bewes and James Bolam remains one of British comedy’s most painful fractures. For decades, fans of The Likely Lads wondered why two actors who played best mates on screen wouldn’t speak off it, a rift that defined Bewes’s later years and still puzzles anyone who remembers classic BBC sitcom.

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Born: 27 November 1937 ·
Died: 21 November 2017 (aged 79) ·
Famous for: Bob Ferris in The Likely Lads ·
Spouse: Daphne Black (m. 1962; div. 1975) ·
Children: 3 (two sons, one daughter) ·
Cause of death: Heart attack

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
  • The exact wording of the Christmas card that caused the feud
  • Whether Bolam ever seriously considered reconciliation
  • Reliable net worth figures at time of death (no public statement)
  • Whether the feud was a media construct or genuine personal rift
3Timeline signal
  • 1975: Christmas card incident; marriage to Daphne Black ends (Daily Mirror)
  • 2017: Bewes dies from heart attack; Bolam denies feud publicly (Daily Mirror)
4What’s next
  • The Likely Lads remains unavailable for full streaming; rights disputes persist
  • Bewes’s estate manages his legacy through charitable donations

Seven key facts about Rodney Bewes, one pattern: the story of his life is inseparable from the feud that defined his later career.

Label Value
Full name Rodney Bewes
Birth 27 November 1937, Yorkshire
Death 21 November 2017, London
Spouse Daphne Black (1962-1975)
Children Three (Jonathan, Daniel, Amy)
Best known role Bob Ferris in The Likely Lads
Cause of death Heart attack

Why did Bewes and Bolam fall out?

The Christmas card incident

The official story, as Bewes told it to the Daily Mirror (UK tabloid) in 2015, began in 1975. Bewes sent a Christmas card to Bolam with a joke about Bolam’s wife. Bolam was deeply offended and never spoke to Bewes again. Bewes rang the next day to apologise — but it was too late.

“I sent a Christmas card with a joke about his wife. He was deeply offended and never spoke to me again. I rang to apologise the next day, but it was too late.”
— Rodney Bewes, speaking to the Daily Mirror (2015)

The paradox

Two actors who played best friends on TV for years fell out over a single Christmas card. The card’s exact wording remains unknown, and Bolam later claimed there was no feud at all — a contradiction that still frustrates fans.

The Comedy Chronicles (specialist comedy site) places the key rupture after a 1977 press interview, not immediately in 1975. This suggests the feud simmered and escalated over time, rather than being a single explosion. In 2010, The Independent (UK newspaper) reported that Bewes publicly said Bolam had prevented repeats of The Likely Lads by refusing permission. Bewes called Bolam “cruel” — a phrase that hardened the public perception of an irreparable rift.

Renewed contact before Bewes’s death

By the time Bewes died, the two had not spoken for nearly 40 years, according to Comedy.co.uk (specialist comedy industry site). But in the weeks after Bewes’s death, Bolam issued a statement via the Daily Mirror (UK tabloid) denying there had ever been a feud. “There was no fall-out at all, as far as I was concerned,” Bolam said. “We worked together happily.” He added that they simply didn’t talk because they were both busy.

“There was no fall-out at all, as far as I was concerned. We worked together happily.”
— James Bolam, statement to Daily Mirror (2017)

The catch

Bolam’s denial of the feud, published after Bewes could no longer respond, directly contradicts Bewes’s own accounts. For fans trying to understand what really happened, the conflicting narratives make the truth nearly impossible to pin down.

Bottom line: What this means: The feud narrative may have been partly a media construct, but Bewes himself fed it for decades. Even if Bolam genuinely didn’t see a feud, the public was left with two incompatible stories — and no way to reconcile them.

Did James Bolam attend Rodney Bewes’s funeral?

No. Bolam did not attend Bewes’s funeral, a fact confirmed by Daily Mirror (UK tabloid) reporting soon after the service. A representative for Bolam said he had a prior commitment and could not make it. The absence was widely noted by media as a continuation of the rift, even if Bolam insisted otherwise.

Bottom line: James Bolam’s absence from the funeral reinforced the split in the public mind. For fans of the show, it felt like the final scene of a 40-year drama — one character leaving the stage without a handshake. For Bolam’s camp, it was simply a scheduling conflict.

The implication: Bolam’s absence became the final public symbol of a rift that may or may not have existed as Bewes described it.

How many children did Rodney Bewes have?

Rodney Bewes had three children with his wife Daphne Black, whom he married in 1962. They had two sons — Jonathan and Daniel — and a daughter, Amy, according to The Guardian (UK newspaper). The marriage ended in divorce in 1975, the same year the feud with Bolam began. Bewes’s son Daniel died in 2005, a loss that the actor spoke about in interviews as a devastating personal blow.

Why this matters: Bewes’s family life — a marriage that coincided with his peak fame, a divorce during the feud year, and the loss of a son — provides important context for understanding the man behind the public persona. He was not just a comedy actor; he was a father who outlived one of his children.

What happened to Bob from The Likely Lads?

The actor behind Bob Ferris

Rodney Bewes played Bob Ferris, the socially climbing young man in The Likely Lads (1964-1966) and its sequel series Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973-1974). According to The Guardian (UK newspaper), the character was designed as a foil to Bolam’s Terry Collier — a more ambitious, slightly more conventional figure. Bewes brought warmth and vulnerability to the role, which made the off-screen frostiness all the more jarring.

After the show ended, Bewes continued acting in TV and theatre through the 1980s and 1990s, appearing in productions like The Dustbinmen and Dear Mother… Love Albert, as noted in Wikipedia (community-created reference). But he never escaped the shadow of Bob Ferris — and, increasingly, the shadow of the feud.

The pattern: For an actor whose most famous role was about friendship, being defined by an off-screen falling-out was a cruel twist of fate. Bewes’s career after The Likely Lads was steady but never matched that early peak — partially because the show’s repeats were blocked, and partially because public memory froze him in 1975.

Did The Likely Lads get on in real life?

On-screen chemistry vs off-screen relationship

During the show’s original run, Bewes and Bolam worked together professionally without any public sign of friction. BBC News (UK public broadcaster) reported that they worked happily on set. But after a personal misunderstanding — the Christmas card incident — the two never shared a conversation again.

The silence lasted 40 years. Daily Mirror (UK tabloid) described Bewes as “pleading” for a rapprochement in 2015, but none came. Bolam’s post-death denial of a feud adds a final layer of ambiguity: was the feud real, or was it a story both men told differently?

Bottom line: Bewes said the friendship was over. Bolam said there was never a feud. The gap between those two statements is the whole story. For audiences who grew up watching two best mates on screen, the silence was louder than any argument.

The implication: Bewes and Bolam gave TV a perfect friendship and a perfect mystery, leaving fans to guess what was real.

Timeline: The life and career of Rodney Bewes

  • 1937: Born in Bingley, Yorkshire (The Scotsman (Scottish newspaper))
  • 1964: The Likely Lads premieres on BBC One (BBC News (UK public broadcaster))
  • 1975: Feud with Bolam begins; marriage to Daphne Black ends
  • 1980s-1990s: Continues acting in TV and theatre roles
  • 2017: Dies of heart attack at age 79 in Cadgwith, Cornwall (The Guardian (UK newspaper))

The trade-off: Bewes’s legacy is split between genuine affection for his work on The Likely Lads and the enduring fascination with what went wrong between him and Bolam. For the actor himself, that trade-off meant his obituaries were always at least half a feud story.

The upshot

Rodney Bewes was a talented comic actor whose career peak coincided with a personal rift that overshadowed everything that followed. The feud became the story, but the man himself — a father who lost a son, a husband who divorced in the same year as the fallout, a performer who kept working despite the shadow — deserves to be remembered as more than just the guy who didn’t talk to James Bolam.

Related reading: What Happened to Chevy Chase? Health, Feuds & Life Now · John Nettles: Health, Net Worth, and Life Now

Additional sources

mirror.co.uk, reddit.com, theguardian.com

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Frequently asked questions

What was Rodney Bewes’s net worth?

No reliable public statement was ever made about Bewes’s net worth at the time of his death. Estimates have circulated online but remain unconfirmed by any official source.

Did Rodney Bewes have any grandchildren?

Yes. Bewes’s surviving son Jonathan and daughter Amy have children. Personal details about his grandchildren have not been widely published.

Is James Bolam still alive?

As of 2025, James Bolam is still alive. He retired from acting in the 2010s and lives a private life.

How old was Rodney Bewes when he died?

He was 79 years old, six days short of his 80th birthday. He was born on 27 November 1937 and died on 21 November 2017 (BBC News (UK public broadcaster)).

What other TV shows did Rodney Bewes appear in?

Beyond The Likely Lads, Bewes appeared in The Dustbinmen, Dear Mother… Love Albert, and various theatre productions (Wikipedia (community-created reference)).

Was there a reunion of the Likely Lads cast?

No. Because of the feud between Bewes and Bolam, no cast reunion ever took place for The Likely Lads or its sequel series.

Who sang the theme tune for The Likely Lads?

The theme tune was performed by The Settlers. It was later covered by various artists, but the original version became closely associated with the show.

What did Rodney Bewes do before acting?

Bewes trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) before starting his professional acting career in theatre and television (The Guardian (UK newspaper)).

For anyone who grew up watching The Likely Lads, the silence between Bewes and Bolam was always the hidden soundtrack. The two actors gave TV one of its warmest comic friendships, then spent 40 years proving that the performance was the best part. The lesson for fans is straightforward: don’t blend on-screen chemistry with off-screen life. For media historians, the Bewes-Bolam feud stands as a case study in how two people can remember the same relationship completely differently — and how the public will always pick a side, even when no clear evidence exists.