Lovely Bits of Old England: John Betjeman at The Telegraph

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Basically, despite the excitement and expectation, Time Team found a number of field boundary walls and some pottery, but not bones, burnt wood or evidence of housing. They were also given access to a centuries-old map which clearly shows that if there was a settlement, it didn't exist by 1766. There was evidence of Medieval activity in the location of the present village but not too much going on in the surrounding fields, side for agriculture. Bitterley played an active role in the Medieval era but who knows if the village was once a much larger town. Robert [Popper] asked me to read the script, and I was just embarrassingly enthusiastic. Robert had created one of my favourite comedy shows of all time, Look Around You, and I was, and still am, a flustered red-faced fanboy around him. Brits are famous for their sense of humour, and we like to take life a little less seriously than other nations do. We take pleasure in being playful, so we often use the word “cheeky” to describe small, fun, frivolous activities that make us smile. Tom: My abiding memory is having no idea how to interact with people who I knew from the television. So I researched Tamsin on Wikipedia and so after saying hello I immediately asked her about her experiences at the University of Birmingham. My first experience of Tamsin was totally in thrall, and her first experience of me was as a cyber-stalker. Wessex Archaeology wrote: "It is possible that Medieval structures may still survive in this area¸ sealed below the post-Medieval remains.

And this brings us to the final, and perhaps most realistic theory as to what lies beneath the fields of Bitterley. It was everything I hoped it would be. It had all the best elements of a traditional family sitcom – warmth and big, relatable jokes – but all filtered through Robert’s unique, surreal, anarchic worldview. I thought we had the opportunity to make something that could be both popular but also weird and inventive. Everyone knows that Brits love tea, but nothing can prepare you for the ferocity of their addiction to the drink. Tea is more than a beverage. It’s a way of life. Whether you’re at work, visiting friends or simply spending a relaxing day at home, if a British person is around, it won’t take long until you’re posed the question: “Fancy a cuppa?”

The Christmas special was great. Partly because there was something impudent about making a Jewish Christmas special. But mainly because it was the only time the whole gang, including Grandmas, both Horrible and Nice, were in the house together. It felt like a real family Christmas. Shalom' - which is really beautiful when you think about it; a Hebrew word meaning 'peace', 'harmony' and 'wholeness'. Also 'Pissface'; an English word meaning there is piss on your face or that your face is made of piss. Tom: I think I had like five auditions, the last of which was a chemistry read with Simon, which I left thinking was a disaster on account of us having terrible chemistry. I was very fortunate to be an incredibly annoying person with a face very similar to Tamsin Greig. It’s an embarrassment of riches obviously, but I particularly like the episodes where Dad takes centre stage and Paul is let off the leash. The Fox, The Tin of Meat, The Plastic Bag all spring to mind.

And in Chernobyl, he played Anatoly Dyatlov. In a downbeat, dread-soaked miniseries about catastrophic lapses of judgment, the sneering, lazy Dyatlov was the closest thing to an all-out villain. It was Dyatlov’s arrogant ineptitude that caused a routine test to result in the worst nuclear plant disaster in the history of the planet. To those who only knew Ritter’s work on Friday Night Dinner, Dyatlov’s casual cruelty was a revelation. It was hard to watch the show without fully hating him. But at the same time, Ritter also carved out a decent niche as a character actor in prestigious period pieces. In 2012’s The Hollow Crown, he was a swaggering, overcompensatory Ancient Pistol. In Toby Whithouse’s The Game, he added huge depth to a quietly regret-filled cold war spy. He played Jimmy Perry and Eric Sykes. He played Christine Keeler’s barrister and Brigadier-General Sir Ormonde de l’Épée Winter.Time Team producers knew about the folklore when they turned up in Shropshire with a big crew and a digger or two. There was apparently such local interest in the project that the whole village, including children, was keen to give them a hand. Another theory is that one historical owner of the aforementioned "imposing stately home" may well have had his beautiful view obscured by peasant hovels, and removed them when it was appropriate to do so. Landowners behaving in this way was not uncommon, but there's absolutely no evidence this happened in Bitterley. A photo of Bitterley Court. It is, therefore, very possible that there's an abandoned ghost town buried under or to the east of Bitterley, and the local theory proposed during the Time Team episode was that residents abandoned the old village because of the plague. The act of brewing and drinking tea brings British people together, and they like nothing more than to pop the kettle on and enjoy a nice “cuppa” (a cup of) tea while putting the world to rights or sharing some juicy gossip. Brits like to think that tea possesses magical qualities that can help solve any problem. No matter how grave the situation, anything can be conquered with a cup of tea in hand! 2. Alright? This verb perfectly describes the clumsy and invariably futile attempt to mend a broken item. For example, if the tape has come off the handlebars on your bike, don’t go to a professional bike repair shop and pay through the nose for the application of expensive “bike tape” by a man who knows what he’s doing — perish the thought! Instead, grab some cheap sellotape from the newsagent’s and affix it to your handlebars yourself! Who cares if the end bits continue to flap in the wind? You’ve just perfected the British art of “bodging it,” and that’s far more important right now.

Simon: It was everything I hoped it would be. It had all the best elements of a traditional family sitcom - warmth and big, relatable jokes - but all filtered through Robert's unique, surreal, anarchic worldview. I thought we had the opportunity to make something that could be both popular but also weird and inventive. Spend more than five minutes around any British woman over the age of 40, and you are very likely to hear the word “lovely.” This extremely popular word conveys a feeling of affection or approval on behalf of the speaker towards an object or person, and it’s perhaps best summed up in the phrase, “that’s a lovely cup of tea.” However, the word is more popular amongst older generations, and even more so amongst older women. For instance, the following exchange is definitely happening right now on the streets of Oxford: Friday Night Dinner brought the actor recognition, along with bigger roles. He played an eccentric forensics expert in Paul Abbott’s No Offence, rarely driving the plot, but considerably brightening things up whenever he was on screen. He did the same in Hang Ups, Stephen Mangan’s adaptation of the US show Web Therapy, quietly carving out MVP status alongside big hitters including Charles Dance, Richard E Grant and Celia Imrie. And in the Cold Feet revival he played a lifeless, weaselly number cruncher with such panache that you could at times be forgiven for thinking that it was actually secretly a show about him. Villager Richard Osborne said at the time: "We've had children from the school here digging under the supervision of the experts and we've found some lovely bits of Medieval pottery that we hope will be featured on the show." A behind-the-scenes shot of Tony Robinson in Bitterley (2011).Friday Night Dinner. Image shows from L to R: Jonny (Tom Rosenthal), Martin (Paul Ritter), Adam (Simon Bird) Simon: The Christmas special was great. Partly because there was something impudent about making a Jewish Christmas special. But mainly because it was the only time the whole gang, including Grandmas, both Horrible and Nice, were in the house together. It felt like a real family Christmas. Ahh good ol’ Blighty — or Britain, as you might know it — the little island anchored in the North Atlantic that is renowned for its great comedy and rich tapestry of accents. British English is much like the people of Britain themselves: down-to-earth and full of character. And nothing shows off the country’s character better than the kooky phrases which can be heard all across the land. Cheeky” can also be used as an adjective, of course, and as Brits are always trying to inject our upbeat outlook on everything we do, you’ll often hear optimistic individuals described as “cheeky,” or “having a cheeky smile” that suggests they’re up to a bit of mischief. 5. I’m chuffed to bits!