362:), and Nicky Vickery (Billy Worth); Worth had previously been a member of GMTV's The One. After rechristening Hornchurch to the more boyband-friendly Scott Le Tissier, the quartet sign to a record label, whose executive rechristens them Boyz Unlimited from a list of marketable band names. Further storylines include Vickery's ex-headmistress carrying his baby, Jackson being pursued by debt collectors seeking the return of £20,000, Hornchurch's parents going on hunger strike, and a rivalry with Boys Ltd, who formed just before them.
326:, who admonished the pair at length before instructing them to leave his office; he also alleged that the pair only signed the release to allow Hat Trick to make the programme after their agent told them they would never work in television again if they did not, and that for almost a decade afterwards, both he and Lucas refused to appear on any programmes produced by Hat Trick.
426:
redundant, and criticised its documentary style, on the grounds that "few actors (certainly few young actors) are adept at playing "real" as if unscripted", and opined that Hat Trick should have "know better than to produce an object lesson in how not to entertain the youth market". Another review,
408:
in the form of a cover by 911; Osman used a
January 1999 article to note that the song had been selected specifically due to its graphic lyrics being "too tasteless for a pre-pubescent audience, and thus ideal for comic purposes".
449:
review was slightly more positive, and opined that "a lot of the brilliant script is quite poorly executed, but the jokes are strong enough to mean that the show's still worth half an hour of your time".
453:
The show also rated poorly on its initial outing, and it quickly became clear that the show would not be recommissioned after its final episode aired on 12 March 1999. Osman would later release
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445:
review, which described the show as a "savage and cynical attack", prompted
Walliams and Lucas to lighten the tone of their subsequent writing. A retrospective 2007
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dented his confidence for years afterwards. Mulville later apologised to
Walliams after running into him at a dinner party, having recently run into him in
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to refuse to work with Hat Trick on subsequent projects for many years, and Osman's experiences would cause him to lose confidence in his writing ability.
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299:, and the pair began writing the series with the former firm's Richard Osman, with whom Walliams had previously worked, and whose brother was
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that Lucas and Osman did not get on, and that in
December 1997, Walliams, Lucas, and their agent were summoned to the offices of Hat Trick's
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382:. Both articles stated that Osman had written and produced the show, with the latter claiming that it was Osman who was inspired by the
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and Ian Curnow producing the series' songs. The show depicted Nigel Gacey, a successful armed robber and conman played by
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The show premiered on 5 February 1999, and received generally negative critical reception. W. Stephen
Gilbert of
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After
Paramount broadcast the series, Hat Trick Productions invited the pair to produce a six-part series for
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broadcast a storyline in which the programme's teenage son joined a boyband called
Boyband. In addition,
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episode about the creation of Upside Down. By a coincidence, the show was broadcast a few months after
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307:. At the time, Lucas and Walliams were of the understanding that they would star as parodies of
1013:"Richard Osman: 'I would have been terrible in MI6. I'm too tall, spill secrets and can't lie'"
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83:
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224:. Ratings and critical reception were both poor, and the programme was not recommissioned;
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playing Gareth Jones, a loose pastiche of Barlow Lucas had written for himself.
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699:"Richard Osman: 'Almost everything fails, so put your heart and soul into it'"
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in
September 2020, which achieved massive success, and which was described by
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Kings of Comedy - The
Unauthorised Biography of Matt Lucas and David Walliams
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as "the biggest thing in fiction since Harry Potter"; in 2021, he used a
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282:, and then inspired by that, David Walliams and Matt Lucas used their
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42:
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Too Bold for the Box Office: The
Mockumentary from Big Screen to Small
396:, and a few weeks after one of the tracks covered by Boyz Unlimited, "
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and Lucas, and later wrote Lucas a letter of apology; by the time of
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341:, who decided to give himself a year to form his own boyband, with
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attempted to enter the market with its own boyband, The One, and
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from 5 February to 12 March 1999. A six-part satire about the
212:), a career criminal, giving himself a year to form his own
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for bandmembers, from which he rounds up Giles Hornchurch (
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would later claim that his experiences caused both him and
604:"From E-Male to Ultimate Kaos: boybands that time forgot"
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466:
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In the 1990s, boybands were popular, with acts such as
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The programme was shot in late 1998, and directed by
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643:Lucas, Matt; Walliams, David; Hilton, Boyd (2007).
642:
235:
578:"Boys will be boybands - Arts & Entertainment"
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439:The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star
420:The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star
393:The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star
961:"Yes, the manager's name is Nigel • Popjustice"
216:and his attempts to do so. It was produced by
575:
333:. Filming took place over seven weeks, with
370:The show was promoted with articles in the
200:is a British comedy series, which aired on
1100:Television series by Hat Trick Productions
437:as having about a quarter of the flair of
1105:British English-language television shows
469:interview to suggest that the failure of
318:Walliams wrote in his 2012 autobiography
1011:Edwardes, Charlotte (9 September 2023).
1010:
728:
986:"Inside Richard Osman's Mystery Empire"
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1080:1990s British comedy television series
1075:1999 British television series endings
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817:
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256:achieving success during this period.
1070:1999 British television series debuts
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911:
890:"BBC - Comedy Guide - Boyz Unlimited"
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348:Having found Jones, he advertises in
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786:Miller, Cynthia J. (2 August 2012).
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818:Corden, James (29 September 2011).
729:Walliams, David (11 October 2012).
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1085:British musical television series
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821:May I Have Your Attention Please?
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576:Steve Jelbert (25 January 1999).
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366:Release, reception, and aftermath
220:and credited as being written by
208:, the show featured Nigel Gacey (
850:"Boyz Unlimited - Apple TV (UK)"
402:Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
236:Background, production, and plot
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978:
953:
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759:Simpson, Neil (15 March 2007).
602:Cragg, Michael (8 April 2014).
286:(then Paramount) comedy series
278:, which launched the career of
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1:
920:The Times , 1999, UK, English
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525:Billy Worth as Nicky Vickery
489:, Osman had not apologised.
7:
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935:"Coils of truth and lies"
765:. Kings Road Publishing.
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30:
23:
456:The Thursday Murder Club
16:British comedy TV series
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292:to satirise the genre.
671:"Mash and Peas (1996)"
1095:Films about boy bands
646:Inside Little Britain
242:New Kids on the Block
218:Hat Trick Productions
148:Hat Trick Productions
270:aired an episode of
992:. 12 September 2023
792:. Scarecrow Press.
522:as Scott Le Tissier
923:. 5 February 1999.
896:on 4 December 2004
481:while he was with
475:Old Compton Street
358:), Jason Jackson (
303:, the bassist for
144:Production company
941:. 6 February 1999
831:978-1-4464-7433-4
799:978-0-8108-8519-6
772:978-1-78219-521-4
742:978-0-14-197324-1
705:. 4 November 2021
656:978-0-09-191442-4
547:Anna Wilson-Jones
398:A Little Bit More
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109:Original language
101:Country of origin
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1090:Channel 4 comedy
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516:as Jason Jackson
418:considered that
406:UK singles chart
276:The Band is Born
263:2point4 Children
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541:John Hodgkinson
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898:. Retrieved
894:the original
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707:. Retrieved
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619:. Retrieved
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585:. Retrieved
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549:as Katie May
520:Lee Williams
508:James Corden
502:Frank Harper
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339:Frank Harper
335:Phil Harding
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272:Inside Story
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210:Frank Harper
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89:Lee Williams
79:James Corden
74:Frank Harper
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18:
900:4 September
531:as Narrator
309:Gary Barlow
280:Upside Down
131:of episodes
93:Billy Worth
57:Directed by
1064:Categories
965:Popjustice
939:The Herald
732:Camp David
703:British GQ
554:References
487:Camp David
447:Popjustice
430:The Herald
320:Camp David
230:Matt Lucas
186:1999-03-12
176:1999-02-05
172:5 February
139:Production
43:Matt Lucas
31:Created by
1025:0261-3077
616:0261-3077
529:Jo Whiley
415:The Times
351:The Stage
301:Mat Osman
297:Channel 4
246:Take That
202:Channel 4
163:Channel 4
120:of series
1030:18 April
996:18 April
970:29 April
945:18 April
859:18 April
854:Apple TV
709:18 April
680:18 April
621:18 April
497:Source:
441:, and a
214:boy band
67:Starring
990:Esquire
587:25 June
274:called
268:BBC One
250:Boyzone
184: (
180: –
174: (
169:Release
159:Network
112:English
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252:, and
427:from
422:made
400:" by
305:Suede
1055:IMDb
1032:2024
1021:ISSN
998:2024
972:2024
947:2024
902:2013
861:2024
826:ISBN
794:ISBN
767:ISBN
737:ISBN
711:2024
682:2024
651:ISBN
623:2024
612:ISSN
589:2013
493:Cast
479:Soho
376:and
311:and
258:GMTV
1053:at
477:in
390:'s
373:NME
254:911
129:No.
118:No.
1066::
1019:.
1015:.
988:.
963:.
937:.
910:^
869:^
852:.
840:^
808:^
751:^
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673:.
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610:.
606:.
580:.
562:^
467:GQ
315:.
248:,
244:,
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188:)
178:)
134:6
123:1
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