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Death, taxes... and Not Going Out. The BBC sitcom, in which Lee Mack plays a fictionalised version of himself moving from feckless bachelor to married father, was cancelled after three years in 2009 before being rescued by a fan petition. Fast-forward two decades and it’s now the longest-running British sitcom currently on air; the second-longest-running of all time as it continues its 15th series. To mark its 20th anniversary, RT sat down with its architect Mack and co-star Sally Bretton, to talk about the show’s past, present and future.
Think back 20 years... how different were your lives when you first started Not Going Out?
Lee Life for you was very different. You didn’t have kids.
Sally I didn’t. But we are still rehearsing in the same place, that little Scout hut.
Lee Some things never change. I did have kids when we started, and they change your life so much. I can’t remember life without them.
Sally Mine eventually came to work with me, didn’t they?
Lee I carried Sally’s eldest in a papoose. I remember thinking, “This kid’s 13 now. Surely it’s time to leave them at home.”
Do you remember what it was like when you first started working together?
Lee We would all go to the pub next to the studio, but Sal was more worried about the live [test] audience. You came in for the first time and thought it would be a table read.
Sally Like every other job.
Lee She was gobsmacked. So when we were going for lunch, she was walking around the streets, looking at the lines.
Sally I used to sit in the graveyard.
Lee Imagine that. You chose to do that rather than have lunch with me.
Has the show changed since then?
Lee We made the pilot. Catherine Tate was the leading lady and then she became very successful doing her own stuff. Then we did the first series with Megan Dodds before changing again. So, when I met Sally I was already on my third leading lady. I was starting to think it was me. But it made me realise you have to get used to the changes.
What else do you think has contributed to its longevity?
Sally Nothing gets into the show that hasn’t been tried out.
Lee Trying it out on an audience before we start filming is the secret because it’s a gag-driven sitcom. You can try the jokes out in a way that you can’t with 99 per cent of comedies made now, because they’re not in front of a live crowd.
Your dynamic is part of that success – why do you work well together?
Lee Sally can deliver a gag. That’s what you usually see with comedians rather than comedy actors. Fortunately for me, Sally’s not a proper actor.
Sally Ha! Lee will also come to me with an idea and I just say, “Yeah!” without really thinking.
Lee That trust is important. You can say things to each other you could never say to anyone else.
Like what?
Lee Like we’re going to be filming in 10 seconds and I’ll lean in and go, “Is there a bogey hanging out my nose?”
With so many episodes behind you, is there one you’re especially fond of?
Sally I love Camping [2012] the most.
Lee It’s certainly up there. I also like Escape Room [2018] because I’m so fond of Bobby Ball and it’s all the main cast in one room.
Which guest stars have you enjoyed – and who would you love to have on?
Lee Bobby wasn’t really a guest star – he was a regular – but the first time he played my dad, I just couldn’t believe it. I watched him as a kid. I also like when people play themselves, like Richard Osman and Alexander Armstrong when me and Daisy went on Pointless.
Sally I’d love Johnny Vegas to come on.
Lee Sadly, most of the people I’d love to have on are no longer with us – Stan Laurel, Eric Morecambe, Rik Mayall.
If you could go back in time, is there anything you’d do differently?
Lee That series two casting…
Sally Ha!
Lee But no, in 20 years of doing a sitcom, there are things I probably wouldn’t say now. Times change, my own tastes change. The one thing I would do is show the audience.
And looking ahead, is there another 20 years on the horizon?
Lee I think while we’re doing this interview, 112 episodes have been broadcast with two more to go. And Last of the Summer Wine got 295. It’s so unachievable. But that’s a relief. You go, “Oh, good. We can stop worrying about that nonsense now.”