A history of Rising Damp's landlord "Rigsby"....

[theartfullodger]

Reading the obituary of Eric Chappel, writer of "Rising Damp", (worth a read..)
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/e...uary-lrrdhqb3j

over lunch today I discovered....

The BBC turned down his script, telling him there were “too many jokes”, but Yorkshire Television commissioned a half-hour pilot based on the play, to be called Rooksby.

A threat of legal action by a real-life landlord with the same name caused the change to Rigsby, picked out of the phone book by Chappell. Commissioned as a series, it was then retitled Rising Damp and became one of the most successful sitcoms in TV history.

Anyone know any more of the landlord actually named Rooksby??

Ah, Frances de la Tour's Miss Jones! Risingdamp.jpg

[Codger]

He was my role model! So careful with his money.

[ash72]

Wouldn't these be lodgers rather than T's, and therefore have less rights and easier to evict...... plus he would walk into their apartments without any notice......

[theartfullodger]

Series 1974-1978 iirc. So before 1988 Housing Act (which brought in AST and assured tenancy. Do not sure.