Was Barry Evans Sacked?


According to George Layton, Barry
Evans was sacked? Does anyone know if
this was true or not?
It's to say what you like about the dead.

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It's difficult to be really sure about this. I think the idea got around that he was sacked because of the abrupt way he left the series. After the end of Doctor at Large the expectation was that the same cast would carry on into the next series but before recording started it was announced that Barry Evans was to be replaced by Robin Nedwell.

The sacking idea was also reinforced by the knowledge that apparently Evans had become difficult during the latter stages of Doctor at Large and started making unreasonable demands of LWT.

However there was no announcement at the time that he had been sacked and in interviews on his return to LWT 6 years later with Mind Your Language, Evans said that LWT were so keen for him to continue that they offered him a 3 year contract and the opportunity to do other projects for them.

Evans also explained his difficult behaviour during Doctor at Large by saying he was annoyed that the guest stars such as Arthur Lowe, Hattie Jacques and John LeMesurier etc. got better treatment than he did as the star of the show so asked for the same things that they got and also that the pressure he was under after he had been in every episode of Doctor in the House and Doctor at Large made him not think straight.

He also said that he wanted to quit the series after Doctor at Large but instead of telling LWT he was going to quit he thought if he made a nuisance of himself they wouldn't offer him a new contract. This didn't work so he eventually had to tell LWT he was going.

It does seem odd that if he was sacked, in presumably acrimonious circumstances, he would feel able to approach LWT 6 years later and ask them for work and that LWT would feel able to give it to him in the form of Mind Your Language. Also if he had been sacked by them would LWT have been happy about Evans 6 years later giving the media a completely different version of events.

We will never know the real truth (unless someone has access to LWT's written archives) but for what it's worth I think that probably he wasn't actually sacked but after Evans finally told LWT he wished to quit they didn't try and persuade him to stay given his alleged behaviour during the later stages of Doctor at Large. In other words a mutual agreement.

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