21/11/2024
FACT OF THE DAY: Did You Know?..... You may know Paul Jones (pictured below) for being a member of pop group Manfred Mann, but in the early 70s, he also tried his hand at some acting. In 1970 he appeared in a play called “The Banana Box” which was written by comedy writer, Eric Chappell and was about a miserly landlord letting his run down boarding house to various tenants.
Paul Jones was cast as medical student, Alan in the play performing alongside Leonard Rossiter in the lead role and the play proved popular with some audiences and had a good run until it came to an end but unknown to the cast, an scout from ITV in the audience was looking for a new sitcom for television and decided that The Banana Box was the perfect fit and when it was commissioned in 1974, asked Eric Chappel to write a series of episodes and adapt it from stage to screen.
The cast from the play had all been secured to appear apart from Paul who turned it down due to returning to music and touring so his role was given to Richard Beckinsale. During production, the show was given a more appropriate name and it became known as “Rising Damp.”
