Trivia / Goodnight Sweetheart

• Acting for Two:
  • In "Mine's a Double", Gary splits into three versions of himself. Needless to say, Nicholas Lyndhurst plays them all.
  • Victor McGuire, Elizabeth Carling, Emma Amos, and Christopher Etteridge all play the various ancestors and descendants of their characters that Gary encounters over the series.
• Alan Smithee: Victor McGuire plays both Ron and his grandfather, Albert, in "The Leaving of Liverpool". For the latter role he was credited separately as "Vic Noir".
• The Cast Showoff:
  • Phoebe took singing lessons in Series 5 and became a nightclub singer in Series 6, both were to show off Elizabeth Carling's musical talents.
  • "The 'Ouses in Between" also cast Emma Amos as Victorian music hall star Marie Lloyd to show off her own talents.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Emma Amos auditioned for Phoebe before Dervla Kirwan was cast. When Michelle Holmes left the series after Series 3, Amos took over her role of Yvonne.
• Creator Backlash: Michelle Holmes wasn't a fan of how underutilised Yvonne was and her lack of character development, so she left the series between Series 3 and 4.
• Creator Couple: Sid and Nancy Potter from "How I Won the War" were played by Paul Grunert and Bonnie Langford, who were married in real life.
• Fake Brit: Irish actress Dervla Kirwan as Phoebe.
• The Other Darrin:
  • Both of the actresses playing Gary's two wives were replaced from Series 4 onwards:
    • Michelle Holmes left and was replaced with Emma Amos when she decided Yvonne was underused and had no scope for character development.
    • Dervla Kirwan left to concentrate on Ballykissangel, her friend Elizabeth Carling was her own recommendation as a replacement Phoebe.
  • When Phoebe's husband Donald made his brief appearance in "Fools Rush In", he was played by Ben Lobb. When Donald returned for A Day in the Limelight three series later in "There's Something About a Soldier", he was now played by Ralph Ineson.
• Real-Life Relative:
  • Reg's son Frank in "One O'Clock Jump" was played by Alfie Ettridge Rogers, the son of Reg's actor, Christopher Ettridge.
  • Ellie Sparrow (Gary and Yvonne's daughter from the 2016 "Many Happy Returns" special) was played by Esme Coy, the daughter of her on-screen mother, Emma Amos.
• Real Song Theme Tune: "Goodnight Sweetheart" was a popular 1930s song by Ray Noble.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Originally Phoebe was to be blonde, and Yvonne was to be a brunette. Emma Amos (later the second Yvonne) had auditioned for Phoebe before the two's hair colours were switched.
  • Dervla Kirwan confirmed in an interview on the DVD that she would like to play Phoebe in a revival but also that it wouldn't be right to take the role back from Elizabeth Carling. Carling would stay as Phoebe in the 2016 revival, "Many Happy Returns".

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