Trivia / The Royle Family

• Character Outlives Actor: Twiggy did not appear in the specials after 2010 as Geoffrey Hughes was suffering from advanced prostate cancer. As of 2010, he retired from acting (eventually dying in 2012) but is mentioned in later specials.
• Descended Creator: Creators Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash played Denise Royle and David Best.
• Executive Meddling: BBC executives originally wanted the show to be filmed in front of a live audience or have a laugh track, and for it to be set in locations other than the Royles' living room. Caroline Aherne resisted and eventually got her way.
• Production Posse: Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash were long-time collaborators. They co-wrote and co-starred in Mrs Merton and Malcolm, and also worked together on The Mrs Merton Show and The Fast Show. Phil Mealey, co-writer of the last five Royle Family Christmas specials, also wrote and starred in Early Doors and Sunshine with Cash, and played Solomon (one of Cheryl's boyfriends) in an episode of The Royle Family. Aherne made cameo appearances in both Sunshine and After Hours, a drama directed by Cash. Sue Johnston starred in Rovers, another sit-com written by Cash. John Renshaw, who plays Emma's dad Roger in one episode, played the landlord Ken in Early Doors.
• Real-Life Relative: In "The Queen of Sheba", Dave and Denise's son David is played by Craig Cash's real life son Harry.
• Real Song Theme Tune: "Half the World Away" by Oasis.
• Recycled Script: In a series two episode, Jim shocks everyone by offering to go and make them all a cup of tea, but cannot actually find the tea, cups, milk etc in the kitchen. Denise does the same thing in "Barbara's Old Ring".
• Troubled Production: Whilst filming the 2009 Christmas special, a technical error meant that the actors' heads were missing from every frame, and nobody knew until the film came back from processing. The entire cast had to be brought back to shoot it all again, at a cost of £100,000.
• What Could Have Been: Another special had been written, however Aherne was diagnosed with lung cancer before production could begin, with the series officially cancelled following her death.

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