Terry Collier

Terence Daniel "Terry" Collier is a character in British sitcoms The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, and The Likely Lads film. He is played by Sunderland-born actor James Bolam.

In The Likely Lads Terry works with friend Bob Ferris as an electrician at Ellison's Electricals, before joining the British Army. During his time in the Army he married a West German woman, Jutta Baumgarten, from whom he separates a few months later. Terry's army service is not shown, nor is his marriage (although his wife was due to appear in the episode 'End of an Era', and remains on the credits despite the scene not being shown). Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads begins with Terry being finally discharged from the Army, and for the duration of the series he spends most of his time unemployed, although he takes brief short-term work as a car washer, hospital porter, fork-lift truck driver, and finally as a minicab driver. In The Likely Lads film, he works briefly as a mobile salesman.

Early life

Terry was conceived during an air raid on Newcastle upon Tyne and born on 29 February 1944 (possibly in Hartlepool, as mentioned in dialogue in the first episode). From an early age Terry was seen as a disruptive threat to other children, and teachers would often warn other children not to talk to him for fear his disruptive influence would transfer to other children. According to Terry during "No Hiding Place", his mother wanted him to be a doctor. Terry showed little aptitude in school, generally cheating his way through exams. After leaving school at 14, Terry went to night school, where, despite cheating at the exams, he still failed. He eventually qualified as an electrician and began working at Ellison's Electrical factory.

Army service and marriage

In 1966, Bob decides to sign up for the British Army. Terry, not wanting to be away from Bob, also signs up. However, Bob is discharged due to flat feet, whilst Terry is accepted, to his initial horror. He is stationed for most of his time in Cyprus, and also serves in Malta and West Germany. He also loses contact with Bob. In November 1969, he married a West German woman, Jutta Baumgarten. They separated in June 1970 after West Germany defeated England in the World Cup, before finally divorcing in 1976. Terry is discharged from the Army in 1973.

Personality

Despite being particularly proud of his working class status, Terry is notably workshy, informing Bob in one episode that he has 'dropped out of the rat race'. Terry often uses his previous Army service (in "the hot tropic night") to avoid working, because of his "dodgy spine", "Burmese malaria", and other mysterious ailments (including a never explained leg injury). Terry is down to earth, quick witted, po faced and cynical. He aggressively dislikes being referred to as 'thin' or 'slim', preferring instead to describe himself as 'wiry'. Terry has old fashioned views about women, seeing them primarily as sex objects. However, these views seem to mellow as the series goes on. Terry drinks and smokes heavily, tempting Bob to also indulge in the two vices he is always trying to cut down on.

Much of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? consisted of reminiscent nostalgia, while the film was largely made of observations of the current status and lifestyles of the main protagonists, and perhaps fear of the future. Terry was in both cases largely the main driver behind these features of the series. Terry is usually the character to make the apt and sometimes ironic observations on life, sometimes in a drunken state, and these observations are largely the basis for the humour and pathos of the latter parts of the series. Terry is scornful of any habits he sees as being 'Southern', pretentious or middle class, as well as treating modern fads, conservatism and religion with the same sarcastic scorn.

Terry has a strained friendship with Thelma, Bob's wife. Thelma viewed Terry as the biggest threat to hers and Bob's marriage, though the two are known to have had a brief courtship (which Thelma described as "mistreatment by something coarse and vulgar"). As the series goes on, Thelma's attitude towards Terry begins to mellow, as she describes him as "honest" and "unpretentious" when a snobbish friend of hers insults him, and she turns to him for advice when she and Bob experience marital problems.

Terry is a fairly politicised character and often airs his views, which Bob refers to as The Thoughts of Chairman Collier. A staunch Socialist, Terry states that his grandfather and uncle were on the Jarrow Marches (with Bob keenly reminding him it was only until the pubs opened).

Terry holds great prejudices. In the episode of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, "No Hiding Place", Terry describes his impression of several nationalities: the Italians and Spaniards are greasy, the Russians are "sinister", the Americans are "flash", Germans are "arrogant", Orientals are "cruel" and the Danish are "pornographic". He then moves onto the British Isles: 'I've never liked the Welsh', the Scots are 'worse than the Koreans'. Bob then points out that Terry never liked Southerners, to which Terry adds that he doesn't like many local people, in fact he hates his next door neighbours. Bob eventually narrows it all down to the fact Terry only really likes himself. During "Count Down", when choosing suits for Bob's upcoming wedding, Terry initially refuses to let a shop assistant adjust his trousers (believing the assistant to be homosexual) until the assistant reveals he is married.

Army service ambiguity

The number of years Terry serves in the Army is disputed. In the first episode of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Terry has been discharged from the Army and states that he served for five years. However, there was a gap of seven years between the last episode of The Likely Lads (1966, when Terry signed up for the Army) and its sequel (1973). Bob mentions that Terry originally signed up for three years, before signing on for a further two, which means he should have been discharged in 1971. In the first episode, when Terry asks Bob how things have changed while he was away, Bob mentions that they can now receive BBC2, with Terry replying that they were able to before he left. BBC2 did not arrive in the North East until 1967, which implies that Terry had not joined the Army. During "Moving On", when discussing the various changes in Newcastle during Terry's time away, he asks if "there is one pre-1967 brick left standing on top of another" and in the episode "I'll Never Forget Whatshername", Terry, Bob and Thelma all refer to a shared trip to Blackpool Illuminations in September 1967, further implying that Terry had not yet joined the Army. The original series was broadcast on BBC Radio in 1967 and 1968, which may suggest Terry's military career lasted from 1968 (the end of the radio series) to his discharge in 1973 (the beginning of the TV sequel).