Time-travelling TV favourite Goodnight Sweetheart could finally be making a comeback, not on screen, but on the page, as original creators Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran team up with Idiot Box Books to launch a brand-new novel continuing the adventures of Gary Sparrow. But there’s a catch: the book can only be published if enough fans support the project on Kickstarter.
Titled Goodnight Sweetheart: Many Happy Returns, the novel picks up right where the 2016 one-off reunion episode left off, taking Gary back to 1962. The story promises to explore the fallout of his shocking return to the past and answer the question that’s haunted fans for nearly a decade: what happened next?
For those unfamiliar, Goodnight Sweetheart was a hugely popular BBC sitcom that ran from 1993 to 1999, starring Nicholas Lyndhurst (Only Fools and Horses) as Gary Sparrow, a TV repairman who stumbles into a time portal and ends up living a double life: one in 1990s London with his modern-day wife, and the other in World War II-era East End with his wartime sweetheart. The show was a ratings hit and earned Lyndhurst two National Television Awards for the role.
The series was briefly revived in 2016 as part of the BBC’s Landmark Sitcom Season with a special episode, also titled Many Happy Returns. It received strong reviews, impressive ratings, and a huge wave of fan enthusiasm… yet, mysteriously, a full series never followed. Since then, the fate of Gary Sparrow has remained one of British comedy’s great unresolved cliffhangers.
Now, BAFTA-winning duo Marks and Gran are back to finish what they started, but instead of pitching to TV execs, they’re taking the story straight to fans. Partnering with Idiot Box Books, a publisher specialising in crowdfunded continuations of cult TV shows, the new novel is fully licensed by Fremantle Media and effectively serves as the ‘Series Seven’ that never made it to air.
“Of all the shows we have ever written, Goodnight Sweetheart has the biggest and most devoted fanbase. We were thrilled at the audience response to the 2016 special. Like our fans, we want to know what happened next to Gary Sparrow and his two families. And now, Idiot Box are giving us and you the chance to find out!” Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran.
The BAFTA award-winning duo are television royalty. They’ve been writing comedy since the 1970s and have created hits like Holding the Fort, Shine on Harvey Moon, The New Statesman, Birds of a Feather and, of course, Goodnight Sweetheart, to name but a few. They’ve already conquered television and stage, and are now turning their hand to the printed page, and need your help!
In the traditional publishing world, TV tie-in crossovers are rare. Especially for shows that aren’t currently airing new episodes. That’s because of the numbers. Commissioning editors are looking for titles which sell tens of thousands of copies, which means, unless a show is attracting millions of viewers, it’s unlikely to shift enough books to satisfy a traditional publisher. But that leaves hundreds of television shows whose stories can’t be told in print. Programmes with their own small (but dedicated) fan base that are creatively ripe for a comeback, albeit on the bookshelves instead of onscreen. That’s where Idiot Box Books comes in. They use crowdfunding to reach out to fan communities and ask them to support their publishing projects. Fans simply need to pledge their support, and they’ll do the rest. Together with fan communities, they’re publishing books that would otherwise never make it to the bookshelves.
If you’re one of the many who’s been shouting at your telly for a Goodnight Sweetheart return, now’s your chance to help make it happen. The Kickstarter is live now, and your support could finally give Gary Sparrow the next chapter he deserves.
