Top of the bill in the rehearsal room was the volatile double act of Sandor Eles, who plays restaurant manager Paul Ross, and Sue Hanson, who plays Miss DIane.

 

"Sandor is as temperamental off screen as the part he plays and Sue flies off the handle very quickly at times," Ronnie said.  "Everyone holds their breath when they rehearse their scenes together because it can lead to an almighty explosion.

 

"One minute they are the best of pals and the next they are storming away from each other in a real huff.  They call each other all the names under the sun.  He shouts, 'You're stupid' and she comes back with, 'Me, stupid?  You're stupid - and you're selfish and obstinate.'

 

"It's always over something professional.  They are both perfectionists.  Sandor gets carried away with the part and can be bossy and heavy-handed towards Sue.  She is not the sort of girl who will put up with that and told him so in no uncertain terms.  But they make up as easily as they fall out and it's all forgotten until the next time.  It's a real love-hate relationship."

 

A long-running feud between Ted Clayton, who played Jill Harvey's husband Stan, and Jack (Mad Jack) Barton, the tough producer, only ended when Ted was written out.  "There was real needle between them," recalled Ronnie.  "Ted was bored with doing the show and he did nothing to try to hide it.

 

"Jack became increasingly irritated by Ted's awkward attitude and it soon became crystal clear that he had it in for him.  Every week he would run through our parts and tell us where we were going wrong at rehearsal and give us tips.

 

"He always picked on Ted who, instead of accepting the criticism, tried to argue back.  As producer Jack Barton had the final say and he got the writers to dream up a plot that had Ted's character, Stan, posted to Germany."

 

Even Ronnie confesses he has had his bust-ups with other members of the cast.  He said:  "I really let fly at John Forgeham, who played Jim Baines, the rough-and-ready garage boss.  We were playing one scene with a child and John shouted in a very aggressive way.

 

"He went completely over the top, frightening the child, who immediately burst into tears.  I was wild.  I rounded on him and yelled, 'For God's sake, shut up, John.'

 

"John was stunned and completely taken aback because I was not the sort of person who normally let my feelings show.  It was such a surprise that he just calmly got on with retaking the scene."