The show was based around two half-brothers who turned up at the Rovers Return
The show was based around a two characters who made one appearance in Weatherfield(Image: ITV/Rex Shutterstock)
While Coronation Street has had its fair share of specials and anniversary episodes over the decades, one of its most unusual offshoots quietly slipped into the schedules back in the mid-1980s.
Based on the lives of two characters who appeared in a single episode, the show shared Corrie’s familiar warmth, sharp dialogue and wry look at everyday life.
The Brothers McGregor, which ran on ITV from 1985 to 1988, followed the misadventures of Cyril and Wesley McGregor – a pair of working-class half-brothers from Liverpool.
The pair originally appeared in one episode of Coronation Street in 1982.
Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE
In the episode, the McGregor brothers were introduced as friends of Eddie Yeats, a character also hailing from Liverpool.
Eddie was played by Geoffrey Hughes, who later starred as Onslow in Keeping Up Appearances and ‘Twiggy’ in The Royle Family.
In the episode, Cyril and Wesley turn up at the Rovers Return to celebrate Eddie’s engagement.
Originally, the brothers were played by Tony Osoba and Carl Chase. It was from this point that the idea of a ‘spin-off’ was ignited by Brass authors Julian Roach and John Stevenson, who were penning episodes of Coronation Street at the time.
In 1985, the Liverpool ECHO reported how “Eddie Yeats’ old mates” were set to “strike out with a comedy series all their own”.
Stevenson told Granada that he would like to develop a comedy series featuring the brothers, but Osoba and Chase did not return to their roles.
Philip Whitchurch was instead cast as Cyril McGregor, and Paul Barber as his brother, Wesley. Barber later starred as Denzil in Only Fools and Horses.
The show wasn’t set on the familiar cobbles of Weatherfield, but centred around a second-hand car lot, called Rathbone Motors, in Liverpool.
Rathbone Motors was the setting in the Corrie ‘spin-off’ The Brothers McGregor (Image: ITV | Screengrab)
Cyril fancied himself as ‘the next Frank Sinatra’. In contrast, Wesley had dreams of becoming a successful businessman.
Cyril also worked as a bouncer and occasional singer in the Blue Cockatoo Club, owned by the “cigar-puffing” Colwyn Stanley, played by Allan Surtees.
“Cyril was a socialist, Wesley, a Tory – but the brothers could not operate without each other, and each shared a fascination for money,” the Liverpool Echo previously reported.
“A lot of the comedy came from Wesley acting as an unofficial agent/representative for Cyril, who hoped to become England’s answer to Frank Sinatra.”
The show’s plots often revolved around money-making schemes, unlucky romances, and sibling rivalry.
But if there was one thing the McGregors had in common, it was adoration for their mum, Dolly, played by Jean Haywood, who worked in a café and knitted constantly.
The family all lived in a high-rise council block, often visited by Glenys, Cyril’s fiancée.
Glenys, played by Jackie Downey, became recognised for her distinctive punk hairstyle and her years of exasperated waiting for the couple to tie the knot.
Despite being a spin-off of Coronation Street, the show was more sitcom than soap, similar to Only Fools and Horses or The Liver Birds, and featured a laugh track.
Filming took place across both Liverpool and Manchester, with audiences invited to witness the initial recording of the then-fresh sitcom to ensure “the Scouse flavour of the show was carried through.”
The debut episode of the comedy series was broadcast on September 4, 1985.
The following year, the Liverpool Echo reported that Barber and Whitchurch were establishing themselves as “one of the best sitcom double acts on telly,” securing ITV’s coveted 9pm prime-time slot.
Paul Barber, Jean Heywood, Philip Whitchurch, Jackie Downey and Allan Surtees. Series 2 of ITV’s The Brothers McGregor, 1986(Image: ITV/Rex Shutterstock)
The sitcom featured 26 episodes across four series. However, in 1988, The Brothers McGregor ended after four years on television.
During the 1990s, Philip Whitchurch portrayed Chief Inspector Philip Cato in The Bill and Tyler in My Hero during the early 2000s.
Paul Barber gained his most significant recognition for his role as Denzil in Only Fools and Horses and Horse in The Full Monty, alongside appearances in Brookside.
It may not have made the same cultural splash as Weatherfield’s mainstay.
Still, for those who remember it, The Brothers McGregor stands as a curious and charming footnote in Corrie history.