Actor reprises famous role in Liverpool bar

One of the original characters from Harry Enfield's "Scousers" sketches was spotted reprising his role in a Liverpool bar at the weekend. Joe McGann, the oldest of the city's famous acting McGann brothers, played Barry "Ba" Scouser on Harry Enfield & Chums in the early 1990s.

The sketch featured Liverpudlian trio, Garry, Barry and Terry, who would often develop an argument, with the third member stepping in to break up the row (only to frequently find himself pulled into another disagreement). Whenever a potential problem or dispute arose, this would result in The Scousers repeating to each other their most famous catchphrase: "Eh! Eh! Alright! Alright! Calm down! Calm down!"

Joe came up with the phrase: "Dey do dough, don't dey dough", which also featured heavily in the sketches. The sketches have prompted debate over the years, with many feeling they reinforced negative stereotypes about the city at a time when Liverpool had been demonised in large parts of the national media.

Both Joe and Gary Bleasdale, who appeared as Gary alongside Enfield, and Mark Moraghan who also played Barry, were from Liverpool, while Brookside stars Paul Usher and Brian Regan appeared in one sketch. 66-year-old Joe took to Instagram on Sunday night to share a picture of himself and his partner Frances Molloy at Hope Street bar Frederiks during what appears to have been a fancy dress birthday party.

The pair were both seen donning the famous curly wig worn on the BBC comedy show. The image, which was shared to thousands of fans, has a caption which reads: "Blast from my past… at Zoe’s party with @francesmolloy… De do dough o don’t de dough?"

Joe shot to fame in TV comedy The Upper Hand starring Avenger Honor Blackman in from 1990 until 1996, but it was his role in The Scousers that many people remember. The actor is also known for playing Edward Hutchinson in Hollyoaks from 2019 to 2020.

His brothers Paul and Steve have assumed main roles in Doctor Who and Call the Midwife, while his other brother Mark has also appeared in films and television, and in theatre productions such as Blood Brothers in 1984, when he played Mickey, and An Inspector Calls for a National Theatre tour, in which he played Inspector Goole. Steve and Mark are alumni of the Everyman Youth Theatre, which they attended alongside Cathy Tyson, David Morrissey and Ian Hart.