{"id":299275,"date":"2026-02-15T11:41:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T11:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/299275\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T11:41:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T11:41:09","slug":"viewers-slam-popular-90s-sitcom-as-lead-character-branded-an-absolute-scumbag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/299275\/","title":{"rendered":"Viewers slam popular 90s sitcom as lead character branded an ‘absolute scumbag’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The BBC series proved a hit with viewers when it first aired but it has now sparked outrage on social media, with some demanding its “cancellation”<\/p>\n

The hit sitcom starred Nicholas Lyndhurst as Gary Sparrow, an unhappily married TV repairman, who one day unwittingly walks into a time warp<\/p>\n

Television viewers have called for the “cancellation” of a hugely popular 90s sitcom after labelling the show’s lead character an “absolute scumbag”.<\/p>\n

Goodnight Sweetheart first aired on BBC<\/a> One in 1993 and continued for six series before ending in 1999.<\/p>\n

Nicholas Lyndhurst, best known for playing Rodney Trotter in Only Fools and Horses, starred in the sci-fi time-travel comedy series as TV repairman Gary Sparrow, who in the present day is married to Yvonne.<\/p>\n

However, after attending a work call, the character discovers a portal at Duckett’s Passage – an alleyway which takes him back to wartime London.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The classic 1990s comedy Goodnight Sweetheart stars Nicholas Lyndhurst as accidental time traveller Gary Sparrow who finds a portal to wartime London<\/p>\n

There, at the Royal Oak pub, he meets barmaid Phoebe Bamford and the pair begin a relationship.<\/p>\n

Gary then lives a double life, splitting his time between the two women as he travels back and forth through the alleyway, reports the Daily Star<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, a quarter of a century on, his actions have sparked outrage on social media. In clips from gaming and comedy show Consolevania posted on X, one host stated: “The show portrays him and his friends as scumbags who encourage infidelity and financial exploitation.”<\/p>\n

He continued: “He’s cheating<\/a> on his wife. It’s like if you have a bit on the side it’s showing that maybe you can get away with it.”<\/p>\n

\"Goodnight<\/p>\n

Goodnight Sweetheart was first broadcast on BBC One on November 18, 1993<\/p>\n

The clip also includes a scene where Gary’s best friend, Ron Wheatcroft, says: “Gary! You’ve been granted every man’s wish! An untraceable bit on the side.”<\/p>\n

The Consolevania host didn’t hold back, continuing: “So he leaves his wife, he goes into the past and he tries to s*** this other woman. He is an absolute piece of s***.”<\/p>\n

One user agreed wholeheartedly, stating: “Finally someone in the media talking about this. Me and my pals hate Gary Sparrow.”<\/p>\n

Another admitted: “I actually loved the show but I can’t disagree with any part of their analysis!”.<\/p>\n

A third confessed: “Never understood why he didn’t just leave his present day wife because he clearly liked the 1940s one more. But watched a lot of these recently and he’s an absolute w*****.”<\/p>\n

A fourth chimed in: “He is, your analysis is correct, but the detail barely scratches the surface of how bad he is.”<\/p>\n

However, some defended Gary, including one user who argued: “Argue that is Victor McGuire’s character’s (Ron) spin on the situation, that the extra marital affair wasn’t the initial intention and Sparrow’s own marriage was one in which he felt marginalised. Something they hinted at in the Simpsons, both would be happier if they weren’t married.”<\/p>\n

Want to see more of the stories you love from the Irish Mirror? Making us your preferred source on Google<\/a> means you\u2019ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Irish Mirror as a preferred source, simply click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The BBC series proved a hit with viewers when it first aired but it has now sparked outrage…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299276,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1578,93,61,60,282],"class_list":["post-299275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-bbc","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}