The role Ray Winstone wasn’t allowed to reprise: “We couldn’t believe it”
Whether as a retired gangster in Sexy Beast, a ‘triple agent’ in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, or for the worst fucking ‘Russian’ accent of all time in Black Widow, everybody knows Ray Winstone.
If you grew up in the 1980s, first of all, did you take your meds today, grandpa?
Secondly, you probably remember the gruff superstar for his role in the ITV series Robin of Sherwood. Inspired by the legend of Robin Hood, the show ran for three seasons with Michael Praed and, later, Jason Connery (son of ‘James Bond’ actor Sean) in the title role. Winstone played Will Scarlett, one of Robin’s ‘merry men’, as part of a cast that also featured Richard O’Brien and Jonathan Rhys Davies.
Clive Mantle also appeared on the show as Little John, before going on to have roles in Alien 3 and Game of Thrones (a goddamn cultural behemoth that vanished into thin air). He was supposed to appear in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace as the first incarnation of Nuclear Man, but his scenes were ultimately cut. Given how that film fucking turned out, he was probably counting his lucky stars, but that wasn’t the only time he had his hopes absolutely smashed. As he explained to Adventures in Primetime, Robin of Sherwood almost made a triumphant return, until the powers that be had other ideas.
“We wanted to do a television update, and we submitted to ITV,” Mantle said. “ITV turned us down. We couldn’t believe it, especially with Ray on board. [Series creator] Kip Carpenter had written a fantastic idea, and when I heard they’d turned it down, I stood there open-mouthed and thought I think that’s a mistake. Ray loves it so much that if he had a gap in his schedule and we were all available, I’m sure he’d give it another go.”
This interview was given in 2011, with Mantle saying that the pitch had been made “18 months or two years” ago. Winstone would have been a household name at the time, which would have been absolutely huge for the show. It’s hard to imagine him stepping back into a secondary role like this, especially opposite the relatively low profiles of Praed and Connery, whom Mantle also confirmed were on board. Unfortunately, there may have been just a bit too much ‘Robin Hood’ in the air at the time.
The BBC would have just wrapped up their own series based on the myths, while Ridley Scott was in the process of trying to kill Russell Crowe while making his own ‘Robin Hood’ movie. It’s possible that ITV bosses thought that audiences would be sick of the iconic archer if they added their own take into the mix.
Carpenter, who also created the kids’ series Catweazle, died in 2012. With its creator gone, it’s unlikely that Robin of Sherwood will ever return to TV in its original form. Still, don’t feel too bad for the series. Since the 2010s, a huge number of novels, audiobooks, and audio plays have been released in the same canon. The show also found a new audience on DVD and Blu-Ray.
As for Winstone, he’s done alright for himself in the years since. You have to wonder how a return to TV in a minor role would have changed his career, though. Maybe the show would have been renamed Will Scarlett ft. Robin of Sherwood’ to reflect his newfound stardom. We’ll never know for sure.
