The Liver Birds sequence for series one also exists but in poor quality. The first series was stopped after four episodes because Polly James' hectic schedule—working every evening on "Anne of Green Gables" in the West End, then rehearsing all day for the TV show—was proving too much. By the time James was available again, Pauline Collins had moved to LWT's "Upstairs, Downstairs". The producer Sydney Lotterby remembered having worked with Nerys Hughes on "The Likely Lads" and, wrongly believing the Welsh actress was from Liverpool, asked her to read for a part in "The Liver Birds". (Neither actress really had a Liverpool
The Liver Birds a working class district north of the city) was played by Sheila Fay. Future "Emmerdale" actor Elizabeth Estensen as Carol Boswell replaced Beryl from Series 5 onwards. The title comes from the name given to two sculpted birds perched on top of the Royal Liver Building at Pier Head in the city of Liverpool. Michael Mills, who commissioned the series, came up with the title, although it was initially disliked by Carla Lane. The Scaffold—a pop group including Mike McCartney (brother of former Beatle Paul McCartney), poet Roger McGough and John Gorman of "Tiswas" fame—sang the title song. The title