Oliver! (film) in the United States, and Oliver Reed, who played Bill Sikes, had just begun to make a name for himself. Producer John Woolf suggested Oliver Reed for the role to the director Reed, without knowing that the two were in fact related. Ron Moody, who was also well known in Britain but not the US, recreated his London stage performance, after Peter Sellers, Dick Van Dyke and Peter O'Toole reportedly turned down the role. Elizabeth Taylor turned down the role of Nancy as well. Julie Andrews was also considered. Director Reed also had Shirley Bassey in mind, but his choice
Eric Sykes Edwards, Graham Stark, Hattie Jacques, and future "Goodies" star Bill Oddie. (The film was later remade for Thames Television in 1978.) Also in 1967, Sykes and his old friend Jimmy Edwards started touring with the theatrical farce "Big Bad Mouse" which, while keeping more or less to a script, gave them rein to ad lib and address the audience. They would return to the production on and off until 1975, touring the UK twice and also taking the show abroad, including to Australia. Returning to television, Sykes and Jacques appeared in the 1967 special "Sykes Versus ITV" with Tommy Cooper