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 7 of "Sykes And A...", first broadcast on 3 March 1964 under that title. In December 1961, Sykes co-starred with Warren Mitchell in "Clicquot et Fils", a one-off, 30-minute comedy written by Associated London Scripts colleagues Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. This was the premiere episode of a new BBC series "Comedy Playhouse", which became an important proving ground for many successful TV comedy series. In 1962, Sykes played his first starring film role, being a travelling salesman in the comedy "Village of Daughters", set in an Italian village, but featuring a mostly British cast including John Le Mesurier (who