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 Peter Sellers, with Sykes, Kenneth Connor, and Valentine Dyall. During this year he also made his second film appearance, playing a minor role in the Max Bygraves film "Charley Moon", which also featured Bill Fraser, Peter Jones, Dennis Price, and (as a child) Jane Asher. During 1956–57, Sykes also wrote for and performed in "The Tony Hancock Show", where he again worked with Hattie Jacques. His next venture for the BBC was a one-hour special, "Sykes Directs a Dress Rehearsal", playing a harassed director in a fictional TV studio rehearsal room, just before going live to air. Later that year