The Beiderbecke Trilogy were also published as books by Alan Plater. The book of "The Beiderbecke Affair" was written after the TV series was made. The other two books were written before the TV shows were made and contain an earlier version of the stories. The Beiderbecke Trilogy The Beiderbecke Trilogy refers to three television serials written by Alan Plater and made by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network in the United Kingdom between 1984 and 1988. Each serial centres on schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin (James Bolam) and Jill Swinburne (Barbara Flynn) who work at a rundown comprehensive school in Leeds. Woodwork teacher Trevor
Only When I Larf shared experiences contribute to the humour. This unreliable narration adds to the atmosphere around deceiving "the marks", but the characters' different perspectives on their mutual relationship (interspersed with Silas's day-dreams of a dishonourable wartime incident) look more like self-deception and often add a poignant note. The title is explained in a variety of unlikely anecdotes where in each case a critically injured third party bravely replies this when asked "Does it hurt?" A film adaptation of "Only When I Larf", directed by Basil Dearden, was released in 1968 starring Richard Attenborough as Silas, David Hemmings as Bob and Alexandra Stewart