30 years on... 10 things you didn't know about Dallas!

The beloved show still lives on in the hearts of many

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It’s been three decades since Dallas – the show about Southfork Ranch and the Ewing family who ran it – left our screens, but there’s still things you may not know about the TV phenomenon that was watched by more than 300 million people worldwide...

1 IT ORIGINALLY HAD A DIFFERENT NAME!

Creator David Jacobs wrote the story about Ewing Oil in 1977 and the TV executives who read it changed the name to Dallas because, well, “it sounded better than Houston”, he said. Back then, Dallas was known more for its banks while Houston was the city known for oil.

2 LARRY HAGMAN BASED JR EWING ON A REAL PERSON

Larry grew up in Texas, and as a young man did odd jobs for an oil baron with four sons. “When [the oil man] died, there was kind of a war to see who would take over the business and one of the sons won, and I modelled my character after that son,” he once said.

3 JR WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE THE LEAD CHARACTER

The star of the show was meant to be Pam Ewing, played by Victoria Principal. However, Larry’s portrayal of JR was so good – and so popular – that the producers made him the main character instead!

4 LINDA GRAY WAS ONCE FIRED...

Linda, who played Sue Ellen Ewing, actually had her contract terminated after she asked for a pay rise and for a chance to direct a couple of episodes.