0:00:02 > 0:00:08The British Broadcasting Corporation proudly presents the Morecambe And Wise Christmas Show!
0:00:17 > 0:00:24During the 1970s, Morecambe and Wise led the way in a new era of light entertainment at the BBC.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30I'd like to introduce to you the greatest star we've ever had on the show.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32The one and only, Sir Laurence...
0:00:32 > 0:00:34He can't come.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39As the golden age of television dawned,
0:00:39 > 0:00:43one hit show after another delighted audiences in their tens of millions.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47- We're doomed. Doomed! - Oh, be quiet, Frazer.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52Come on, Margo, get your hat on!
0:00:52 > 0:00:55This is the Daily Mirror.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58- So it's a happy Christmas from me. - And it's a happy Christmas from him.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Haven't they done well?!
0:01:01 > 0:01:05And all this was down to just one man.
0:01:05 > 0:01:12Whenever the name Bill Cotton is spoken, there should be a fanfare of trumpets.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14Bill was the kindest, lovable...
0:01:14 > 0:01:17- You couldn't help but love him. - He understood stars.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21- He understood people who put bums on seats.- He was a show-business person.
0:01:21 > 0:01:27He was THE major figure in the history of British TV entertainment. No-one else holds a candle to him.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Don't worry about that "BBC" up there. It's Before Bill Cotton.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Wakey wakey!
0:01:41 > 0:01:46Bill Cotton was born into the world of show business.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Good evening and welcome to the show.
0:01:49 > 0:01:55His father, Billy Cotton, was one of the century's most famous band leaders.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03As a kid, he would go round the music halls and see all the acts with his father's band
0:02:03 > 0:02:06and his father was not just a band, he'd have lots of acts
0:02:06 > 0:02:09in the show as well and he would hear his father talking -
0:02:09 > 0:02:14"I think I'm going to book so and so again next week because they were very good."
0:02:15 > 0:02:18And I think Bill learnt what to look for...
0:02:20 > 0:02:26..and his instincts were honed over years of trudging round the music halls with his dad.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28# No woman or a man
0:02:28 > 0:02:31# Has ever been as happy as we are... #
0:02:31 > 0:02:37After a brief spell as a music plugger, Bill Jnr joined the BBC in 1956.
0:02:37 > 0:02:43He was soon using his entertainment background to produce music shows.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48Now it's time for Six-Five's own popular discoveries, The Mudlarks,
0:02:48 > 0:02:52and they've got precisely two minutes for My Grandfather's Clock.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56# Tick, tick, tick, tick-tock
0:02:56 > 0:02:58# Tick, tick, tick, tick-tock... #
0:02:58 > 0:03:04But the innocent days of the '50s were numbered. Bill could see a revolution was on its way.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05# ..Tick-tock, tick-tock... #
0:03:05 > 0:03:08# Come on without
0:03:08 > 0:03:10# Come on within
0:03:10 > 0:03:14# You'll not see nothing like the mighty... #
0:03:14 > 0:03:17That was Bill's show. Absolutely plain and simple. Bill said,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20"We've got this extraordinary boom in music going on in the '60s."
0:03:20 > 0:03:23It was his background - he started as a music plugger,
0:03:23 > 0:03:27"We should do a show but it's got to be about the top 20. It's got to be top of the pops."
0:03:27 > 0:03:30MUSIC: "Delilah" by Tom Jones
0:03:35 > 0:03:40# She stood there laughing... #
0:03:42 > 0:03:45That was Bill, he had his finger on the pulse.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49# Where the cares of the day will be carried away... #
0:03:49 > 0:03:55And he had an extraordinary gift for spotting talent and showcasing up-and-coming new stars.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Cilla Black was riding high in the charts in the late '60s.
0:03:59 > 0:04:07But Bill saw something more in her, and in 1968, he gave Cilla her own show on the BBC.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13Bill's greatest asset was his nose.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16I don't mean from an appearance point of view.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19He just knew.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21# I want you to stay. #
0:04:24 > 0:04:29Whether they were singers, comedians, or actors, he just had the best nose
0:04:29 > 0:04:32anybody's ever had in this business.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34# But I'm not afraid
0:04:34 > 0:04:38# This rover crossed over... #
0:04:38 > 0:04:42Throughout the 1960s, Bill showed an increasing confidence in picking
0:04:42 > 0:04:48not only established names but new faces to deliver a string of popular entertainment shows.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51# ..I've got my feet
0:04:51 > 0:04:55# On the sunny side
0:04:55 > 0:04:58# On the sunny side
0:04:58 > 0:05:06# The sunny side of the street! #
0:05:10 > 0:05:13But it wasn't just mainstream entertainment shows he was nurturing.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19In 1966, Bill gave a helping hand to a new satirical series.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24I went to Bill and...
0:05:24 > 0:05:28he loved the idea and he saw why it would work
0:05:28 > 0:05:30and how it would work.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33At each stage, Bill was a real contributor and...
0:05:34 > 0:05:36He was a really good leader.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40That's simply what he was. That was what was unique about Bill.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44In television, there are an awful lot of followers and not many leaders. And he was a leader.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49Tonight, authority. Perhaps it's best to begin with some examples.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52This is authority, for instance, from the Sun.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56"Council workmen are to rip planks out of seats and make
0:05:56 > 0:06:00"holes in the walls of bus shelters in an attempt
0:06:00 > 0:06:04- "to make the shelters too uncomfortable for hooligans." - LAUGHTER
0:06:04 > 0:06:11Bill, you know, because he was established in the traditional forms of show business, rather than being a
0:06:11 > 0:06:14father of satire, maybe he was a grandfather or an uncle of satire.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16An uncle of satire. You know,
0:06:16 > 0:06:22but he sensed the mood, the mood that was...
0:06:22 > 0:06:24The wind that was blowing at that time.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28But there was one show which he just couldn't fathom.
0:06:29 > 0:06:35'Yes, gangs of old ladies attacking defenceless, fit young men.'
0:06:41 > 0:06:46I think we were seen as the awkward squad in light entertainment
0:06:46 > 0:06:49and we were a little difficult.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57- THEY LAUGH - Bill, I know, defended the series but was worried about it.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00It wasn't his sort of show, really.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05His shows were more traditional, I think. Here was something coming completely out of leftfield.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Hampstead wasn't good enough for you, was it?
0:07:09 > 0:07:11You had to go poncing off to Barnsley!
0:07:13 > 0:07:15You and your coal-mining friends.
0:07:15 > 0:07:21Coal mining is a wonderful thing, Father, but it's something you'll never understand. Just look at you!
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Be careful! You know what he's like after a few novels.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29Clearly it was successful so it was like riding a bucking bronco.
0:07:29 > 0:07:35We didn't quite know which direction it was going to go in, but Bill was an advocate of hanging on
0:07:35 > 0:07:40in there in the saddle and not discouraging our spontaneity.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45But there were one or two areas where they did come in and say, "We think this is a little bit rude."
0:07:45 > 0:07:49He never quite saw the point of Monty Python.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Here we have a turning point in British television and comedy
0:07:52 > 0:07:58and Bill didn't quite get it at all, and I shall always remember because he would mutter away about them,
0:07:58 > 0:08:03"I couldn't understand it." And they used to have this fabulous Christmas party that Bill did.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07It was THE thing to get to in the Christmas season, it was the invitation to get,
0:08:07 > 0:08:12and I shall always remember talking to him and he was looking over my shoulder towards the door,
0:08:12 > 0:08:17he was the host, and this look of total horror came on his face and I turned round
0:08:17 > 0:08:19and there was Graham Chapman in full ball gown...
0:08:21 > 0:08:25..smoking a pipe and Bill didn't quite understand.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28He shook his head and walked away to a far corner of the room to recover.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33Graham was always the odd one out, even of the Pythons, because he drank quite a lot
0:08:33 > 0:08:39and he saw these events, like the light entertainment party, as a sort of challenge.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44- Your head's addled with novels and poems. You come home every evening reeking of Chateau Latour!- Don't!
0:08:44 > 0:08:46And look what you've done to Mother!
0:08:46 > 0:08:50She's worn out with meeting film stars, attending premieres and giving gala luncheons!
0:08:50 > 0:08:54There's nowt wrong with gala luncheons, lad!
0:08:54 > 0:09:00Bill may have had a blind spot about Monty Python, but he had his finger very much on the pulse of
0:09:00 > 0:09:07feel-good comedy shows, and was by now giving the go-ahead to new ideas and writers he felt had potential.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Bill was a big supporter of talent, so some of the
0:09:10 > 0:09:14shows he came up with, what he was really doing was supporting talent.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19I'm a pretty sure it was on his watch that Dad's Army started. Hi-De-Hi certainly started on his watch.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23He didn't have an idea that it would be funny to do a thing about the Home Guard
0:09:23 > 0:09:27or a holiday camp, but he believed in David Croft and Jimmy Perry.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29# Mr Brown goes off to town... #
0:09:29 > 0:09:33In 1968, a new script had landed on Bill's desk.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36I went into his office. AS COTTON: "Hello, Jim,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39"This looks good. Can you see it through?"
0:09:39 > 0:09:43I'm a rotten impersonator, but that's how he spoke.
0:09:43 > 0:09:48And that was the start of my relationship with Bill Cotton.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Fall in in three ranks, as the sergeant says!
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Come on now! Three ranks, like the sergeant says!
0:09:53 > 0:09:56We've fallen in three ranks like the sergeant said, sir.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Thank you, Jones.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03HE SHOUTS AN ORDER
0:10:03 > 0:10:05- Stand at ease. - MANY FEET THUD
0:10:05 > 0:10:07- Hurry up, Jones. - FEET THUD - That's better.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12But Bill read the script, and said, "Get on with it."
0:10:12 > 0:10:16And Bill never interfered with anybody.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26It may look innocent today, but at the time, the idea of making a comedy
0:10:26 > 0:10:30about Britain's Home Guard caused a stir amongst senior management.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Bill wasn't going to give up without a fight.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38He had one or two stormy meetings with the then controller,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40who was not convinced about the thing at all.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45He thought we were taking the mickey out of England's finest hour and it was not the thing to do.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50It all calmed down and I think Bill was the one that calmed them all down.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53So here it is, straight from the shoulder.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55I am wearing a toupee.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01A wig, if that makes it any clearer.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06So if any of you want a good laugh at my expense, now's your chance.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Because I'm going to show it to you.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23I think series like Dad's Army have lasted
0:11:23 > 0:11:29because they were well-written, and because they had a marvellous series of characters.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33I should've known not to trust that smarmy Captain Stewart.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37- You can't blame him, sir. He's got a job to do. - You'll stick up for him, won't you?
0:11:37 > 0:11:40You both went to public schools, didn't you?
0:11:40 > 0:11:45I can't help feeling, sir, you've got a little bit of a chip on your shoulder about that.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50There's no chip on my shoulder. I'll tell you what there is, though. Three pips. Don't you forget it.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53There was a wonderful gallery of British stereotypes in there,
0:11:53 > 0:11:58from the pompousness to the slightly vague ex-university man, John Le Mes,
0:11:58 > 0:12:03to the wide boy... They were all in there. It was a lovely little cross-section of English
0:12:03 > 0:12:08- sort of types at that time. I think that's why it was so good. - Oh, thank you.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11It's the wrong one, Godfrey!
0:12:12 > 0:12:14I think the other one's wrong too.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22When we'd made the show, his congratulations were restricted to, "Well done, boys."
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Because he...
0:12:26 > 0:12:29Dear Bill was a bit of a rough diamond.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32He wasn't quite as lah-di-dah as the others.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Tough, he could be...
0:12:34 > 0:12:37He didn't have to be polite all the time.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42He said what he thought and one respected that, so if he didn't like something, he said so.
0:12:45 > 0:12:46Right.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Round the trunk for safety. Like that.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54Jump to it!
0:13:00 > 0:13:07With Dad's Army delighting audiences, Bill gave Croft and Perry free rein to pursue other ideas.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11When I told him about Ain't Half Hot Mum, he said, "Where's it set?"
0:13:11 > 0:13:15I said, "In the jungle." He said, "You can't have a jungle in the studio.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20"A jungle's not funny." I said, "Don't worry, it'll be funny, Bill." His enormous confidence.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Excuse me, Sergeant Major. But when do you take your salt tablets?
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Mr Lah-di-dah, I've had more salt tablets than you've had hot dinners.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29I will show you. I'll show you now.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35He had his office door open.
0:13:35 > 0:13:41If I was passing in the corridor, it was on the sixth floor, he'd say, "Is that you, Jim?
0:13:41 > 0:13:43"Come in, come in. What you got?"
0:13:43 > 0:13:47Don't forget to be in the dining hall early for your evening meal as
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Fred Larkin, our cordon bleu cook,
0:13:49 > 0:13:54is in an Italian mood and he's conjured up for you
0:13:54 > 0:13:57spaghetti Bolognese and chips.
0:13:58 > 0:14:06David Croft and I based everything we did on our lives together because I had worked as a Red Coat at Butlins
0:14:06 > 0:14:10and David Croft had produced the concert party at Butlins.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14- Well, campers, you've met your entertainment staff. - Who wants a custard pie?
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Don't bother me now, son.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Come back! I'm acting, I'm acting.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21What do you say to me, my good man?
0:14:21 > 0:14:24(Pies, pies, who wants a custard pie?)
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Say it louder.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Pies, pies, who wants a custard pie?
0:14:28 > 0:14:32I'll have one. I think he ought to have one as well.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34- Shall I give him a pie?- ALL:- Yes!
0:14:34 > 0:14:38He did trust one to do the job completely and
0:14:38 > 0:14:40he didn't always agree with you.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45He'd say, "I think you're mad, but go ahead. I'm sure you'll do something good."
0:14:45 > 0:14:48- Good morning.- Good morning, Gladys.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52I was passing the kitchen. Thought you might like a cup of tea.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56- Sugar's in the saucer. - Thank you very much.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59That dressing gown's nice.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02- Is it real silk? - You know, I really don't know.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04You can usually tell by the touch.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Beautiful.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14You've got some lovely things.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16Thank you.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Bill's passion for light entertainment masked a more serious purpose -
0:15:21 > 0:15:25to keep the BBC at the heart of the nation's affections.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27He always said that
0:15:27 > 0:15:30the BBC's three main stanchions
0:15:30 > 0:15:33were education, information and entertainment.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38But Bill Cotton always maintained that entertainment was the most important and should come
0:15:38 > 0:15:44first, because if you didn't have the entertainment, nobody was going to look in to be informed or educated.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48Bill and the people who ran light entertainment at that time
0:15:48 > 0:15:51realised there was a connection with the wider British public.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53That was the magic thing they had.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58It was like people getting together in wartime and doing a show for everybody.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01It was about, "Are the nation talking about it? Do they love
0:16:01 > 0:16:07"these entertainers we're putting in front of them? That's what Bill understood.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Bill was proving his ability to bring new ideas to the screen.
0:16:11 > 0:16:17But his breakthrough signing was to come from a call out of the blue from his old friend, Michael Grade.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22In the late '60s and early '70s, I was a talent agent.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27I was always trying to sell Bill some of my acts,
0:16:27 > 0:16:32with very little success - he had too much taste!
0:16:32 > 0:16:38But one of the acts that we represented in the office was Morecambe and Wise.
0:16:38 > 0:16:43My partner in the agency, Billy Marsh, was their agent.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Billy and I shared an office and did all our work together.
0:16:46 > 0:16:52At the time, Morecambe and Wise were already a much-loved double act with their own show on ATV.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Good evening, and thank you once again for having us on your screens.
0:16:55 > 0:17:01- I'm terribly sorry about that young lady.- Oh, that's OK. We're on TV now. You can leave all that behind.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03I will. Lisa, stay behind!
0:17:03 > 0:17:09ATV, who they were working for, they'd been under contract, their contract came up for renewal.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12And we had an argument about money.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15The boss of ATV was my uncle,
0:17:15 > 0:17:17Lew Grade, Lord Grade.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21Billy Marsh was away, so I was dealing with it and keeping Billy in touch.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24And obviously keeping in touch with Morecambe and Wise.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30And we all agreed that the thing to do was for me to ring up Bill Cotton, and say,
0:17:30 > 0:17:35"If Morecambe and Wise were available, would you be interested?" Which I duly did.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39And Bill said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know you're just trying to get the price up for Lew."
0:17:39 > 0:17:43- You'll be telling me next you've heard a voice from the other side. - I have.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45It was Lew Grade but the money was no good!
0:17:48 > 0:17:52I said, "Are you free for lunch?" He said, "OK, I'll come and see you.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54"I'll go along with it. I know I'm being used."
0:17:54 > 0:17:59I sat down and I did the deal with him.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01SIRENS BLARE
0:18:02 > 0:18:06He's not going to sell much ice cream going at that speed, is he?!
0:18:06 > 0:18:10I then rang Lew after the lunch and said, "I'm afraid I've got some
0:18:10 > 0:18:16"bad news for you. Eric and Ernie have signed with the BBC."
0:18:16 > 0:18:20There was a long silence. He'd been an agent. He understood the game.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22He was very disappointed.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27But he should never have lost them, really. It was about money.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Tea, Ern?
0:18:35 > 0:18:40- Tea, Ern!- 'The first show for Billy came at the beginning of September.'
0:18:40 > 0:18:43'And they were doing shows once a week, which finished'
0:18:43 > 0:18:44at the end of October.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49Of course, in November, Eric had a major heart attack.
0:18:49 > 0:18:54Eric spent three weeks in hospital before being allowed to return home.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57No-one knew if he'd ever work again.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Bill came over and talked to him when he was recuperating.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04He more or less said, "Look, Eric, you take as long as you want,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08"but we would love to have you back and we'll reorganise the contract."
0:19:08 > 0:19:12So after six months, Eric, who had lost an
0:19:12 > 0:19:15awful lot of his confidence, wasn't at all sure that he should work.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18And Hills and Green had gone off to another contract,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21because they felt that Eric wouldn't ever work again.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26Hills and Green had been writing shows for Morecambe and Wise for the last seven years.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30With Eric now on the road to recovery, Bill found himself facing a new problem.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35Bill was desperate. "What am I going to do? Where do you find writers for Morecambe and Wise?"
0:19:35 > 0:19:39Bill rang and said, "Would you like to write for Eric and Ernie?" Well...
0:19:39 > 0:19:41I was very flattered,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45because Eric and Ernie were the biggest names in television then.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47I didn't think I'd be able to write for Morecambe and Wise.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49They weren't my style.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54I really don't know how Bill even suspected that I was
0:19:54 > 0:19:57right for Eric and Ernie, or that we would be right for each other.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02He must have said, "Yes, I know this is going to work." Nobody else did, but he knew.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06And he persisted, gently persisted, with that wonderful smile of his.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09His face was built for a smile, he had lovely chubby cheeks.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14I think Bill knew that Eddie had a great comedic talent and great skills.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18Something magical happened in that first
0:20:18 > 0:20:22half hour when I met Eric and Ernie in Bill's office.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26We took to each other right away.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30I knew there was something there, sparking between the three of us.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35The following week, Eddie returned with a trial script for the show.
0:20:35 > 0:20:42Sitting there and handing this script over to these two men, and waiting, all that work for that week, waiting,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44and then all of a sudden, Eric went...
0:20:44 > 0:20:47HE SNIGGERS
0:20:48 > 0:20:51He went, "That is funny. Now that is funny."
0:20:51 > 0:20:53And Ern said, "Yeah, that is funny.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55"It is funny, but it's not for us.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00"We can't do it." It wasn't their kind of funny. Or they didn't think it was their kind of funny.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05Then Bill Cotton, this very astute man, said, "Look, I think it is.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07"I think this is going to work.
0:21:07 > 0:21:13"Will you, please, do one show? Do it on BBC Two. No reputations will be destroyed.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17"They only get 35 viewers, so nobody will be hurt! So just do this one show."
0:21:19 > 0:21:20- Ready, Eric?- Ready, Ern!
0:21:20 > 0:21:22- Right, switch on.- Right!
0:21:22 > 0:21:26So we did it on BBC Two and it was...
0:21:26 > 0:21:28It was good.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31APPLAUSE
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Eddie Braben had a certain...
0:21:48 > 0:21:51..surreal view of the world
0:21:51 > 0:21:55which added a whole new dimension to Morecambe and Wise.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59All I can say, ladies and gentlemen, is, I'd never become conceited,
0:21:59 > 0:22:03because I feel that there is no-one better. And I also would like...
0:22:03 > 0:22:06I'd like to present to you now my...
0:22:06 > 0:22:08Really, I didn't expect it to be...
0:22:18 > 0:22:19And what do you think you're doing?
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Not a lot!
0:22:24 > 0:22:29The first change I made, I thought was the obvious one - obvious to me, anyway. Change Ernie.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32There was a lot of talent in Ernie. I could see it.
0:22:32 > 0:22:39And that was when I decided to make him the egotistical, pompous author, the playwright.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41"Her most gracious majesty...
0:22:41 > 0:22:43"Her most gracious majesty...
0:22:43 > 0:22:45"betoes upon... Bestows upon..."
0:22:45 > 0:22:47Bad printing there!
0:22:47 > 0:22:54"Bestows upon Ernest Wise, short-legged comedian...
0:22:54 > 0:22:56"the title of Lord Ern
0:22:56 > 0:22:58of Peterborough!"
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Lord Ern of Peterborough!
0:23:02 > 0:23:07She was going to make you a sir, but she didn't think knights were that short!
0:23:07 > 0:23:12- What did I get it for?- You got it, it says here in brackets, "for services to literature".
0:23:12 > 0:23:16- She's given it to me for those plays what I wrote.- What else?
0:23:16 > 0:23:21He said, "At last, I've really got something I can do.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23"I can really perform now. I can work now."
0:23:23 > 0:23:28I am deeply concerned about his majesty and his...
0:23:28 > 0:23:30misdemeanours.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33That's a good word. "Misdemeanours".
0:23:33 > 0:23:36M-I-S...
0:23:39 > 0:23:42"His larking about."
0:23:42 > 0:23:47Very quickly they struck up, Eric and Ernie and Eddie, struck up a relationship.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Eddie pushed them into directions I don't think they would have gone.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56I wrote this sketch about them being in bed together and they were horrified.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Everybody who heard about it was horrified.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01The thought of two men being in bed together.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15- That's very untidy. - I'm not bothered. They're yours!
0:24:16 > 0:24:20It was the only time I disagreed with them, and I dug my heels in.
0:24:20 > 0:24:25And I kept on and on about it, every week, about this bed sketch.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28So one day we were sitting in the room. It was a break.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31And I said, "What are we going to do about this bed sketch?"
0:24:31 > 0:24:35And Ernie said, "Oh, for God's sake, not that bed sketch. We can't do it."
0:24:35 > 0:24:41That night I was inspired, I said, "If it's good enough for Laurel and Hardy, it's good enough for you."
0:24:41 > 0:24:44And Eric said...
0:24:44 > 0:24:46"We'll do it."
0:24:46 > 0:24:48Are you going to read your newspaper or annoy me?
0:24:48 > 0:24:51I can do both.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56They don't have turkey at Christmas.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Who don't?
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Eskimos.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07- Eskimos?- At Christmas, an Eskimo family sits down to a whale.
0:25:09 > 0:25:14- How interesting. - That must take a bit of stuffing!
0:25:14 > 0:25:18They called the act Morecambe And Wise. It was a three-handed act.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21It was Morecambe and Wise and audience. They were part of it.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25He would look at the audience, and then he could bring...
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Which worked very well. He'd be talking to somebody and he'd suddenly...
0:25:36 > 0:25:40Now then, Percy, could you just show us one or two of your plants?
0:25:40 > 0:25:42That was a good little gimmick.
0:25:49 > 0:25:54Before long, celebrities were queuing up to be humiliated on the show.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59Hang about, Tom Jones is coming on in a minute. I'll introduce you.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03If I could just have a word with you, please, Miss Rednose.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Eric, say hello to Mr Preview.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Ah, Mr Preview, how are you? A pleasure to be with you and ready when you are.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13There's a drunk just come on from the audience!
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Leave her to me. I'll get rid of her.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19Excuse me Miss, or Madam, as the case may be.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24I'm afraid you can't stop here. Only professional artists are allowed up here in front of the cameras.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27Go back to your seat. This isn't the Generation Game, please.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33I...am Glenda Jackson.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37They all say that!
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Believe me, you're in for a surprise, Mr Preview.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42- Previn.- Privet.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Open the curtains, please!
0:26:48 > 0:26:51It was a great idea to do the Grieg piano concerto.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55It all stemmed from the fact that Eric could play the Grieg piano concerto badly.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59He used to do it for fun. And we thought, "Well, we can get something out of this."
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Grieg by... With him and him!
0:27:03 > 0:27:06DRAMATIC ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
0:27:09 > 0:27:11PLAYS JAUNTY TUNE
0:27:35 > 0:27:37Something wrong with the violins?
0:27:39 > 0:27:43- No, there's nothing wrong with the violins.- That's only your opinion.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47W-W-What were you playing just then?
0:27:47 > 0:27:49The Grieg piano concerto.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51PLAYS JAUNTY TUNE
0:27:54 > 0:27:57You're playing... you're playing all the wrong notes.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13I'm playing all the right notes...
0:28:13 > 0:28:16but not necessarily in the right order.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22I'll give you that. I'll give you that, sunshine.
0:28:25 > 0:28:30But Morecambe and Wise weren't the only brilliant double act in Bill's stable of entertainers.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35I think we both knew we were very different, fortunately.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37And Ron and I would be first
0:28:37 > 0:28:41to recognise that Eric and Ernie were the top dogs.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43I mean,
0:28:43 > 0:28:48Eric Morecambe, at his peak, was just
0:28:48 > 0:28:50irresistible and wonderful.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54And they worked in quite a different way from Ron and I.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58And we shared... We were in the same building in Acton, rehearsing.
0:28:58 > 0:28:59They'd be on the third floor.
0:28:59 > 0:29:04And they would come a bit late in the morning, usually. Perhaps chauffeur-driven.
0:29:04 > 0:29:11They would do a brief rehearsal and share a picnic basket with Robert Morley or something at lunchtime -
0:29:11 > 0:29:13whoever was their guest - or Shirley Bassey,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16and then go away at quarter to three to miss the traffic.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21And Ron and I would arrive in our own cars, drive in a bit earlier and stay a bit later.
0:29:21 > 0:29:26The Two Ronnies were another of Bill's legendary signings for the BBC.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28He had seen them perform on The Frost Report.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32Right, elementary addressing class. Two, three and...
0:29:32 > 0:29:34ALL: Hello.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39Yes, not bad. Bit of an upward inflection at the end there, Horton.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42I know it's difficult for you, but keep trying, lad.
0:29:42 > 0:29:48But it was an impromptu performance during a technical hitch at the BAFTAs which clinched the deal.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51We lost power and they lost
0:29:51 > 0:29:59the cameras. Ron and I had to extemporise and entertain people at the Palladium.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02To be truthful, I can't imagine either of us being very good
0:30:02 > 0:30:04at that sort of thing. However, we seemed to carry it off.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08Bill was sitting with Paul Fox who was the controller of BBC One.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11He said, "How would you like them on your channel?"
0:30:11 > 0:30:13Paul said, "Yes, very good."
0:30:13 > 0:30:17Bill went off and got them and, of course, took them to a whole new level.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett were new to television as a double-act.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27Bill not only gave them their own show but scheduled it in
0:30:27 > 0:30:31- the prime-time slot of 8 o'clock on a Saturday night.- I was very lucky.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33Just after I joined the BBC,
0:30:33 > 0:30:35I got assigned to The Two Ronnies.
0:30:35 > 0:30:40They were one of the half a dozen shows that were the
0:30:40 > 0:30:43iconic defining shows of Bill's entertainment department.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45APPLAUSE
0:30:45 > 0:30:49- Hello, and it's good to be with you again, isn't it, Ronnie?- Yes, it is.
0:30:49 > 0:30:54The Two Ronnies was greater than the sum of the parts and the parts were pretty damn good to start with.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57That's completely stumped me, that chart. I'm sorry.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01Don't worry. We've got plenty more. Try the one on the back. There.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03A?
0:31:03 > 0:31:06- I said, try the one on the back. - No, A.- Oh, A? No, no. Not A.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08- B?- No.- C, D?- Keep going. No.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10- E.- E. Very good, yes.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12Now, the next line, would you?
0:31:12 > 0:31:15- Er, no, sorry. - Don't worry. I'll give you a clue.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19- What do you see with? - Your eye.- I.- I. I.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21And what do you do with your eye?
0:31:21 > 0:31:23- See.- C.- C.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26Now then, try the next line on your own.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31You always felt completely supported by Bill.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34He would be there at some point during the Saturday or Sunday.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38He'd come in, maybe sit in the audience and watch, or drop in on a dress run.
0:31:38 > 0:31:44"How's it going, guys? Are you OK?" He'd be there for the drinks after at least one of the shows.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49- You knew you were working for Bill and he was a physical presence. - You could always knock on his door
0:31:49 > 0:31:54and see him and he would occasionally come and see part of a show being recorded.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58We knew he was there and we knew we could ring him up and speak to him.
0:31:58 > 0:32:04However big the show, once Bill had put his team in place, he trusted them to get the job done.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08We sat down and...
0:32:08 > 0:32:13we worked out what the show would be.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17We knew that I could sit in a chair and be myself and talk to myself.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21Well, this is the last programme in this series.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24I must say, I'm certainly going to miss this chair.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26It's so comfortable, really.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29Most chairs I sit on, my feet don't reach the ground.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32Mind you, when I was a child, I was even smaller, you know?
0:32:32 > 0:32:36LAUGHTER You don't believe me, do you? No, I was, honestly.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40I could stand up and my feet didn't reach the ground.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42We knew, to open the show, we couldn't
0:32:42 > 0:32:48talk to each other very much, like Eric and Ernie did, because we didn't know each other like they had done.
0:32:48 > 0:32:54So the news-item feel turned up. That sort of disinfected way of doing jokes.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58The news. Following the dispute with the Domestic Servants' Union
0:32:58 > 0:33:02at Buckingham Palace today, the Queen, a radiant figure in a white silk gown and crimson robe,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05swept down the main staircase and through the hall.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08She then dusted the cloakroom and hoovered the lounge.
0:33:10 > 0:33:17The powerful secret society known as the Lords Of The Universe held their annual meeting last night, but their
0:33:17 > 0:33:24president, the Lord Chief Controller and Commander Over All Living Things, was unable to be present.
0:33:24 > 0:33:25His wife wouldn't let him out.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30And there'd be a film item in the middle, which would be like
0:33:30 > 0:33:33the Phantom Raspberry Blower and various sketches throughout.
0:33:37 > 0:33:42- Mornin'.- Afternoon. - Somebody sittin' there?- Yeah.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45- Who?- Me.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48- I know that. I'm not daft, am I? - Ain't you? I am.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52We knew we would like to do a big musical finale.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56I remember, as a young director, shooting a musical item with The Two Ronnies -
0:33:56 > 0:34:00you might as well have been in a Hollywood studio - 36 dancing girls, full orchestra,
0:34:00 > 0:34:06full choir, crane shots, overhead shots, slung cameras, fantastic design teams.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20It was a fantastic time to grow up in TV and learn what could be done.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23Bill made it possible, because Bill was,
0:34:23 > 0:34:28for such a big department...By that time he was running the whole department, the comedy side as well,
0:34:28 > 0:34:32but you knew you were working for Bill Cotton. It was his department.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37# Doo-doo, doo, doo-doo
0:34:40 > 0:34:42# Doo-doo, doo, doo-doo
0:34:42 > 0:34:46# Doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
0:34:46 > 0:34:48# Three blind mice
0:34:48 > 0:34:51# I said, three blind mice... #
0:34:51 > 0:34:54For the next 16 years, The Two Ronnies
0:34:54 > 0:34:58dominated the schedules, regularly bringing in audiences of 17 million.
0:34:58 > 0:35:05- They were one of the biggest hitters in the BBC's Saturday night line-up. - # ..Three blind mice... #
0:35:13 > 0:35:16But comedy wasn't the only area in which Bill was leading the way.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20In 1970, he began to develop an idea for a new kind of talk show.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24When he started, as head of entertainment, to go to America and see shows,
0:35:24 > 0:35:31he famously saw the talk shows. He went to America and saw The Jack Paar Show, Johnny Carson later on.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34He came back and he was looking around for somebody
0:35:34 > 0:35:38and he decided that Michael Parkinson, a young journalist, would be the man to do it.
0:35:38 > 0:35:43I got to know Bill Cotton as a voice on the telephone ringing me up and saying that he'd like me to
0:35:43 > 0:35:48go down to TV Centre and have a word with him or two about a programme idea that they had.
0:35:48 > 0:35:53It was about 1970, I think. I was doing an afternoon show for Thames Television, a talk show.
0:35:53 > 0:35:58I went down there and they said they had this spot in the summer, June,
0:35:58 > 0:36:05July time, 11 shows and nothing after that, but would I like to try it out and see if I fit the bill?
0:36:05 > 0:36:09I'd been waiting for this call all my life. I thought, "What an agreeable chap."
0:36:09 > 0:36:12I liked him from the very beginning.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16He was a very engaging man, particularly when he was offering you work.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20I had an instinct straightaway that here was a man who loved what he was doing,
0:36:20 > 0:36:25who loved light entertainment, who loved the same stars that I did, and felt the same way about them.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28So we had a very easy relationship.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32Most of all, he was an enabler.
0:36:32 > 0:36:37He saw himself as being the person who enabled you to get into a studio in the happiest
0:36:37 > 0:36:42frame of mind possible, surrounded by the best possible people, to make the best possible programme.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45That's exactly what you want from a head of department.
0:36:45 > 0:36:50I saw a picture of you in the paper, two days ago I think it was,
0:36:50 > 0:36:56cornered by a group of fans, mainly women, in a supermarket somewhere.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00Can I ask you what the problem is, if it is a problem to you, about
0:37:00 > 0:37:05being regarded as one of the world's most attractive men and the kind of fan adulation you have from women?
0:37:05 > 0:37:08- Fan what?- Fan worship.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10- From who?- Women.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12Oh, I don't pay no attention to it.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14I don't consider myself no attractive man.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17People like Tom Jones are attractive.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20Elvis Presley. I'm nothing like that.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22Whether you want it or not, you are.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26For years, people have been saying you are one of the most attractive men in the world.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30- I know it. I was just... - LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE
0:37:30 > 0:37:34'Bill had very specific ideas about that show.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37'He wanted a purely kind of showbiz show.'
0:37:37 > 0:37:42We saw it differently, Richard Drewitt and myself, who produced the show. We saw it as being...
0:37:42 > 0:37:47We wanted to trawl wider. We wanted to bring in all kinds of people and just put them together.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52So we could put Rita Hayworth with a politician or whatever it might be.
0:37:52 > 0:37:58We had conflict with Bill to start with, so we used to put a false list on the board.
0:37:58 > 0:38:03So if we had somebody in like Professor Jacob Bronowski, we would put up Bob Hope on
0:38:03 > 0:38:05the board, so when Bill came by, he'd be quite happy.
0:38:05 > 0:38:10To be fair to him, he never ever stopped us doing anybody at all.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12He would just look askance once or twice.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16What do you think we can do about this fat fellow here? Do you think he should go on a diet?
0:38:16 > 0:38:19It's mostly fluid.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21- You're all water.- It's true that.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25This is something I've studied like mad. I should have done.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28- I was 14 stone 9 pounds.- Really?
0:38:28 > 0:38:31My vital statistics were 37...
0:38:31 > 0:38:35No, wait. 46, 37, 47.5.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39- That's only one of them. - And they are now... LAUGHTER
0:38:42 > 0:38:44'It was a very rich time to do a talk show.'
0:38:44 > 0:38:48The BBC was so powerful in those days, it really was.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52It didn't matter what the opposite side did. We got the guests. We got them first.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54He is Orson Welles.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57APPLAUSE
0:39:00 > 0:39:02'We had to borrow Bill Cotton's seat for that.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06'Bill had a big Mussolini seat in his office, a huge one, a dictator's seat.'
0:39:06 > 0:39:10Orson Welles' bum wouldn't fit into any other kind of chair we could find
0:39:10 > 0:39:14so we had to get Bill Cotton's. That was the nearest he got to Orson Welles.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18I must ask you this. You've been called it many times. You've been called a genius.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21It is just one of those words.
0:39:21 > 0:39:26I suppose there have only been two or three geniuses in this century.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28- We all know who they are.- Really?
0:39:28 > 0:39:35I suppose. Einstein, Picasso and somebody in China we haven't heard about.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37So you don't accept the...?
0:39:37 > 0:39:39Oh, I accept anything I get.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43Bill particularly liked the Hollywood film stars.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47When I started doing the talk show, it was a wonderful time to be there,
0:39:47 > 0:39:50to interview those people, because, for the first time in their careers,
0:39:50 > 0:39:56the great Hollywood stars of the '40s and '50s were allowed on to television for the very first time.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00So we got Jimmy Cagney. We got Henry Fonda. We got Bette Davis.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03He was like a child in a toy shop with all that. He really was.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05APPLAUSE
0:40:05 > 0:40:09Thank you. Thank you very much.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12I sometimes think he kept me there just for that!
0:40:13 > 0:40:16Do you accept, if you look back on the history of Hollywood,
0:40:16 > 0:40:20there have been three great women stars, haven't there?
0:40:20 > 0:40:22There's Garbo, Hepburn and yourself.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25Would you agree with that running order?
0:40:25 > 0:40:29Well, I will accept the running order, yes.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33Of course, I'd be happier if I got first billing but I accept it.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36I was putting them in historical perspective.
0:40:36 > 0:40:42No, no. If I am included with those two fabulous women, I am delighted.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45That was the happiest department I've ever worked in.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47As I said, it was successful.
0:40:47 > 0:40:52It was blissful to go to work, actually, to be among all that great
0:40:52 > 0:40:55bunch of people who were working there at the time.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59And at the top, sat this very benign, clever man, actually.
0:40:59 > 0:41:05Sometimes Bill's inspiration for new shows came from the most unlikely places.
0:41:05 > 0:41:11He went to Holland and saw a game show, and he saw it in a very rudimentary form.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13But he could see the germ of the idea.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17He rushed back and bought the rights for a tuppence ha'penny
0:41:17 > 0:41:21and then rang Bruce Forsyth's agent, my old
0:41:21 > 0:41:25partner Billy Marsh, and said, "I've got something amazing for Bruce."
0:41:25 > 0:41:27APPLAUSE
0:41:29 > 0:41:35He said, "I'd like to put a tape on for you of this show from Holland."
0:41:35 > 0:41:37He put the tape on
0:41:37 > 0:41:43and then, at the end, he said, "What d'you think?"
0:41:43 > 0:41:47I said, "I think there's a lot of fun in getting these people to do things
0:41:47 > 0:41:51"that they'd never normally even try to do."
0:41:58 > 0:42:01# Life is the name of the game
0:42:01 > 0:42:04# And I want to play the game with you. #
0:42:05 > 0:42:07Bill was a risk taker.
0:42:07 > 0:42:12I knew he was having to put his head on the block, so to speak.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19So knowing that it was on the block, we became very close. We talked about the show an awful lot.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22We did the pilot, which we were quite pleased with.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26From the pilot, we knew we had something there that would be
0:42:26 > 0:42:30very different than what had ever been on British television before.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34Once the audience got into it, we thought it could be very successful.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39APPLAUSE, CHEERING
0:42:41 > 0:42:45He said, "With you, I think this show is made for you."
0:42:45 > 0:42:50I thought, "They all say that when they want you to do a show."
0:42:50 > 0:42:55They always say, "It's made for you." But he was right. The Generation Game was made for me.
0:42:55 > 0:43:00Thank you very much. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, children.
0:43:00 > 0:43:05Welcome to The Generation Game. Nice to see, to see you...
0:43:05 > 0:43:06- ALL:- Nice!
0:43:06 > 0:43:12When I introduced a professional person to do whatever they were going to do,
0:43:12 > 0:43:15the reaction from the audience, as soon as the person
0:43:15 > 0:43:18started doing what they were doing, the audience
0:43:18 > 0:43:22would all laugh in anticipation with what these
0:43:22 > 0:43:26poor four people were going to be asked to do.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29LAUGHTER There we are.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32And then on goes the wall. Do you call that "the wall"?
0:43:32 > 0:43:35Yes.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39Then just a little bit of that going around there,
0:43:39 > 0:43:41just to give it the finishing touch.
0:43:41 > 0:43:46Isn't that gorgeous? And that's all there is to it. APPLAUSE
0:43:46 > 0:43:49Well done, though. It was a good start.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52OK, give it a good turn and away you go.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55LAUGHTER
0:44:12 > 0:44:13ELECTRONIC BUZZER
0:44:13 > 0:44:17Oh, a lot of fun, a lot of fun! Oh, dear.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22Something for you to do in your spare time, that(!)
0:44:22 > 0:44:26When he showed me the show, I thought, "Yeah, me getting
0:44:26 > 0:44:30"amongst these people, this is my bread and butter. I can have fun."
0:44:30 > 0:44:33And we'll meet our last couple this evening, who are, Anthea?
0:44:33 > 0:44:35This is Jean and Robert Thorn.
0:44:35 > 0:44:39I see. It's Jean and Robert Thorn. It's mother and son again.
0:44:39 > 0:44:45You enjoy cooking, gardening and sewing and you have a deaf white cat called Butch.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49- Quite right.- Is that right? - He's quite deaf.- Is he really?
0:44:49 > 0:44:53- Honestly.- Oh, dear. Must be trouble at night getting him in, isn't it?
0:44:53 > 0:44:56SCREAMS: Here, kitty!
0:44:56 > 0:44:58Here kitty, kitty!
0:44:58 > 0:45:04Butch, come in! Cor, you must be very popular with the neighbours(!)
0:45:04 > 0:45:10It was a complete breakthrough. You hadn't seen people actually physically having to get up
0:45:10 > 0:45:16and do some ridiculous thing, and put themselves...
0:45:16 > 0:45:19As I used to say, we used to throw them in at the deep end.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21And that's what it was.
0:45:21 > 0:45:25We'd throw them in at the deep end with no lifebelt.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29And when you come in, dear, your first line is at the back of the door.
0:45:29 > 0:45:33When you get your cigarette, your line is written on the cigarette.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37- You read it off the cigarette. The last line you do... - Where's the cigarette?
0:45:37 > 0:45:41- The cigarette's in the cigarette box, dear.- You'll need those.- Does she need those?
0:45:41 > 0:45:44LAUGHTER
0:45:49 > 0:45:50A French maid with glasses on!
0:45:53 > 0:45:57- All right, wear your glasses, dear. - I can't put them on. It's only when I read.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00- W-W-Well...- I can't see anything if I put them on now.
0:46:00 > 0:46:01Oh, I see...
0:46:01 > 0:46:04LAUGHTER
0:46:06 > 0:46:10I mean, have we really got research people on this show?!
0:46:12 > 0:46:15A French maid who's called Daphne and blind as a bat!
0:46:18 > 0:46:25Bill meant so much to me because he came along and asked me to do something at such a...
0:46:25 > 0:46:28not a dangerous part of my career, but I was...
0:46:28 > 0:46:30things weren't really happening.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32Bill made me a big star again.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE
0:46:46 > 0:46:51With The Generation Game, Bill had known from the start how to fit the right man with the right show.
0:46:51 > 0:46:56But in the case of one young presenter, finding the right show was less obvious.
0:46:56 > 0:47:01He asked the head of light entertainment at the time to try and find me something to do.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04"Let's find something to do for that poor eejit."
0:47:04 > 0:47:08And so, more out of pity than anything,
0:47:08 > 0:47:11he dug up an idea
0:47:11 > 0:47:15that was called The Match Game in America.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17And Blankety Blank in Australia.
0:47:17 > 0:47:24And we stole the microphone, the long, thin microphone, from America.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26And the title from Australia.
0:47:27 > 0:47:33Back, lest you feel the kiss of cold steel.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36I thought it was your wand!
0:47:36 > 0:47:43And then, under a very talented producer called Alan Boyd, who could put together
0:47:43 > 0:47:47shows like this, and again, had an unerring instinct for what
0:47:47 > 0:47:53would work and what wouldn't, and with Bill Cotton in the background whipping him,
0:47:53 > 0:47:55we actually started Blankety Blank.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59Look at that top row - an example to all of us.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03Oh, do shut up, Terry! I get so embarrassed!
0:48:06 > 0:48:08I've gone all puce!
0:48:10 > 0:48:12- Rushton...- What? - Press your little...
0:48:12 > 0:48:14Oh, technology!
0:48:19 > 0:48:21(What? What?
0:48:21 > 0:48:23(Terry Wogan's a what?)
0:48:23 > 0:48:25LAUGHTER
0:48:25 > 0:48:31For me, Blankety Blank was the first time I felt that I was actually doing television properly.
0:48:31 > 0:48:33Or doing it the way I wanted to do it,
0:48:33 > 0:48:38the way I do the radio, which was in a relaxed, unworried manner, walking and talking at the same
0:48:38 > 0:48:42time, not worrying about whether I'm standing in the correct light.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44It enabled me to be free for the first time on TV.
0:48:44 > 0:48:49"I was trained by Barbara Woodhouse to go walkies.
0:48:49 > 0:48:53"Now every time I go out of the house, I come back with a blank."
0:48:54 > 0:49:00Barbara Woodhouse, trains dogs, you know, to go walkies or sit.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02Sit!
0:49:02 > 0:49:08Sit! It's from here. Sit!
0:49:09 > 0:49:12Mine's from there!
0:49:16 > 0:49:19- That stick thing, that's silly. - You don't think you can bend it, eh?
0:49:19 > 0:49:22Let's have a go. Oh, my God!
0:49:22 > 0:49:24LAUGHTER
0:49:29 > 0:49:32He really had the rapport with...
0:49:32 > 0:49:34unfortunates like me.
0:49:34 > 0:49:38He'd come down on the studio floor and he'd meet people.
0:49:38 > 0:49:43He was friends with everybody that he had promoted.
0:49:43 > 0:49:50Through the 1970s, Bill had created an entertainment machine of unrivalled range and talent.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52It was a tough time for the opposition at ITV.
0:49:52 > 0:50:01The rivalry in those days was even more intense than it is today, particularly at the weekend.
0:50:01 > 0:50:07And Bill understood, therefore, that he would pack the weekend
0:50:07 > 0:50:10with his biggest and best entertainment.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14We used to dominate from 6 o'clock in the evening with The Gen Game
0:50:14 > 0:50:17or Noel, through to Parky at 10 o'clock at night.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20We'd get ten, 11 million people on a Saturday night, following
0:50:20 > 0:50:26the kind of programme he would put before you and after you. It was an extraordinary time to be there.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30I was, at this point, head to head with him at ITV.
0:50:30 > 0:50:35I was running London Weekend and we were only on the air on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday.
0:50:35 > 0:50:40And I took it very personally that he concentrated The Two Ronnies,
0:50:40 > 0:50:44The Generation Game and everything else, all at the weekend.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47I took it very personally, but it was good friendly rivalry.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50And he was very... I never beat him. We could never beat him.
0:50:50 > 0:50:56Bill's light entertainment department continued to ride high in the schedules.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00But there was one show which towered above all others in his empire.
0:51:04 > 0:51:09The biggest event of the year was Morecambe and Wise's Christmas show.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13If we went anywhere, or we saw anything that was funny, he said,
0:51:13 > 0:51:17"We must remember that! Write that down for the Christmas show."
0:51:17 > 0:51:20It got to the stage where people were stopping me in the
0:51:20 > 0:51:25street in October, November, saying, "Who's on? Who have you got?"
0:51:26 > 0:51:29Possibly, with the greatest respect to Her Majesty,
0:51:29 > 0:51:34bigger than the Queen's Christmas message, was Morecambe and Wise's Christmas show.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38You just did not want to miss it, because you knew
0:51:38 > 0:51:41everybody would be talking about it for weeks to come.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44- CRACK! - Let's see... What did we get?- A toy.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48I think there's a motto in it, here. Let's see what it says.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51It says... It's a good one, this.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54- It's a real good one.- Read it out.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57It says, "Professor - can you give me an example of wasted energy?
0:51:57 > 0:52:02"Pupil - yes, sir, telling a hair-raising story to a bald-headed man."
0:52:02 > 0:52:07- LAUGHTER - "Telling a hair-raising story to a bald-headed man!"
0:52:14 > 0:52:16There was one rascally moment, I remember.
0:52:16 > 0:52:22The great secret of Eric and Ernie's Christmas show was what it was going to be about.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26And it was all terribly hush-hush, you know.
0:52:26 > 0:52:27Ron and I were about three floors up.
0:52:27 > 0:52:32When we finished rehearsals, we'd go down. "I wonder if Eric and Ernie are still there."
0:52:32 > 0:52:34We walked down to their rehearsal.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37It was, curiously enough, open, not even locked.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40And all the scripts were lying about on the tables.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44"Oh, look! They're going to do this thing about doggies and puppies!"
0:52:44 > 0:52:46So the secret could easily have been revealed.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48What I'd like to say is this much.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52- I've got quite a surprise for you, something that...- AUDIENCE:- Aw!
0:52:52 > 0:52:54Aw!
0:52:54 > 0:52:57- What?- Well, what's that?
0:52:57 > 0:53:00Ernie, have I ever told you a lie?
0:53:00 > 0:53:02- No, never.- It's a kitten!
0:53:02 > 0:53:04LAUGHTER
0:53:04 > 0:53:06Wouldn't it have been awful if we'd done it?
0:53:12 > 0:53:14God, it's cold.
0:53:14 > 0:53:16It isn't half cold.
0:53:16 > 0:53:21I wonder how long that white-haired old fool is gonna be down there?
0:53:21 > 0:53:24- He's been down there an hour already, you know.- Oh, yes.
0:53:24 > 0:53:26- It's freezing, innit?- It is.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28- You must be in agony.- Oh, I am.
0:53:31 > 0:53:36Don't keep doing that, there's a good chap. It's not nice.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39- What's the matter with him? - It's that reindeer at the back.- Yeah?
0:53:39 > 0:53:41His nose is freezing.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43LAUGHTER
0:53:43 > 0:53:47I think Eric thoroughly enjoyed watching the Christmas shows.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51He was nervous beforehand, a bit, but he was very mellow, because
0:53:51 > 0:53:55by then he'd had his Christmas lunch and a couple of drinks, so everything was fine.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57All the family sitting around him.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59But, em...
0:53:59 > 0:54:03he always laughed ever such a lot at the shows.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05He was a good audience for himself.
0:54:06 > 0:54:11# So I chaffed them and I gaily laughed
0:54:11 > 0:54:14# To think he could doubt...
0:54:19 > 0:54:23# Yet today, my love... #
0:54:23 > 0:54:25SPEECH DROWNED BY LAUGHTER
0:54:37 > 0:54:42There wasn't anything that got the nation talking and watching on Christmas night as Eric and Ernie.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46It was, I don't know, 28, 30 million people watching.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57# ..So I chaffed them and I gaily laughed... #
0:54:57 > 0:54:59You can see Wembley with 100,000 people.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02But 28.5 million?
0:55:02 > 0:55:06No, it's a bit awe-inspiring and scary.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11MUSIC PLAYS
0:55:18 > 0:55:22# Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps... #
0:55:22 > 0:55:23Hey?
0:55:34 > 0:55:37# Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. #
0:55:41 > 0:55:47The BBC years were the highlight of their lives, because the '70s
0:55:47 > 0:55:51was when they really were at the top of their profession.
0:55:51 > 0:55:57Just weeks after the record-breaking Christmas show of 1977, Bill was on a trip to America
0:55:57 > 0:56:02when he heard the news that Morecambe and Wise had signed a contract with ITV.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04It was a bolt from the blue.
0:56:04 > 0:56:10Eric and Ernie, for him, as for the rest of the nation, were...their gods.
0:56:10 > 0:56:14I think when they departed the BBC, Bill was bereft.
0:56:14 > 0:56:18He could not understand, really, what had happened.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24They knew that it would upset the BBC, that they would be a great loss to the BBC.
0:56:24 > 0:56:28But they had been working for them constantly for ten years.
0:56:28 > 0:56:31But they never knew how hard Bill would take it.
0:56:31 > 0:56:35And that did haunt us a bit afterwards, that he should be so upset.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37In fact, he never did quite get over it.
0:56:39 > 0:56:45The couple of times he talked to me about it, he said it was like a bereavement. They were family.
0:56:45 > 0:56:47And we lost somebody from the family.
0:56:51 > 0:56:55Despite his sense of loss, Bill continued his distinguished
0:56:55 > 0:57:02career at the BBC, fulfilling his lifelong ambition to become managing director of television in 1984.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04# Bring me sunshine... #
0:57:04 > 0:57:08But it is for those remarkable years when light entertainment on the BBC
0:57:08 > 0:57:11enthralled the nation, that he will be best remembered.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15- You said we were finishing with that one! - # In this world that we live
0:57:15 > 0:57:18# There should be more happiness
0:57:18 > 0:57:20# So much joy you can give
0:57:20 > 0:57:22# BOTH: To each brand-new bright tomorrow
0:57:22 > 0:57:24# Make me happy... #
0:57:24 > 0:57:27This was the greatest
0:57:27 > 0:57:31impresario of television entertainment that created the golden age.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34It wouldn't have been a golden age without Bill Cotton.
0:57:34 > 0:57:40He leaves a legacy of a period in television that will never be beaten.
0:57:40 > 0:57:47You'll never be able to beat Bill Cotton's time at the BBC.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50I think that in the old hall of fame, he's got prime spot
0:57:50 > 0:57:53in light entertainment as far as I'm concerned.
0:57:53 > 0:57:56You won't find anybody
0:57:56 > 0:58:01anywhere who didn't love him, who didn't have an enormous affection for him.
0:58:01 > 0:58:05Because was a most affectionate, warm and lovely man.
0:58:05 > 0:58:07And if anybody
0:58:07 > 0:58:12epitomised the spirit of the BBC that I know and love -
0:58:12 > 0:58:14Bill Cotton.
0:58:19 > 0:58:21LAUGHTER
0:58:42 > 0:58:44Dignity at all times!