0:00:02 > 0:00:04- The camera's over there.- Oh, is it?
0:00:07 > 0:00:09Morecambe and Wise were
0:00:09 > 0:00:12one of the best loved comedy acts in British television history.
0:00:12 > 0:00:13We're a partnership, aren't we?
0:00:13 > 0:00:14So, so, so.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16On the jaw!
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Their on-screen chemistry took them to the top of their profession.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24I'm going home, thank you very much!
0:00:28 > 0:00:31PROJECTOR WHIRS
0:00:34 > 0:00:36But less well known
0:00:36 > 0:00:37is that their remarkable journey was
0:00:37 > 0:00:39chronicled by home movie footage that
0:00:39 > 0:00:41Eric and Ernie filmed themselves.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50Shot in the 1950s and '60s,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Morecambe and Wise's lost films recorded their lives off-screen.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Whether it was their friendship...
0:00:57 > 0:00:58..their life at home...
0:01:00 > 0:01:02..or their travels around the world.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Its archive kept by their wives and families for decades.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Most of it unseen by the people Eric and Ernie filmed.
0:01:13 > 0:01:14Until now.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19I've never seen this footage before.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21And this is absolutely amazing!
0:01:24 > 0:01:29Remarkable clips that captured comedy history in the making.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30That's it, that's it!
0:01:30 > 0:01:35- That's it!- That's fantastic!
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Oh, it's brought tears to my eyes now.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55Throughout their 40 year career,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Eric and Ernie meticulously recorded their lives in show business.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02From photographs, to audio recordings,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05programmes of the first shows they played together,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08to tickets from their travels around the world.
0:02:08 > 0:02:09Everything was kept.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17But the most incredible items in their treasure trove of mementos,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20are dozens of reels of home movie footage
0:02:20 > 0:02:23rediscovered earlier this year,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25most of them belonging to Eric Morecambe.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36It's just marvellous really to see it again, isn't it?
0:02:36 > 0:02:38- Isn't it fabulous?- Yes. - Absolutely fabulous.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43For the first time Eric's wife, Joan,
0:02:43 > 0:02:45and their children Gail and Gary,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48can watch the amazing footage that has been left behind.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55I had long forgotten and it was a complete shock to me
0:02:55 > 0:02:58to find that there was so much footage.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02Because now it's fantastic that he took so much stuff.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Absolutely extraordinary!
0:03:10 > 0:03:11My dad's in this!
0:03:12 > 0:03:14You can see him being mischievous already.
0:03:14 > 0:03:20- Dad, can't you?- He just always had this twinkle in his eye, didn't he?
0:03:20 > 0:03:22What's he eating?
0:03:22 > 0:03:23Peanuts, I think.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31I can remember I used to have to
0:03:31 > 0:03:34- carry all the things that went with the camera.- Yes.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36- I was always the one carrying the camera.- Your job!
0:03:38 > 0:03:42You know, isn't it funny with Dad, and all the filming that he did,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46I don't ever remember seeing him get the camera out.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49I don't remember ever being told
0:03:49 > 0:03:51that we were about to be filmed.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01It was very much just normal family life that he wanted to capture.
0:04:03 > 0:04:09Eric Bartholomew and Ernest Wiseman met as teenagers in 1939.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Within two years, they had formed a double act.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16By the early 1950s, the newly named Morecambe and Wise
0:04:16 > 0:04:18were regulars on the variety circuit.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20What are you going to call yourself?
0:04:20 > 0:04:21How about Elsie?
0:04:24 > 0:04:28But this young duo were about to become a foursome,
0:04:28 > 0:04:33their home movies recording the start of two lifelong love stories,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36beginning in 1952, when Eric met beauty queen and actress,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Joan Bartlett, at a theatre in Edinburgh.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43I met Eric purely by accident.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Because someone had dropped out of a show,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48so I went up on the train to join it.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50And yeah, so that was how it happened, you know?
0:04:55 > 0:04:57Eric met me and said to Ernie,
0:04:57 > 0:04:59"That's the girl I'm going to marry."
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Which I'm sure nobody believed but actually it was perfectly true.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08After that it was all a bit whirlwind,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11and he was determined he was going to get married
0:05:11 > 0:05:13and we were married, you know, a year later.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Ah, Mum and Dad.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23I mean, it's just extraordinary, their relationship, I think.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30He totally admired her.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33He always thought she was the most beautiful thing that he'd ever seen.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36He had her right up on a pedestal,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38and I do say quite rightly,
0:05:38 > 0:05:39that she was on this pedestal
0:05:39 > 0:05:42because she was remarkable.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52Dad always knew that Mum was fundamental to his success.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54"Without your mother,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56"we'd have none of this," he'd say.
0:06:01 > 0:06:02He was romantic but...
0:06:02 > 0:06:05..he wasn't soppy, you know?
0:06:05 > 0:06:09Although mind you, having said that, we used to send each other cards.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11They're somewhere here and I'm hoping my family don't find them
0:06:11 > 0:06:15before I find them, because...
0:06:15 > 0:06:17..they were very personal to us.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Eric had met the perfect partner in Joan.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Meanwhile, Ernie's earliest home movie films
0:06:26 > 0:06:29show the love of his life, dancer Doreen Blythe.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Ernie and Doreen had been sort of
0:06:32 > 0:06:36been going together on and off for about seven years, a long time.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39But he never actually reached the point of marrying.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47I think it was really Eric so suddenly marrying me.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50So I think then that did spur Ernie on.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58So they did, they married about a week later.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Ernie and Doreen were the perfect couple.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06And they got on well together.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08They never had an argument.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10And she was lovely, she helped him.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15She was the backroom person that sent him off to work happily.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Early on in their marriage,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26the couple decided that they wouldn't have children
0:07:26 > 0:07:30and Doreen devoted herself to life on the road with her new husband.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Doreen was very keen that she should always travel with Ernie.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39Ernie really did rely on Doreen almost completely,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42so it seemed to work fine for them, you know.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46And they did travel an awful lot and they made the most of it.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55I think they've been all over the world.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58So a great, great life for them.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Ernie took his camera on every trip,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08each foreign adventure captured on celluloid.
0:08:13 > 0:08:14Meanwhile, Eric would use his
0:08:14 > 0:08:17to record the very beginnings of family life.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Married life really, it was very difficult at the beginning.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Because Eric went straight into pantomime,
0:08:28 > 0:08:30and we never bargained on the fact
0:08:30 > 0:08:33that I was going to fall pregnant right away.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43Ernie was the natural choice as godfather to Eric's daughter Gail,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46a role he took to with typical humour.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Despite performing both evenings and matinees,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Eric revelled in his role as a new father,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02spending as much time as possible with his little girl.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06ALL: Aww...
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Eric took so many pictures of Gail.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13All the time, he was taking pictures of her.
0:09:13 > 0:09:14Isn't that lovely?
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Isn't she a bonnie baby?
0:09:16 > 0:09:17Certainly had cheeks!
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Well, I think we both so doted on Gail.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Just absolutely idolised this little baby.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35But there again terribly hard.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37We didn't always have hot running water,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40I can remember having to light a boiler to get hot water
0:09:40 > 0:09:43and having to do that about six o'clock in the morning, you know?
0:09:45 > 0:09:49I can remember bathing her originally in like a tin bath.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51Yes, not the height of luxury,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54but somehow you just accepted it as the way things were.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57You didn't complain, you know, you just got on with it.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Eric Morecambe's earliest home movie
0:10:02 > 0:10:05footage coincides with the arrival of Gail.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07But he also took his new camera to work.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17In December 1953, a year before
0:10:17 > 0:10:20they made their television debut,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24Morecambe and Wise were booked to appear at the Sheffield Lyceum,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26playing the robbers in the pantomime Babes In The Wood.
0:10:28 > 0:10:29This footage is now the earliest
0:10:29 > 0:10:31known moving images of Eric and Ernie.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Co-star and comedian, Stan Stennett,
0:10:40 > 0:10:41shared the duo's love of home movies
0:10:41 > 0:10:43and filmed the pair with Eric's camera,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45while they were on stage.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50In the '50s, it was all about cine cameras.
0:10:50 > 0:10:51It was the in thing.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54And, of course, you've got to remember as well,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Eric and Ernie were brought up on going to the cinema.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01So the idea that you could actually have your own cine film,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05meant that you could obviously see your family growing up
0:11:05 > 0:11:09and your holidays and, in this case, pantomime seasons.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13This is absolutely wonderful footage from a real bygone age.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21That is the most astonishing thing I've seen.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Because normally when you see pantomime footage,
0:11:25 > 0:11:26it's usually Pathe news.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33To see Freddie Sales, the dame, making up.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37He's doing it privately for Eric, he's just doing a silly little skit.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39That's a piece of treasure
0:11:39 > 0:11:43which I do hope ends up preserved for eternity.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58Playing the parts of the Babes in Sheffield
0:11:58 > 0:12:01alongside Morecambe and Wise were two local girls.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Yvonne Saunderson and Valerie Spedding.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10We first met Eric and Ernie at the first rehearsal.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12We were watching very hesitantly,
0:12:12 > 0:12:13Yvonne and I,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15Sort of, edging each other thinking,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17"this is it".
0:12:20 > 0:12:22It was very difficult
0:12:22 > 0:12:23not to start laughing
0:12:23 > 0:12:25when Eric and Ernie
0:12:25 > 0:12:27started telling jokes.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30You know, they would say stupid things to us.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Try and make us laugh but we wouldn't.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Because it was a serious scene.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36And we were crying.
0:12:36 > 0:12:37When we were lost in the woods.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44When they really got famous,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48you could brag and say "I worked with them."
0:12:48 > 0:12:50And it was a wonderful feeling!
0:12:50 > 0:12:53And some people would say, "Oh, you haven't."
0:12:53 > 0:12:55But I did. And that's the difference.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Over 60 years have passed
0:13:00 > 0:13:03since Valerie and Yvonne worked with Morecambe and Wise.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09The Sheffield Babes lost touch after the production.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11But today, they're meeting again
0:13:11 > 0:13:14on the very stage they shared with Eric and Ernie.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25- It's a dream come true, isn't it? - It is.
0:13:27 > 0:13:28I think I'm going to cry...!
0:13:28 > 0:13:29Oh, it's fantastic.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39To be back in this wonderful theatre.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Do you remember the time when I lost my voice?
0:13:42 > 0:13:45- Yeah.- He stood at the front, did Morecambe and Wise,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48but Morecambe was saying, "I've had enough!"
0:13:48 > 0:13:51And he stands in front and he goes, "white lights!"
0:13:51 > 0:13:52He gets all the lights on.
0:13:52 > 0:13:53- Do you remember?- Fully, yeah.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55And he got them all looking under the seats.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58They don't know what they're looking for.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01And they looked under the seats and he says, "I'm sick of it!
0:14:01 > 0:14:04"She said she's lost her voice and we can't find it anywhere!"
0:14:04 > 0:14:06- I know, I know!- And that has always stayed with me!
0:14:14 > 0:14:15Just, here.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19It's... That's all you can say.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23It just takes your breath away.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25And it's all the memories now.
0:14:25 > 0:14:26- Yes.- I can be stood there
0:14:26 > 0:14:29waiting for Morecambe and Wise to come to us.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35It's just brought it all back.
0:14:35 > 0:14:36All back.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42After 63 years, oh...
0:14:42 > 0:14:43Will you shut up about that?
0:14:45 > 0:14:50The cine film has left an incredible record of the 1953 pantomime.
0:14:51 > 0:14:52Now, for the first time...
0:14:52 > 0:14:53We're on!
0:14:53 > 0:14:56..Valerie and Yvonne can see themselves
0:14:56 > 0:14:58on stage with Eric and Ernie.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00- Oh, there he is.- Yes.
0:15:00 > 0:15:01- Ernie.- Ernie.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Upsy-daisy.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15- That's it! That's it. - There we are!
0:15:15 > 0:15:16That's it.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19That's fantastic!
0:15:24 > 0:15:26Oh, it's brought tears to my eyes now.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41- Oh, doesn't it seem strange watching it now?- Yeah.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Oh, that's wonderful. You know,
0:15:50 > 0:15:51never in this lifetime would you
0:15:51 > 0:15:54think to come back all these years and see something like that.
0:15:54 > 0:15:55- I know. Yeah.- Would you? Never.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57No. No.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02This was the only time Valerie and Yvonne would work
0:16:02 > 0:16:04with Morecambe and Wise.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06The pantomime would prove
0:16:06 > 0:16:08a key booking for Eric and Ernie each year,
0:16:08 > 0:16:12working as part of a team, both on and off stage.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20Stan Stennet.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23And Dad without his glasses.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25Looking a bit blind.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27On the wing. He used to play left wing.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36Charity football matches between theatres
0:16:36 > 0:16:38were quite common in the '50s,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41and my dad, being a big, big football fan,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43he would've obviously made sure there was
0:16:43 > 0:16:45a Babes In The Wood football team,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48and they would challenge then another local theatre
0:16:48 > 0:16:52to play a game on a Sunday when obviously everybody had the day off.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00Look this. This is real, real football.
0:17:00 > 0:17:01Look, he's really got into it.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03- Yeah.- Whoa.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05He's the one with the red socks.
0:17:05 > 0:17:06Yeah.
0:17:07 > 0:17:08Oh, good cross.
0:17:08 > 0:17:09Yeah, he's quite good, isn't he?
0:17:14 > 0:17:16The football matches,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18they were all big social occasions.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21And you met the other members
0:17:21 > 0:17:23of the show business family.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Your show business family.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28We were like, we were like brothers and sisters.
0:17:28 > 0:17:29They were very good, good fun.
0:17:29 > 0:17:30Good fun.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36Do you think - not think that you were filming this?
0:17:36 > 0:17:39- You were probably filming this. - Somebody else must be filming.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Well, I did have to film because I got shouted off,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43I was going on the pitch.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45And they were saying, "Get off, get off the pitch!"
0:17:45 > 0:17:49So I evidently got carried away.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51- Filming.- And ending up in there.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54- I got shouted at to get off the pitch.- That's hilarious.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04I once said to him, "Did you ever
0:18:04 > 0:18:06"consider being a professional footballer?"
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Because his dad was supposed to have been.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13- Yes.- And they were all very sporty on his father's side.
0:18:13 > 0:18:14And he just look to me and he said...
0:18:15 > 0:18:17"Two problems, Gail.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19"Both feet."
0:18:20 > 0:18:22So he clearly didn't think he was very good.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24He didn't think he could make it, yeah.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26No, he wasn't into that league, I don't think.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31A great fan of the beautiful game,
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Eric was in his element on the pitch.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41In the 1950s, Eric and Ernie's winters were taken up by panto.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44But the spring heralded the beginning
0:18:44 > 0:18:47of another vital part of their working lives.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51And wherever they went, their cameras went with them.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54If a variety house has got a good summer season, and the pantomime...
0:18:55 > 0:18:58..you were having a wonderful year.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02The summer season, it'd start in April or May and finish in November.
0:19:02 > 0:19:03A long, long season.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11It's hard to appreciate what a special thing
0:19:11 > 0:19:12summer season was.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14Not just for the punters
0:19:14 > 0:19:16but also for the performers.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19The British seaside was booming back then.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22In those days, they had what they called Wakes weeks,
0:19:22 > 0:19:26when a town or city would just close down for the week
0:19:26 > 0:19:28and everybody would go on holiday.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34We did enjoy summer seasons very much.
0:19:34 > 0:19:39But once I had children of school-age...
0:19:39 > 0:19:43..it became a case of Eric would go down to wherever it was,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46and then when the children broke out from school,
0:19:46 > 0:19:47I had a little car of my own,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50and I would drive them down and that was lovely.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58The summer seasons were very important in our lives as kids,
0:19:58 > 0:19:59for Gail and I definitely.
0:19:59 > 0:20:00It became more of a
0:20:00 > 0:20:02family holiday, funny enough.
0:20:02 > 0:20:03My father could actually
0:20:03 > 0:20:05join in the fun of it
0:20:05 > 0:20:07and then just do that nasty business around about six o'clock
0:20:07 > 0:20:10where he had to go and do a show, and then come back.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16But for us as a family unit,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19we just simply transplanted ourselves
0:20:19 > 0:20:22from a home to another home and it was all rather fun, really.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Funny thing was with Eric and Ernie, was that in the '50s,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34they were not household names in the way that we think of comics today.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37But actually, for the course of that summer,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39they would really be in the spotlight.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41And they would be expected not just to perform in the show,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43but to get out and sell the show.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51Certainly, both Eric and Ernie,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55they got roped in for judging beauty competitions.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57And you always had that.
0:20:57 > 0:20:58That was a feature of the seaside.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Look at the high heels with the swimming costume.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04That's hilarious.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Little would they know that we're sitting here
0:21:12 > 0:21:14- watching them in their youth. - No, I know.
0:21:14 > 0:21:15Yeah, yeah.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21One of the very nice things was when
0:21:21 > 0:21:23there was a huge garden party
0:21:23 > 0:21:26and all the showbiz people working in Blackpool,
0:21:26 > 0:21:28and there were many,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31they would all go to the garden party.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38It was a chance to meet all your friends, all the other turns.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43A chance to look at the stars and say, "Wow, she's beautiful."
0:21:43 > 0:21:45There was a chance to see all the big names.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48So, yeah, it was a great social occasion.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56In 1958, four years after their
0:21:56 > 0:21:59first attempt at television had failed,
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Eric and Ernie were appearing in summer season
0:22:01 > 0:22:04at the Morecambe Winter Gardens.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06On the bill was a spectacular line-up,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09featuring stars of stage, radio and television.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Joining them in the chorus was an 18-year-old dancer,
0:22:16 > 0:22:18who would soon have Eric and Joan to thank
0:22:18 > 0:22:20for a key turning point in her life.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26We were very fond of Fiona Castle
0:22:26 > 0:22:28and we sort of took her under our wing a bit.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31And then of course it was Eric and I - well, Eric mainly,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34that introduced Fiona to Roy Castle.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41It was one of those weekends when I was staying with them,
0:22:41 > 0:22:43and Roy happened to come on the television.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47I thought he was so brilliant, so in a silly moment, I said to Eric,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50"If ever you do a show with Roy Castle, can I come along?
0:22:50 > 0:22:53"Because I'd love to meet him. I think he's so talented."
0:22:53 > 0:22:55And all I got was, "Oh, all right, love."
0:23:00 > 0:23:04And it was probably two or three years later,
0:23:04 > 0:23:06and Eric rang me at the theatre and said,
0:23:06 > 0:23:08"Hey I'm doing a television with Roy, do you want to come along?
0:23:08 > 0:23:10"It's on Sunday."
0:23:10 > 0:23:14And so I went with Eric's wife, with Joan,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16and Eric took me into Roy's dressing room
0:23:16 > 0:23:18and I was so excited about this.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23And it was the worst moment of my life, because Eric just said,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26"Roy, this is Fiona, she's in love with you,"
0:23:26 > 0:23:29and then left. Thank you, Eric.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33We got married a year later
0:23:33 > 0:23:37and Eric felt so responsible for what he had done,
0:23:37 > 0:23:39that he used to ring us every month
0:23:39 > 0:23:42to make sure we were still speaking to one another.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50It's been over five decades since the summer season
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Fiona shared with Eric and Ernie in this theatre.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11This brings back so many memories from such a long time ago.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14It's nearly 60 years since I was here.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20'We always share 50/50.
0:24:20 > 0:24:21'We haven't got 50, we've got one.'
0:24:24 > 0:24:26They were very well known in those days,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28but it was before they became
0:24:28 > 0:24:30very famous with lots of television shows.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32'Why don't you come on at the same time as me,
0:24:32 > 0:24:34'and then you'll know what I'm talking about?
0:24:34 > 0:24:35'Don't have to keep repeating it.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39'But you've got those short fat little hairy legs that go like that.'
0:24:39 > 0:24:43There was always a wonderful chemistry between Eric and Ernie.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46They seemed to know what they were
0:24:46 > 0:24:49both capable of doing in different ways.
0:24:49 > 0:24:50They were brilliant.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Two shows a night, six days a week.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Time off was rare.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06But on one occasion, the company
0:25:06 > 0:25:08took the trip together to Keswick in the Lake District,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11all filmed by Eric on his cine camera.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Oh, my goodness.
0:25:21 > 0:25:22That's me.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Was I ever that young?
0:25:32 > 0:25:34I've never seen this footage before
0:25:34 > 0:25:36and this is absolutely amazing.
0:25:41 > 0:25:46We all went out for a day as a sort of treat, the whole company.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51It was very special in those days to do anything that was
0:25:51 > 0:25:55not just the work that we had to do, so it was lovely.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01There's Ernie pretending to be the driver of the bus.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05There we were, the old dancers, there at the back.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12There's Joan. I can see her.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15Semprini making a fool of himself.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Some lovely memories.
0:26:27 > 0:26:28But Eric and Ernie's double act
0:26:28 > 0:26:30was soon to be seen in sunnier climes than
0:26:30 > 0:26:32the seaside towns of northern England.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36In 1958, with their television careers
0:26:36 > 0:26:38already seemingly behind them,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42Morecambe and Wise took their comedy and their cameras
0:26:42 > 0:26:43to the other side of the world.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52Oh, look at this.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Is that Sydney Harbour Bridge?
0:26:56 > 0:26:59- He did six months away. - Away for six months, yeah.
0:26:59 > 0:27:00Three months in Sydney, was it?
0:27:00 > 0:27:04- And three months in Melbourne.- Yeah.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12A telegram come from Eric and Ernie's agent.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16And I think they were in a sort of a bit of a dilemma over their future,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19but then that came, and of course that was like...
0:27:21 > 0:27:22..pennies from heaven.
0:27:22 > 0:27:23That was extraordinary.
0:27:23 > 0:27:28And to go to Australia, I mean, you know, the other side of the world.
0:27:34 > 0:27:35Trip of a lifetime.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38We would never have been able to go there otherwise,
0:27:38 > 0:27:40if it wasn't that work took us there.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42But it was a mixed blessing for you, wasn't it?
0:27:42 > 0:27:46Because you did find it difficult to leave Gary and I.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48At first I wouldn't go, and Eric said,
0:27:48 > 0:27:50"Well, if you don't come, I don't go.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52"We don't do the work."
0:27:52 > 0:27:53So you're put on the spot then, you know.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00I was very upset, and also, you know, on the mobile phone,
0:28:00 > 0:28:02you'd always be in touch,
0:28:02 > 0:28:04but then we used to have an arrangement
0:28:04 > 0:28:06whereby we rang at a certain time,
0:28:06 > 0:28:08to be able to have a quick word with you.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14A postcard sent by Joan to Gail from San Francisco reads,
0:28:14 > 0:28:16"I'm glad we didn't bring you, dear,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18"as it feels like we've been travelling for weeks
0:28:18 > 0:28:21"and are still only halfway to Australia.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24"We're at the airport now, waiting for a plane to Honolulu
0:28:24 > 0:28:26"and it is late at night.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28"We do miss our two lovely children.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31"Hope you're looking after Gary for me, dear."
0:28:31 > 0:28:36I had a fantastic six months with my grandparents.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39And I remember that I had a dress
0:28:39 > 0:28:43which my grandmother had said I couldn't wear
0:28:43 > 0:28:46because they were going to keep it.
0:28:46 > 0:28:47It was going to be very special
0:28:47 > 0:28:51and I could wear it when Mum and Dad came back.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54And this particular day, she said
0:28:54 > 0:28:56"Gail, do you want to go and try that dress on?
0:28:56 > 0:28:58"Let's see if it still fits."
0:28:58 > 0:28:59And I went and put the dress on
0:28:59 > 0:29:02and what feels like not very long afterwards,
0:29:02 > 0:29:04Mum and Dad walked in through the front door.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11I could've wept when I came back and thought,
0:29:11 > 0:29:15"They've grown that amount since I've been gone," you know.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21Before the tour began,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24Eric and Ernie treated themselves to brand-new Super 8 cameras.
0:29:26 > 0:29:27The home movie footage shot by the pair
0:29:27 > 0:29:30documents their extraordinary trip around the world
0:29:30 > 0:29:33in an age when foreign travel was a luxury.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42You dressed up to go on a plane then.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46Now, everyone puts on something for comfort.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48An old pair of jeans or something, but you dressed up.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51You were going on a flight, so you put your nice clothes,
0:29:51 > 0:29:52your smart clothes on.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00Eric was very excited about going abroad and working abroad.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03Slightly nervous as to how they would do, but no, actually,
0:30:03 > 0:30:07they were welcomed, you know, like royalty.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16- Look at that, Mum. - Incredible, isn't it?
0:30:16 > 0:30:18It's beautiful, isn't it?
0:30:21 > 0:30:22This is a Test match, isn't it?
0:30:22 > 0:30:24In Australia.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26- Oh, wow.- Yeah, that's a Test match.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28We got hooked on it.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30We went more or less every day.
0:30:30 > 0:30:31To watch cricket?
0:30:31 > 0:30:33Yeah, absolutely got hooked on it.
0:30:33 > 0:30:34Got so excited with it.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37Really? And this was a Test match, was it?
0:30:37 > 0:30:38- A Test match.- So the days when
0:30:38 > 0:30:40- Richie Benaud was playing for Australia.- Wow.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44We had half of the England side
0:30:44 > 0:30:47back to our flat.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49- Wow.- And cooked them roast turkey.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51You're amazing.
0:30:51 > 0:30:52So I presume it must've been Christmas.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55I don't know. But all I know is I cooked them a roast turkey dinner.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04On their journey home from their Australian tour,
0:31:04 > 0:31:08Eric and Joan and Ernie and Doreen took in the sights of New Zealand,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11Fiji, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
0:31:17 > 0:31:22It's only through Eric and Ernie's work that we got the chance.
0:31:22 > 0:31:23We would never in our lifetime
0:31:23 > 0:31:26have had the chance to go abroad like that, you know.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30So we had a lot to be grateful for.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33And we certainly made the most of it.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35We really did.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40Not many young men who have been
0:31:40 > 0:31:43brought up in very humble backgrounds
0:31:43 > 0:31:45end up sort of seeing the world.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47- Yes.- Yeah.- You know, Australia, New York, everywhere.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50Well, it's nice to know that I've done it all.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02Within two years of their trip to the other side of the world,
0:32:02 > 0:32:04Morecambe and Wise were back on TV
0:32:04 > 0:32:06with their first series for ITV,
0:32:06 > 0:32:08Two Of A Kind.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13- You are a funny man, aren't you? - I am, yes. I'm very tall as well.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15- Yes.- Feet are on the floor, you know.- Are they?
0:32:19 > 0:32:23But they harboured even more ambitious plans -
0:32:23 > 0:32:24to become stars in America.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33During the 1960s, Eric and Ernie, along with their wives and cameras,
0:32:33 > 0:32:36made regular trips across the Atlantic to appear on the nation's
0:32:36 > 0:32:38most-watched entertainment series...
0:32:39 > 0:32:40..The Ed Sullivan Show.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51Ed Sullivan was the host of this huge show in America.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53If you got an offer from Ed Sullivan,
0:32:53 > 0:32:55you didn't turn it down.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01He was over here looking for talent to take to America.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03He was always looking for new faces.
0:33:03 > 0:33:09And it was him that said to Eric and Ernie, "You know,
0:33:09 > 0:33:12"would you like to come over and work in America?"
0:33:14 > 0:33:16Morecambe and Wise would appear on
0:33:16 > 0:33:18The Ed Sullivan Show a dozen times over five years,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21stopping off for holidays on their way back from New York.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29It was very exciting, very different, terribly noisy.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32We did do sightseeing stuff, which was lovely.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44Actually seeing the home movies and seeing all the different places that
0:33:44 > 0:33:46they went to,
0:33:46 > 0:33:48that's actually quite an eye-opener for me,
0:33:48 > 0:33:51because as a child, your parents have gone away.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53You've gone to live with somebody else.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55You don't actually think about what they're doing.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59And now I look at it and I think, "My goodness me."
0:33:59 > 0:34:02I mean, they did see a huge amount of the world.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10The glamour of those days when you look at that footage of New York,
0:34:10 > 0:34:11it's unreal, isn't it?
0:34:11 > 0:34:13All these big coats and scarves and hats
0:34:13 > 0:34:15and it's just extraordinary, yeah.
0:34:15 > 0:34:16A real time gone.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21But despite their many visits,
0:34:21 > 0:34:25Morecambe and Wise's breakthrough in America proved evasive,
0:34:25 > 0:34:28leaving Eric and Ernie with opposing views on the next of their career.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Ernie always wanted to make it in the States.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36As a kid, he was described as the next Mickey Rooney,
0:34:36 > 0:34:38and he had a dream of becoming that.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41And for him, going on the Ed Sullivan Show,
0:34:41 > 0:34:44going to America, was all his dreams come true.
0:34:44 > 0:34:45Eric wasn't so keen.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50- GAIL:- His view was, they'd worked
0:34:50 > 0:34:54extremely hard to get it to a point where
0:34:54 > 0:34:57it was really beginning to take off in this country, you know,
0:34:57 > 0:35:00why would they want to start all over again somewhere else?
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Conquering America proved the only difference of ambition
0:35:04 > 0:35:07Eric and Ernie would have during their whole career.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10But even so, their friendship never faltered.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13The relationship between those two men,
0:35:13 > 0:35:15there was a great affection,
0:35:15 > 0:35:17but Eric was always saying, "He's not the best
0:35:17 > 0:35:18"straight man in the business.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20"Best one I'll ever have."
0:35:20 > 0:35:23He was always making remarks like that in front of Ernie.
0:35:23 > 0:35:24It was lovely.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29Dad and Ernie always looked so happy.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31Yeah. Always smiling and always laughing.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Ernie always laughed at everything Eric did,
0:35:35 > 0:35:38and Eric always laughed at everything Ernie did,
0:35:38 > 0:35:39so they were great,
0:35:39 > 0:35:43you know, a great appreciative society among themselves.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45They both appreciated each other's work.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49And they were closer than brothers.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53For me, seeing the footage of Eric and Ernie,
0:35:53 > 0:35:55I didn't realise just how close it all was,
0:35:55 > 0:35:57and that they were just laughing constantly.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03Their relationship was just phenomenal.
0:36:03 > 0:36:04Absolutely phenomenal.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07I find it very moving, actually, with the footage,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10because of seeing them so young, you know, these are guys in their 20s,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13early 30s, and already on an amazing journey,
0:36:13 > 0:36:16to be honest and a long way to go yet.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19But just seeing them having fun doing it.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21- BARRY CRYER:- Their relationship off-screen.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23They had separate lives.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26People thought they lived in each other's pockets.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29And they both said, "No, we don't want that."
0:36:31 > 0:36:33They led very different lives, these old friends.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44Ernie's home movies show another side to the showman onstage.
0:36:46 > 0:36:47At home in Peterborough,
0:36:47 > 0:36:49he enjoyed a simple life with his wife and his dog.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Ernie was completely different offstage to when he was on.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59When he was at home, he liked to be, you know,
0:36:59 > 0:37:01just quiet and do what he wanted
0:37:01 > 0:37:03and do some reading and then go on his boat
0:37:03 > 0:37:04and that sort of thing.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15He was a man that had a life...
0:37:16 > 0:37:18..apart from show business.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20He would enjoy himself...
0:37:21 > 0:37:22..with the rest of us.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33Ernie was very friendly, most affable.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37He was just, what you saw, you got.
0:37:37 > 0:37:38He used to walk up and down the street,
0:37:38 > 0:37:40signing autographs and
0:37:40 > 0:37:44he was switched off from being on the stage.
0:37:50 > 0:37:55He would never turn down anybody for an autograph or a picture.
0:37:55 > 0:37:56He was a lovely man.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02Ernie was not an extrovert.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09He would be quite quiet and come to life when somebody spoke to him,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12but Ernie wasn't a man going,
0:38:12 > 0:38:14you know, "It's me, Ernie Wise.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16"You know who I am." No, not remotely.
0:38:21 > 0:38:26Ernie was very, was a very astute personality and mind.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32It was always a pleasure to be with and work with.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45That's Ted and Doreen, yep.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51This was Steven's christening.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53That's right, Steven's christening.
0:38:53 > 0:38:54And, of course, Ernie was godfather.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59Jackie Hockridge and her husband Edmund
0:38:59 > 0:39:03had met Ernie during summer season in Torquay in 1961.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06They became lifelong friends and next-door neighbours.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13Ernie was responsible for getting us here.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17We were saying that we were looking for a house and Ernie said,
0:39:17 > 0:39:19"Well, there's a lovely house going next-door."
0:39:19 > 0:39:22And I said, "Oh, we don't know anything about Peterborough.
0:39:22 > 0:39:23"I don't know about that." And he said,
0:39:23 > 0:39:25"Why don't you come and spend a weekend?"
0:39:25 > 0:39:28So we went and spent the weekend with them
0:39:28 > 0:39:30and we went out to supper that night,
0:39:30 > 0:39:32and the guy burst into the restaurant and said,
0:39:32 > 0:39:34"I accept your offer."
0:39:34 > 0:39:35And we said, "What offer?"
0:39:36 > 0:39:40Ernie had evidently been in and said we'd pay so and so and such and such
0:39:40 > 0:39:42a thing, unbeknownst to us,
0:39:42 > 0:39:44and we went back to Manchester, thinking,
0:39:44 > 0:39:48"Wow, we've bought house in Peterborough."
0:39:50 > 0:39:53He was so funny, Ernie, because he was so proud of his cars.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56And the one thing we'd say is "Oh, he's washing his car again."
0:40:02 > 0:40:04Well, we used to have an occasional party here
0:40:04 > 0:40:06and so did Doreen and Ernie.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09We used to go into each other's houses for dinner
0:40:09 > 0:40:11or something like that, just for a bit of fun.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13There were times when we'd have a party and
0:40:13 > 0:40:16Doreen used to be a dancer and I used to be a dancer,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19so we used to have a dance around, just impromptu, you know.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22It was always a lot of fun, of course, yeah.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27It's lovely to see it, actually, it is.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29Oh, goodness me.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40While Ernie enjoyed life in suburban Peterborough,
0:40:40 > 0:40:44Eric's family movies shot at home in Hertfordshire reveal a quieter side
0:40:44 > 0:40:46to the more extrovert of the pair.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48A side he shared with his son Steven,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51who the Morecambes adopted in 1973.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59We both had a passion for trout fishing
0:40:59 > 0:41:03and we spent many a time down on the River Test.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08We'd go out for the whole day.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12We had some really good quality times, the father and son times.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14And he enjoyed it.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17He really did. You could see it in him that he was totally relaxed.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22He liked the peace and quiet.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25I mean, the house here is situated in the countryside.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29He would sit here with binoculars, bird watching.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32He got really quite good at identifying all the birds.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36Then we would walk, do the slow walk across the farmland,
0:41:36 > 0:41:38where he could see more birds and everything, so yeah,
0:41:38 > 0:41:41it was just his time to take it easier.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47I think he really enjoyed taking photos, you know, taking stills.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50And that I do remember more as a child,
0:41:50 > 0:41:52this constant having to pose for a photo.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01Then you'd say, "Well, let's take one of you," and he'd say,
0:42:01 > 0:42:03"OK, just a minute."
0:42:03 > 0:42:04He'd find a false moustache,
0:42:04 > 0:42:06and he put a tea cosy on his head
0:42:06 > 0:42:08and he'd stand there and he had,
0:42:08 > 0:42:10in one of them he had the china chicken,
0:42:10 > 0:42:12just standing there smiling.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15You'd think, "I only wanted to take a picture of you. Just as you are."
0:42:15 > 0:42:17I don't think I got any of him just being normal.
0:42:21 > 0:42:22Even offstage, Eric Morecambe
0:42:22 > 0:42:26could never stifle the entertainer in himself for long.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28At home, his children and their friends
0:42:28 > 0:42:29proved the perfect audience.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37My father, when he was around children...
0:42:38 > 0:42:42..it just brought out the seven-year-old in him.
0:42:46 > 0:42:50It is honestly true that in the summer,
0:42:50 > 0:42:53there would be a knock at the door, after tea in the evening...
0:42:54 > 0:42:55..and there'd be a child there.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00"Is Mr Bartholomew playing tonight?"
0:43:00 > 0:43:03And we played hours and hours.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10And all my friends would come to play with him...
0:43:12 > 0:43:14..which is extraordinary.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16I don't think I realised it at the time.
0:43:16 > 0:43:17I might not have liked it at the time,
0:43:17 > 0:43:20but now I realise completely that
0:43:20 > 0:43:22the entertainment was playing with Dad.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32My father loved it when all the kids
0:43:32 > 0:43:35in the area got together and went off on bikes.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41He'd want to sort of join in, really, and just be a child himself.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54What I hadn't anticipated is he'd still be like that
0:43:54 > 0:43:55when I was in my 20s.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58He was still kind of wanting to join in.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01And that's lovely. And they're my greatest memories.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08Neighbours and childhood friends of Gary and Gail
0:44:08 > 0:44:11were Erika and Amanda Kilburn.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14They grew up around Eric's playfulness and great sense of fun.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18And alongside his own children, he often filmed their adventures.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23We were about three houses away,
0:44:23 > 0:44:24and of course as kids,
0:44:24 > 0:44:26you want to play with other kids in the neighbourhood.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29So we ended up going down to the Morecambes
0:44:29 > 0:44:31and meeting Eric and Joan,
0:44:31 > 0:44:34whom we called Mr and Mrs Bartholomew,
0:44:34 > 0:44:36and their children Gail and Gary.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39Seeing if they had better toys than us or not.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50We had an awesome childhood.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52We were gone from dawn to dusk.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55We'd play in this thing. We'd make forts. We'd make houses.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58And as kids, it was absolutely incredible.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04Mrs Bartholomew was great.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06She was so homey, friendly, welcoming.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08- Nice.- Excellent cook.
0:45:08 > 0:45:09- Yeah.- You know, took care of us.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11- Very kind.- Yes.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13Mr Bartholomew, he was just hysterical.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15- He was always funny.- Yeah. - He was always doing things.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17There was always a little comment.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20There was always something going on. It was a lot of fun.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25I remember him with that cine camera a lot,
0:45:25 > 0:45:27quite a lot, walking around with it.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31But, you know, he never wanted us to not be natural.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34So there was never any, like, "Can you redo that again?
0:45:34 > 0:45:36"Ride your bikes past me again while I get that shot."
0:45:36 > 0:45:39He got what he got, and I think he loved that.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46Erika and Amanda have never seen any of the footage that Eric recorded.
0:45:48 > 0:45:49But today, along with Gary and Gail,
0:45:49 > 0:45:52they can look back on a family holiday to the Norfolk Broads
0:45:52 > 0:45:54that they shared with the Morecambes.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01- Oh, here we go.- Ay!- Hey!
0:46:04 > 0:46:05- Who's that?- It's you.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07Oh, my God.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10- What are you wearing again? - I look like a boy.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13What was with that? I hated getting my hair cut.
0:46:13 > 0:46:14I'm about, what, ten?
0:46:14 > 0:46:15So I'm 13.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17So it's about 80 years ago, then?
0:46:22 > 0:46:24- Oh, Erika.- Oh, very glam.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28Is that a bandage on your head?
0:46:28 > 0:46:30Excuse me, that was the style, thank you, back then.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34The jeans are great, sort of up to the navel.
0:46:39 > 0:46:41There's Gary.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44OK, I look amazing.
0:46:54 > 0:46:55That's a great shot.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58- Yeah. Mum and Dad.- Look at your mum and dad, isn't that nice?
0:46:58 > 0:46:59- Yes.- That is lovely.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02- Yeah.- Isn't that nice? - Mum will like this.
0:47:02 > 0:47:03Look how young he is there.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12Great to see footage with Dad in it that isn't work-related, though.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16I think it was very important to Dad to...
0:47:16 > 0:47:18- Yeah.- ..to make it look good.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20And to focus on people.
0:47:20 > 0:47:21- Yeah.- He enjoyed that.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23And he was very good at it, really.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25- Yeah, I think he was. - I think he was, yeah.
0:47:29 > 0:47:34But the funny thing was he couldn't go out of a room with me without
0:47:34 > 0:47:37looking at me. And I'd be, you know, rolling my eyes, and like, "Oh,"
0:47:37 > 0:47:40and he'd just say, "You'll miss me.
0:47:40 > 0:47:41"You'll miss me when I'm gone."
0:47:41 > 0:47:44- Yeah.- And somehow that was always the theme, yes.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47As if somehow I've done films and there's the TV shows.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49- Yes. Keeping a record all the time. - And he was right, wasn't he?
0:47:49 > 0:47:51And he did ask me to watch.
0:47:51 > 0:47:52He did say, "You will watch, won't you?"
0:48:01 > 0:48:02Amazing.
0:48:11 > 0:48:15Boat trips, days out and family picnics.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19All were recorded by Eric.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23But the Morecambes and their camera
0:48:23 > 0:48:26also ventured further afield for their holidays.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34Dad loved going on holiday, didn't he?
0:48:34 > 0:48:35He did love going on holiday.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38He loved going to Portugal, didn't he?
0:48:38 > 0:48:40Well, that actually was his favourite.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47From the time that I was about 12, I think,
0:48:47 > 0:48:52we had a villa in Portugal and he absolutely loved going to Portugal.
0:48:52 > 0:48:53That was his second home.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55Dad would never have gone on holiday
0:48:55 > 0:48:57without packing his camera, would he?
0:48:57 > 0:48:59Oh, I think that would be essential.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08We went over to Portugal because it gave Eric a little bolt hole
0:49:08 > 0:49:10and it gave the kids wonderful holidays.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20Eric was never a sand and sea person...
0:49:21 > 0:49:24..so invariably, he would sit on the veranda, you know,
0:49:24 > 0:49:29in his shorts and his hat and there was a little portable typewriter.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32And he'd sit there planning the next Christmas show.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39He would stay at the villa while we'd all go down to the beach.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41And I know that when he was then on his own in the villa,
0:49:41 > 0:49:44that's what he would be doing a lot of thinking about the shows.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47He would play music and get ideas.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49I think he used to even write stuff down.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51Ideas for sketches.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54And then would come back from the beach
0:49:54 > 0:49:57and he'd talk about what he'd been doing.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01I've got tonsillitis again.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03- Always on holiday. - Yes, we must've been on holiday.
0:50:03 > 0:50:04- You're in bed, ill.- Yeah.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06As soon as the sun came out.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08Funny, isn't it? That's really weird.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16His little short shorts.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19And I love the fact that he's got his socks on, still.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21Socks and sandals. Never took his socks off.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24It's definitely British, you see, you always wear your socks.
0:50:24 > 0:50:25Yes.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33I think the longest stint we ever did was a month.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36And I can remember thinking that I thought that might drag,
0:50:36 > 0:50:38but it went by in an absolute blink of an eye.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44I can't imagine that he was ever still on the beach.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47I don't remember him ever sunbathing in my life.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49He never sunbathed, no.
0:50:49 > 0:50:51It's funny how Dad would never learn how to swim.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54We got him waist... Waist deep into our swimming pool.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57- That was an achievement.- Yeah.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05The footage has brought back many memories of childhood, definitely,
0:51:05 > 0:51:07and the family environment,
0:51:07 > 0:51:11because a lot of that footage is completely fresh and new to me.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14I've not seen it before, ever. So seeing us all sort of having a laugh
0:51:14 > 0:51:16and playing on the beaches
0:51:16 > 0:51:20and my father messing around like he did, and my mother involved.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24It's wonderful, because it does trigger that feeling of, "Oh, yeah,
0:51:24 > 0:51:25"it might have been 50-odd years ago,
0:51:25 > 0:51:27"but, yeah, it was great, wasn't it?"
0:51:27 > 0:51:29You do remember it. It does come back.
0:51:50 > 0:51:51Eric and Ernie's home movies
0:51:51 > 0:51:55captured an era when Britain was still discovering the two men
0:51:55 > 0:51:58who would soon write their own chapter in television history.
0:51:58 > 0:51:59The world misses me.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01Nobody misses you. The world misses me.
0:52:01 > 0:52:03- Who misses you?- I'll tell you who misses me.
0:52:03 > 0:52:04- I'll tell you who misses me.- Who?
0:52:04 > 0:52:06My missus misses me.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14But the archives hold one last surprise.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17An audio reel containing Eric's personal commentary
0:52:17 > 0:52:21to some of his footage, recorded in his study at home.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23This is the first time his family have heard it.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31- ERIC:- This is a movie with sound.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33That's Dad.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37And then the rains came.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40- He's still acting. - He's doing a story again.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46There's not much you can say about this one, is there?
0:52:53 > 0:52:55Gail and Gary.
0:52:57 > 0:52:59On a rainy day.
0:53:02 > 0:53:03Oh, isn't that incredible?
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Absolutely amazing.
0:53:06 > 0:53:11Ah, this looks interesting.
0:53:11 > 0:53:17I had absolutely no idea that Dad had put sound on any of his films.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19No idea at all.
0:53:19 > 0:53:20Gail in the lead.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22Luckily, we went with them,
0:53:22 > 0:53:24otherwise we'll never know what they get up to.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27That's unbelievable.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29It's amazing, hearing Dad's voice on this.
0:53:29 > 0:53:30- Yes.- Incredible.
0:53:30 > 0:53:32- Yes, it is.- How can...
0:53:32 > 0:53:33He must've told us what to do.
0:53:41 > 0:53:42There she is.
0:53:42 > 0:53:44I wish there was more of his voice.
0:53:44 > 0:53:48I'd love to have heard him in some of the other clips.
0:53:48 > 0:53:49An out of focus zoom.
0:53:52 > 0:53:53- Wow.- That's incredible.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56- Yep.- Just that bit. - That's absolute magic.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58- Extraordinary.- God, wouldn't he be thrilled?
0:53:58 > 0:54:01He would be very thrilled that we're watching.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03I think that's probably the most staggering thing
0:54:03 > 0:54:04of the whole footage,
0:54:04 > 0:54:07because when you put the man's voice to it as well as the camera
0:54:07 > 0:54:08that he's filmed to it,
0:54:08 > 0:54:11suddenly you've got the man there again, and that, you know,
0:54:11 > 0:54:13that kills off all those years in between,
0:54:13 > 0:54:16and suddenly it's immediate and we're back there ourselves.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26All this filming, it's incredible.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28Absolutely. And he probably did it for this very reason.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30Well, it certainly is a perfect record.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32- Yeah.- You could never have got the same
0:54:32 > 0:54:34from just still pictures, could you?
0:54:35 > 0:54:37It is a fantastic sort of...
0:54:37 > 0:54:42- That was amazing.- History also of right through our lives in a way,
0:54:42 > 0:54:44you know. Fantastic history.
0:54:44 > 0:54:45Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
0:54:57 > 0:55:04I think the film now shows people who only see Eric as a comedian,
0:55:04 > 0:55:05know that he has a family,
0:55:05 > 0:55:08but I think it certainly shows people
0:55:08 > 0:55:10just how much he was involved, you know.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13How much there was this other side.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16And I wouldn't have changed anything for the world, you know.
0:55:25 > 0:55:29He might have died young, but he got an awful lot in to his life.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32Well, he always said, you know, when he felt a bit...
0:55:32 > 0:55:34..doubtful of his future.
0:55:34 > 0:55:35He always said...
0:55:36 > 0:55:39"Nobody wants to grieve for me. I've had a wonderful life."
0:55:39 > 0:55:40- Aww.- Always said that.
0:55:40 > 0:55:42- That's lovely to say that. - Had a wonderful life.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45- He said that days before he died, he said that.- Yes, I remember.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49Well, he certainly laughed his way through a awful lot of it, didn't he?
0:55:49 > 0:55:51- And filmed his way through.- Yes.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06I had no idea that they'd filmed all this stuff actually when they were
0:56:06 > 0:56:11doing pantomime or doing the live shows on the variety circuit.
0:56:14 > 0:56:15And to me, it was very moving.
0:56:15 > 0:56:16It was quite kind of emotional.
0:56:23 > 0:56:27Eric and Ernie just made everybody smile through the years on TV and
0:56:27 > 0:56:31on stage and you know, I think we're all very lucky to have had them.
0:56:38 > 0:56:42I think people will be surprised to see a different Eric and Ernie.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46To see such a joyous Eric and Ernie that are clearly,
0:56:46 > 0:56:47yes, they might be performing,
0:56:47 > 0:56:49but they're only performing for home footage.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51It's not for anything else, other than a bit of fun.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56Absolutely brilliant to see that.
0:56:56 > 0:56:57See that difference.
0:57:04 > 0:57:06They were unique.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09I don't think anybody has the same sense of humour.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13And the way of doing things that they did as a couple.
0:57:22 > 0:57:24People tell me, you know,
0:57:24 > 0:57:26"Well, you're very lucky because you've got
0:57:26 > 0:57:28"all the programmes and you see your father on the programmes."
0:57:28 > 0:57:30But that isn't Dad.
0:57:30 > 0:57:31That is Eric Morecambe.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36Whereas, this film, these films...
0:57:37 > 0:57:39..they're just Dad and Ernie.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42You're not seeing Morecambe and Wise.
0:57:43 > 0:57:47And, for me, there's a huge difference.