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