0:00:02 > 0:00:03Oh, you are awful!
0:00:03 > 0:00:04But I like you.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08It's sort of like a comic strip come to life
0:00:08 > 0:00:12and I think that's why, probably, I could enjoy it so much as a kid.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14How about another one, Miss Lovelace.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Oh, I don't think I should, vicar. Honestly!
0:00:16 > 0:00:19You just fell about laughing the moment he came on.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Nonsense.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25People loved the characters and they took him to their hearts
0:00:25 > 0:00:26and it was a big event -
0:00:26 > 0:00:29The Dick Emery Show on a Saturday night.
0:00:29 > 0:00:30Me, with my talent.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34If you watch it now,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37it's amazing how much of it is about sex.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39- How do you like it?- Hot and strong.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I can tell. You're going to have it, you darling.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45You're hard pushed to find a joke that isn't about sex,
0:00:45 > 0:00:47isn't an innuendo.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Hello, darling. Oh!
0:00:49 > 0:00:53Enormously influential on a generation of character comedians,
0:00:53 > 0:00:55myself included.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59These are The Many Faces Of Dick Emery.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01LAUGHTER
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Cheers, Dick.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26MUSIC: "James Bond Theme"
0:01:26 > 0:01:29APPLAUSE
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Ladies and gentlemen,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33I'd like you to meet some of the artists in my show tonight.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35First of all,
0:01:35 > 0:01:36we have Julie Pitcher.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38GUNFIRE
0:01:38 > 0:01:42The Dick Emery Show ran from 1963 to 1981,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46becoming a veritable television institution.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49It was a jewel in the BBC's Saturday night crown.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53'BBC Saturday night was the big viewing night of the week,
0:01:53 > 0:01:54'for many, many years.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56'It's when the BBC proved'
0:01:56 > 0:02:00as the licence fee was paid for by everybody in the country,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03they could deliver entertainment for everybody,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06for the whole family - for Granny and for Mum and Dad
0:02:06 > 0:02:08and the kids and Uncle and Aunty and so on.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12And Dick Emery fitted that absolutely brilliantly,
0:02:12 > 0:02:17that BBC policy of putting the best of entertainment on Saturday night.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20And Dick was a class act.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23# But who can I turn to
0:02:23 > 0:02:26# If you
0:02:26 > 0:02:29# Turn...
0:02:29 > 0:02:35# Away? #
0:02:35 > 0:02:38APPLAUSE
0:02:40 > 0:02:42'Family would get together,'
0:02:42 > 0:02:44have a little bit of something to eat
0:02:44 > 0:02:46and sit down and watch television.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48And there was...
0:02:48 > 0:02:49a show.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52# Who's foolish?
0:02:52 > 0:02:54# Well, I am... #
0:02:54 > 0:02:57'And they could sit and enjoy what was given to them.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02'It was really a fabulous time of innovative television'
0:03:02 > 0:03:05with wonderful direction and choreography
0:03:05 > 0:03:09that came from theatre onto the screen.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12And it was beautifully crafted...
0:03:12 > 0:03:15that it was really compelling to watch.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19'It was a golden time, where there were lots of shows'
0:03:19 > 0:03:21you could watch as a family.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23And his was definitely one,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25even though it was a little bit rude.
0:03:25 > 0:03:26Ooh!
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Two pints and half a butter, please, milkman.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31LAUGHTER
0:03:39 > 0:03:40It wasn't subtle.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43Dick Emery's creations are a product of their time.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45They reflect an older generation
0:03:45 > 0:03:48unsure how to handle new attitudes
0:03:48 > 0:03:50to women, race and sexuality.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53His answer married his experience
0:03:53 > 0:03:56of the raucous leering of wartime concert parties
0:03:56 > 0:03:58with vaudeville slapstick.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02- Oh.- If they was to get a hold of you in there,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04why, you might not come to light for months.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Oh, I'll take a chance. I'll take a chance!
0:04:06 > 0:04:09LAUGHTER
0:04:09 > 0:04:11I'm sorry, Miss.
0:04:11 > 0:04:12Oh!
0:04:12 > 0:04:14But the characters he created,
0:04:14 > 0:04:17together with catch phrases that returned week after week,
0:04:17 > 0:04:22set a format for television comedy that has lasted for 50 years.
0:04:22 > 0:04:23Clear off, you old bag.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Don't you think we're being punished enough already?
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Yeah, we might be hard up but we ain't desperate!
0:04:29 > 0:04:32The combination of character
0:04:32 > 0:04:33and catch phrase
0:04:33 > 0:04:34and week in, week out
0:04:34 > 0:04:36showing of those things -
0:04:36 > 0:04:40that is a very key thing in the history of British comedy
0:04:40 > 0:04:42and I think he was the first person to really do it.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48Dick Emery's show business roots
0:04:48 > 0:04:52go right back to the vaudeville stages of the 1920s.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55There was no overnight success.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59His hit TV series came when he was in his 40s.
0:04:59 > 0:05:00There was a long apprenticeship.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03APPLAUSE
0:05:03 > 0:05:06In 1982, the BBC recorded Dick Emery on stage
0:05:06 > 0:05:08talking about his life and career.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11It turned out to be one of his last performances.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12He is noticeably breathless
0:05:12 > 0:05:15and, sadly, passed away just a few weeks letter.
0:05:15 > 0:05:20The programme was never finished and the footage lost, until now.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25His story starts in 1915, when he was born into theatre,
0:05:25 > 0:05:27almost literally.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30My mother, who was also in show business,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32and my dad, was in a theatre in London.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34She says it was the Palladium
0:05:34 > 0:05:37but whether it was the Palladium, I don't know.
0:05:37 > 0:05:38My father was playing there.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42And she was sitting there doing a bit of knitting
0:05:42 > 0:05:45and Father was stark naked,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47cleaning a pair of shoes.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51"Bill," she said, "I feel a son coming on."
0:05:51 > 0:05:54LAUGHTER
0:05:54 > 0:05:57He grabbed his hat... Well, you never know!
0:05:57 > 0:06:01..and they rushed up to the University College Hospital,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04which is just up the road from the Palladium, so she says.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08And I was born at five o'clock on 19th February,
0:06:08 > 0:06:10in the year of... HE MUMBLES THE YEAR
0:06:10 > 0:06:13LAUGHTER
0:06:13 > 0:06:16They were tough times for the Emery family
0:06:16 > 0:06:18and his father left when he was only eight.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21They had this terrible row about a pair of shoes for me.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23My father didn't see why he should buy me a pair of shoes
0:06:23 > 0:06:25or some rubbishy thing.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27And so she said, "Bill..." or Laurie or whatever,
0:06:27 > 0:06:29"I think you'd better leave.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31"And this time, for good."
0:06:31 > 0:06:33"I see."
0:06:33 > 0:06:37I'm playing under the table with a bit of toy.
0:06:37 > 0:06:38He lifts up the tablecloth,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40"Do you want to go with me or your mother?"
0:06:40 > 0:06:43LAUGHTER
0:06:43 > 0:06:45AS LITTLE BOY: "Go with Mum."
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Dick's relationship with his mother would colour his adult years.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54He supported her until she passed away in her 90s.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57They stepped out of show business briefly in London
0:06:57 > 0:07:02but something drew 17-year-old Dick to a talent competition.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04It was a moment that would ignite a career
0:07:04 > 0:07:06that would last the next 50 years.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08The theatre was still in my blood, you know.
0:07:08 > 0:07:09I used to play at theatres.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12I used to rig up theatres in my bedroom and...
0:07:12 > 0:07:14with bits of newspaper as curtains
0:07:14 > 0:07:17and put on bits of flappers' wigs and beards.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21And I got a most extraordinary rig out for anybody...
0:07:21 > 0:07:23I suppose it was comic, really.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26I had a pair of army boots, no socks,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29a ginger pair of plus fours,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32an evening tail coat,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34a tie, no shirt
0:07:34 > 0:07:35and my hair ruffled.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37And I went on and told Scottish stories.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39LAUGHTER
0:07:39 > 0:07:42But I won the competition!
0:07:42 > 0:07:46So then I got a job at the Liverpool Empire in pantomime.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49And this is where I learned one of me characters.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54Because the entire chorus boys, all the chorus boys,
0:07:54 > 0:07:55were all like that.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59CAMP: "Hello!"
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Dick's competition success creating a comedy persona
0:08:02 > 0:08:05encouraged him to recognise potential characters.
0:08:05 > 0:08:06Good morning.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Oh, hello, honky tonks. How are you? Nice to see you.
0:08:09 > 0:08:10Have you seen something you fancy?
0:08:10 > 0:08:12Yes, I'm fascinated by that tallboy in there.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15- Oh, you mean the one with the brass handle?- No, you silly thing!
0:08:15 > 0:08:18The one behind the counter with the ginger moustache.
0:08:18 > 0:08:19See you.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23It would be years before that talent paid off.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26Dick's fledgling career was interrupted by war.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Disappointed not to be a pilot,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31he was eventually enrolled in the RAF Gang Show.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37It was to be life-changing opportunity,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40entertaining the men behind the lines.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48We rehearsed all these characters, which I loved.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Wherever we were...I mean, we went to Normandy.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55We were over in Normandy, D plus 17, and we do a show.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57Now, you see that polka-dot dress? That's me.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00That's the start of Mandy.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03There she is, silly old bag!
0:09:03 > 0:09:05Nice pair of shoulders.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Dick Emery was one of the amazing people who came out of the war,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11the RAF Gang Shows, the Combined Services Entertainment,
0:09:11 > 0:09:16that whole thing of learning your trade
0:09:16 > 0:09:17in khaki or in drag,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20because there were no women there.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22And, you know, Stanley Baxter, Kenneth Williams,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25all of that lot came from a similar background.
0:09:25 > 0:09:26They'd been through a war,
0:09:26 > 0:09:27they could have been killed.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31They had an inbuilt contempt for authority
0:09:31 > 0:09:33and it showed in their work.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36And Dick came out of that very same school.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41In 1946, Mandy was demobbed with Dick
0:09:41 > 0:09:43and followed him into pantomime.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45She would never leave him.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48He was finding inspiration all around,
0:09:48 > 0:09:49even at the stage door.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52There was a carpenter by the name of Bert Dent.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54I'll never forget old Bert.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56And he was a Lampwick.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59He used to say, "I've got the...
0:09:59 > 0:10:02"got the wood here but...
0:10:02 > 0:10:03"the nails are a bit..."
0:10:03 > 0:10:07HE GURGLES IN HIS THROAT
0:10:07 > 0:10:08That's mine.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Bert didn't do that but I embellished it.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13And everybody in Gang Show would...
0:10:13 > 0:10:15We would all talk to each other as Lampwick.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17I mean, Peter Sellers used to do a Lampwick
0:10:17 > 0:10:20and all the fellows in the show used to do a Lampwick.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22"Oh, good morning." "Good morning, how are you?" "Fine."
0:10:22 > 0:10:24There were about 19 of them going around!
0:10:26 > 0:10:29The Forces' concert parties encouraged a wave of talent,
0:10:29 > 0:10:33keen to make a go of show business after the war.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36But success in civvy street was far from guaranteed.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Dick was one of a handful of future stars
0:10:39 > 0:10:43who shared their frustrations in a certain London bar.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45They were friends and contacts
0:10:45 > 0:10:47who would help each other out in the hungry years.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50Dick Emery was one of those people
0:10:50 > 0:10:53who came from that crucible that was the Grafton Arms,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57this amazing pub on Strutton Ground in Westminster,
0:10:57 > 0:10:59run by Major Jimmy Grafton,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01scriptwriter and catalyst,
0:11:01 > 0:11:06who just got all of his talented friends together in his pub,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08put on little shows in the attic
0:11:08 > 0:11:12and these were friends like Dick Emery, Michael Bentine,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe -
0:11:15 > 0:11:17that whole group.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20It was an incredibly fertile time and place.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Work was scarce.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Dick took over from his friend Tony Hancock
0:11:26 > 0:11:29in a short slot at the Windmill Theatre.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33Weeks later, he discovered Hancock penniless in the street.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36This apparition comes round the corner.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Mr Hancock in an overcoat, no tie
0:11:40 > 0:11:43and a newspaper parcel under his arm.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45So I said, "Where are you going?"
0:11:45 > 0:11:48He said, "I'm going to try and borrow the money to get my laundry done."
0:11:48 > 0:11:51I said, "Oh, gosh... Here's £3.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53"There's plenty more where that came from."
0:11:53 > 0:11:55And that was a gag with us,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57"Oh, there's always plenty more where that came from."
0:12:00 > 0:12:03By the 1950s, Dick Emery was a talented entertainer,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06well-experienced in variety.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09He could sing, compere and make people laugh.
0:12:09 > 0:12:10He knew how to work in a double act
0:12:10 > 0:12:13and had shared a stage with some iconic names.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19He moved in a pool of talent on the verge of big-time success -
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Tony Hancock and The Goons,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Sellers, Secombe,
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Milligan and Bentine.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Television was growing
0:12:28 > 0:12:30but the first step to stardom in the '50s
0:12:30 > 0:12:31was radio.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34One of the biggest shows was Educating Archie,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37featuring a ventriloquist's dummy.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39As a talented all-rounder,
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Dick earned a regular place in the cast.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43And with an audience of 15 million,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Dick Emery started to be a household name.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48He was incredibly versatile in that sense.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50And so I think he got a lot of work early on.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54He could addition for any part, really, in a comedy show.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56He could do a voice, he could do an attitude.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59He could time a gag.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03So there was no limit to what he could audition for.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06As the post-war entertainers became more established,
0:13:06 > 0:13:08they shared their successes
0:13:08 > 0:13:11with friends who had been there in the leaner years.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13When Harry Secombe missed a recording of The Goons,
0:13:13 > 0:13:15they turned to Dick Emery.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18I'm Emery-type-Seagoon. I've just arrived in Africa.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22I am Major Bloodnok and I have been here all the time.
0:13:22 > 0:13:23So you beat me here?
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Bend down and I'll beat you there!
0:13:25 > 0:13:28- WHIPPING Ow! You fool, Bloodnok!- What?
0:13:28 > 0:13:31It was a combination of being in the right place at the right time
0:13:31 > 0:13:32with the right people
0:13:32 > 0:13:36but also being good enough to go in on a Sunday
0:13:36 > 0:13:38and record this show
0:13:38 > 0:13:42and not be fazed by the surreality of it.
0:13:44 > 0:13:45Botheration!
0:13:45 > 0:13:50And The Goon crowd brought Dick into their first movie in 1955,
0:13:50 > 0:13:51the surreal short film
0:13:51 > 0:13:54The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56Can you give me a full description of this Mukkinese Battle Horn?
0:13:56 > 0:13:59- Description? Ha-ha! I can do better than that.- Eh?
0:13:59 > 0:14:01- Clagget?- Sir?- Bring in the other Mukkinese Battle Horn.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03- The other?- Yes.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05This one was one of a pair -
0:14:05 > 0:14:08supposed to be the only identical pair in existence.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10Come now, Mr Nodule,
0:14:10 > 0:14:12- do you take me for a raving idiot? - Well, I...
0:14:12 > 0:14:14I beg your pardon! I am an officer of the police force
0:14:14 > 0:14:17- and I'm... - THEY GASP
0:14:19 > 0:14:22When Tony Hancock graduated from radio to TV,
0:14:22 > 0:14:26he found a space for the man who had lent him the cost of his laundry.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29- Afternoon.- Afternoon, postman. Coming to empty the box?- I am.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Oh, well, there's no need to put these through.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34- They can go straight in the sack. - They can't.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37- They can't?- No, no, no, no.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40You see, my job is collecting letters from the pillar box.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42I am not allowed to put any letters in my sack
0:14:42 > 0:14:44that haven't passed through the slit.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46LAUGHTER
0:14:46 > 0:14:48Yes, well, I mean, you can stretch a point.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50That's a waste of time. They've got to go in the sack anyway.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53I am sorry. Letters cannot be considered as having been posted
0:14:53 > 0:14:56until they have passed through the slit.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58Now, stand on one side if you please.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00It was the 1960s.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Television couldn't get enough new comedy faces.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06But although Dick Emery was respected,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08he struggled to find his own star vehicle.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12He found a regular part in the ITV comedy series The Army Game,
0:15:12 > 0:15:15as Private Chubby Catchpole.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17But it was a chance encounter with another Goon
0:15:17 > 0:15:20that proved a turning point.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Michael Bentine's After Hours and Square World sketch shows
0:15:24 > 0:15:28were a perfect showcase for Dick's characterisation skills.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30APPLAUSE
0:15:30 > 0:15:33- It is! - POSH: Oh, hello. Hello.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35- How are you?- Hang on a second.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38I'll just get myself arranged, thank you very much.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41Now, you're going to demonstrate this sport of No Can Do.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Could you actually tell us something about it?
0:15:43 > 0:15:44Yes. Well, as you can see,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46I'm wearing a suit of the special armour,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49or as the Japanese call it,
0:15:49 > 0:15:50clobber.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Yes, it's beautifully made and as a point of interest,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57it weighs over 293 pounds.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59- The purpose of this being twofold. - Yes?
0:15:59 > 0:16:02- Firstly, it offers absolute protection.- And secondly?
0:16:02 > 0:16:03It stops you running away.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06LAUGHTER
0:16:06 > 0:16:10The most important thing that happened to him professionally,
0:16:10 > 0:16:13I think, was his association with Michael Bentine.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15Now, these are the traditional clubs...
0:16:15 > 0:16:18If you worked with Bentine, it was a...
0:16:18 > 0:16:19"Oh, he must be good."
0:16:20 > 0:16:22People in influence, people in television,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25used to look at those and it was a step onwards.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27And I think Tom Sloan,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Head Of Light Entertainment at the BBC back then,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33saw Emery in It's A Square World and said,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35"I think this man is worth a series of his own.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37"I think we can build something round him."
0:16:37 > 0:16:39I said, "Well, I'd like to do the sort of show
0:16:39 > 0:16:42"where we could possibly call it the Emery Theatre,
0:16:42 > 0:16:45"whereby I play, say, one character or two characters.
0:16:45 > 0:16:46"Straight actors around me."
0:16:46 > 0:16:49He said, "No, we're not doing anything like that.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51"You're going to do a show where you do sketches,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54"some interviews in the street, which you remember I hope,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56"and a couple of guest spots."
0:16:56 > 0:16:58So that was it.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Dick had caught the eye of the BBC.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04But they were less interested in experimental humour.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06They guessed that Dick's common touch
0:17:06 > 0:17:08could get a much bigger audience.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10I think Emery's relationship
0:17:10 > 0:17:11with the comedy of his moment
0:17:11 > 0:17:13is rather complicated.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Because another strain of comedy
0:17:15 > 0:17:19that comes out of that Gang Show world is The Goons.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22But he doesn't seem to have their instinct for the avant-garde.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25He has much more in common with a performer like Benny Hill
0:17:25 > 0:17:29than he does, oddly, with the people by whom he's surrounded.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32He seems to take no real influence from The Goons.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36There's no real surrealism in Emery's act.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41It's quite naturalistic, for all the grotesqueness of the characters.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45It looked like Dick's long wait as an underdog was over.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49But there was a problem. His new manager had double-booked him
0:17:49 > 0:17:51in a minor stage play.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55The gates to stardom were staying shut.
0:17:55 > 0:17:56And suddenly, I'm out of the BBC.
0:17:56 > 0:18:02And I'm earning £20 a week on a show that probably won't go on the West End anyway. It didn't.
0:18:02 > 0:18:03And...
0:18:03 > 0:18:06But what happened was, the national press got hold of it,
0:18:06 > 0:18:10and, luckily, there were no wars going on at the time.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14"Dick Emery dropped by the BBC," blah-blah-blah.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16Great big thing, big splash.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18And so now I'm out of work.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20The little show was finished.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25And about six weeks later, the manager comes to me
0:18:25 > 0:18:29and he said, "You're back with the BBC."
0:18:29 > 0:18:31So, fantastic. Once again, the headline.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34And what happened was, instead of the show being called
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Summer Madness With Dick Emery,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39because my name had been in the headlines so much,
0:18:39 > 0:18:41it simply became The Dick Emery Show.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47He'd served his time on stage and in live theatre and started
0:18:47 > 0:18:51to develop characters that would be his trademark for years to come.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54He had earned his place as a trusted part of a new wave of comedy
0:18:54 > 0:18:58and could count Hancock, Bentine and Sellers as friends.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02He was already a household name for millions of radio listeners.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06Now, in 1963, and at the age of 48,
0:19:06 > 0:19:11Dick Emery finally had all the attributes to star in his own show.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Well, we thought it would be a frightfully good idea to go
0:19:16 > 0:19:19out in the street with a camera and take some movie pictures
0:19:19 > 0:19:24of various characters and ask them what their idea was of show business.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Oh, well, I like a good television show myself, you know.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32Z-Cars, that's pretty good. No Hiding Place. Sergeant Cork, Dixon of Dock Green.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34What do you like best about them?
0:19:34 > 0:19:37Well, after a hard day's work, they help to take your mind off your job.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Excuse me. May I bother you?
0:19:46 > 0:19:47Yes, but don't be rough!
0:19:48 > 0:19:51What is your favourite form of entertainment?
0:19:51 > 0:19:52What's that?
0:19:55 > 0:19:57Ooh, you are awful.
0:19:57 > 0:19:58But I like you!
0:20:08 > 0:20:10Dick's popularity boils down to a simple recipe.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Each show is made up of a returning cast of characters,
0:20:14 > 0:20:15- many with a catch phrase. - My lady...
0:20:15 > 0:20:19It was made for TV, but its origins were right back in vaudeville.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23You had to have a character which was unlike anyone else.
0:20:23 > 0:20:24And you went round the halls
0:20:24 > 0:20:26and you developed a character,
0:20:26 > 0:20:28and it gave you time to do it away from the critics,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31so nobody was seeing you making a fool of yourself.
0:20:31 > 0:20:32Your Ladyship...
0:20:32 > 0:20:35And so that when then you became famous to do something,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38you'd got your own characters worked out
0:20:38 > 0:20:40and you knew what your audience would like.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42SHE SIMPERS
0:20:42 > 0:20:43Oh, well, in that case...
0:20:43 > 0:20:45- Splendid! Barman?- Yes, sir?
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Two more double Harvey Wallbangers!
0:20:49 > 0:20:51And I'll have a whisky!
0:20:52 > 0:20:55It's hard to do a comedy vicar
0:20:55 > 0:20:58and not somehow be channelling Dick Emery,
0:20:58 > 0:21:00something to do with the teeth,
0:21:00 > 0:21:04and they were all sort of judging something like a marrow competition.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06- Good afternoon, Miss Dunnett. - Oh, hello, vicar.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09I see you have two magnificent specimens!
0:21:10 > 0:21:14Clarence was a personal favourite of mine.
0:21:14 > 0:21:15"Hello, honky tonks."
0:21:15 > 0:21:18Oh, hello, honky tonks! How are you? Nice to see you.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20They're like cartoon characters come to life.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22And I think that's why they're so memorable.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31Dick's show ran for 17 years.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36Some characters came and went, but one old friend was always there.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38There couldn't be a Dick Emery Show without the women
0:21:38 > 0:21:43he had first created for a Gang Show stage in the RAF.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45- Oh, you are awful. - Oh, you are awful.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47- Oh, you are awful. - Oh, you are awful.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49- Oooh, you are awful. - Oh, you are awful.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52- Oh, you are awful. - Ooh, you are awful...
0:21:52 > 0:21:54But I like you!
0:21:54 > 0:21:55LAUGHTER
0:21:56 > 0:22:00But it is brilliant. It's brilliant that "ooh, you are awful"
0:22:00 > 0:22:03answers your need, for A, for the catch phrase,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07and B, for those previous words to have been about sex.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09At the same time, I could scrape your bottom
0:22:09 > 0:22:11and slap a couple of coats of varnish on.
0:22:11 > 0:22:12Ooh, you are awful!
0:22:12 > 0:22:16In itself, a catch phrase like "Ooh, you are awful, but I like you"
0:22:16 > 0:22:19is not necessarily in itself particularly funny,
0:22:19 > 0:22:21but the fact that every time Dick Emery comes on,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25you're looking forward and seeing that character, doing that thing,
0:22:25 > 0:22:27and he does it, and you laugh.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29But I like you.
0:22:29 > 0:22:30Argh!
0:22:31 > 0:22:37And he would do the character, he would bash the guy on the shoulder.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39He'd walk off and he'd do the trip.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44Catch phrases were hugely important to all of Dick Emery's characters.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Each of them had their signature phrase.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Dad? I think I've got it wrong again!
0:22:50 > 0:22:53I think a really good, strong catch phrase
0:22:53 > 0:22:55has to come out of the character.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58It can't be forced upon the character.
0:22:58 > 0:23:03Ladies tights, 20p a pair! Ladies tights, 20p a pair!
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Bargain or bust! 18p a pair!
0:23:05 > 0:23:0715p a pair!
0:23:07 > 0:23:11- 12p for these beautiful ladies tights!- 10p, ladies tights!
0:23:11 > 0:23:14- 10p a pair!- 8p only for these ladies tights!
0:23:14 > 0:23:184p! 4p a pair! Ladies tights! 4p a pair!
0:23:18 > 0:23:20- You've done me, lad.- Yeah?
0:23:20 > 0:23:234p a pair, I can't beat that. How many pair you got left, 50?
0:23:23 > 0:23:26Yeah, that's right. 'Ere you are, then. Let's 'ave them.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Hey-hey! I've sold out!
0:23:33 > 0:23:35- You have, ain't ya?- Yeah!
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Ladies tights, 20p a pair!
0:23:37 > 0:23:40These lovely ladies tights, only 20p a pair, come on, ladies,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42that's all I'm asking, 20p.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44They're Micromesh...
0:23:44 > 0:23:46'Ere, Dad? I've got it wrong again!
0:23:47 > 0:23:50"Dad, I think I've got it wrong again!" You know, it's...
0:23:50 > 0:23:54and it is generally the punch line to all the sketches,
0:23:54 > 0:23:55but it has its place in the sketch,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57because that's what the sketch has been about.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00You don't know the origin, often. I think real life's often the case.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03Somebody's said something or something happened.
0:24:03 > 0:24:04And you think, "Oh, I'll do that."
0:24:04 > 0:24:07You stamp that brand name on each of the characters,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10and you do the catch phrase and it pins that character down,
0:24:10 > 0:24:12you know who it is and where you are.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14And it also means it's great,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17it puts it out into the public consciousness, because kids in
0:24:17 > 0:24:20the playground can do the character if they know the catch phrase.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23They don't have to write their own script. It's written for them.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30I think the Dick Emery Show was particularly popular
0:24:30 > 0:24:33because Dick played so many different characters.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36There were not that many shows where that actually happened.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40Nothing for me today, thank you, milkman!
0:24:40 > 0:24:42BOTTLES CLINK
0:24:42 > 0:24:47And the characters he played were so different,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49and he sort of became part of them,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51that the public were waiting
0:24:51 > 0:24:53for this character to do such-and-such a thing,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55that you knew was going to happen,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57which is the basis of comedy, anyway.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59And I think the public just loved it.
0:25:03 > 0:25:04And also, it's an unusual thing,
0:25:04 > 0:25:09which is a sketch show with just one person as the star of it.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11That is quite a hard thing to pull off,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14because you're just cutting from one person to the same person.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20If you create one memorable character in your lifetime,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22as a comedian, you have done really well,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26because that in itself is, I think, quite an achievement.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30If you create half a dozen, it's incredible.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38The shows were inspired by Dick's character creations,
0:25:38 > 0:25:42but the sketches themselves were scripted by a team of writers
0:25:42 > 0:25:44who knew exactly how he worked.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51The fact that they knew about him,
0:25:51 > 0:25:53they knew what sort of thing he could play
0:25:53 > 0:25:56and he gets something out of it...
0:25:56 > 0:25:59- that they...- It was obviously a good script.
0:25:59 > 0:26:00And he had great faith in them,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03he had great faith in me that it was all going to work.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06And he didn't really have any input particularly
0:26:06 > 0:26:08in what we did in any particular week.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10He just accepted, after a little while,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14that the scripts were great, they were excellent for him, and he was
0:26:14 > 0:26:18going to be very happy with whatever was going to happen next week.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Well, we all got our scripts. They were all marked out for our parts.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24And Dick would arrive, throw his script away, and say,
0:26:24 > 0:26:26"Right, what's this one about, then?"
0:26:26 > 0:26:30And you thought, "He hasn't read it!" Nor had he.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34Nevertheless, you'd open the script and the character would be there.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37And he'd do it instantly.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39You would be rehearsing in the rehearsal room.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42And the door would sort of fling open.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46And in he'd come, dressed from head to toe in black leather
0:26:46 > 0:26:49because he would have come on his black motorbike.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54And then, it was hysterical, because every time he moved he would creak.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57So he was quite small, and all this black leather,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59and creak, creak, creak, you know.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01It was really quite amusing.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03- Oh, sir?- Yes, dear?
0:27:03 > 0:27:05What about us chambermaids?
0:27:05 > 0:27:09- Have you got any special advice for us?- Indeed I have.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Never get caught unawares when cleaning the bath.
0:27:13 > 0:27:14SHE GASPS
0:27:14 > 0:27:16LAUGHTER
0:27:16 > 0:27:19It was such a wonderful atmosphere working here,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22because he wasn't starry at all,
0:27:22 > 0:27:24and it was terrific. I enjoyed it.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27I seem to be getting special training, sir.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29You have the honour of being chosen as one of the commanders
0:27:29 > 0:27:30of the catering profession.
0:27:30 > 0:27:31APPLAUSE
0:27:31 > 0:27:37And obviously, I fitted in, so I was asked back time and time again.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43Some of Dick's creations had been with him since the war.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46And after ten years of prime-time television exposure,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49they'd become like his family.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51And he had his favourites.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55Towards the late '70s, he was getting a bit tired of the format...
0:27:57 > 0:28:00..and doing the same characters over and over and over again, you know,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03especially... and he didn't like Mandy,
0:28:03 > 0:28:07the one that everybody remembers.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09He really wasn't a fan of.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12And it had become a monster.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14He felt that, a lot.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16People kept asking him to do it.
0:28:16 > 0:28:21He much preferred College The Tramp, the well-educated tramp.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27MUSIC: "Symphony No 5" by Beethoven
0:28:39 > 0:28:41APPLAUSE
0:28:47 > 0:28:49Lampwick. He used to say
0:28:49 > 0:28:51he was having to use less and less make-up every year.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54- There's only one thing I've got to say to you.- And what's that?
0:28:54 > 0:28:58- AS LAMPWICK:- James Maynard Kitchener Lampwick...
0:28:58 > 0:28:59Would you like to come and have a drink?
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Well, since you're twisting my arm.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04Ha-ha-ha!
0:29:04 > 0:29:06Hetty, he enjoyed doing.
0:29:06 > 0:29:07- Are you married?- Why?
0:29:07 > 0:29:10I don't know why he enjoyed doing Hetty, but he did.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13Well, I'm looking for a nice young man, you see...
0:29:18 > 0:29:22Dick's relationship with women was, well, complicated.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25Some of his most memorable characters were female,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28reflecting the vaudeville tradition.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31His own father had a drag set in his act.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39But Dick was always uncomfortable getting into women's clothes.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43When he was playing in drag, he was slightly nervous,
0:29:43 > 0:29:46because he'd wonder what the public would think.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50And as soon as I said "cut", he went terribly macho.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53Walked about, you know, in drag. Dressed as a girl,
0:29:53 > 0:29:56but doing sort of masculine things and whatnot, you know.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07Put on a dress, you'll get easy laughs,
0:30:07 > 0:30:11and Dick was particularly adept at it.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14And obviously that early training in the Forces
0:30:14 > 0:30:18stood him in good stead later on, with Mandy and so.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Look, us women should stick together at times like these...
0:30:21 > 0:30:23Certainly, Little Britain
0:30:23 > 0:30:28and The Dick Emery Show share an obsession with dressing up as women.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31- Hello, Mrs Emery.- Oh, hello, dear!
0:30:31 > 0:30:34There is obviously a big tradition of it in British humour.
0:30:34 > 0:30:39And even the Pythons did a huge amount of it.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43I think maybe the ideal place for watching Dick Emery's act
0:30:43 > 0:30:47might have been in a clearing in Malaya, during the Emergency.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49It does feel very much like the product
0:30:49 > 0:30:51of that concert party culture.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54I mean, the element of drag is straight out of that.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56And indeed, he was doing that
0:30:56 > 0:31:00when he was in the RAF, during the war and touring air bases.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03And it's that kind of barrack-room humour.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06You can imagine a room full of soldiers all whistling
0:31:06 > 0:31:10- when Mandy or Hetty comes on to the stage.- Yes, Madam?
0:31:10 > 0:31:11I'm not enjoying the trip.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13Oh, I'm sorry. Why's that?
0:31:13 > 0:31:15- Well, there's always one, isn't there?- Always one what?
0:31:15 > 0:31:20Some man who keeps touching your knee and making indecent suggestions!
0:31:20 > 0:31:23Dear, oh, dear. You're quite right, Miss. There's one on every coach.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26Oh, would you mind pointing him out to me...?
0:31:27 > 0:31:30Men dressed as dames might be timeless,
0:31:30 > 0:31:34but the show's attitude to women would raise eyebrows today.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36The Dick Emery Show reflects a time
0:31:36 > 0:31:40when standards of taste and decency were different.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44What seems mildly offensive now was family viewing in its day.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53That lady looks as if she's got her water wings on back to front!
0:31:53 > 0:31:55Oh, you dirty old beggar.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57Yes, there was a sexist attitude to women
0:31:57 > 0:32:00and it was just par for the course, and they were the butt of jokes.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02We had just gone through the '60s
0:32:02 > 0:32:05when those shows became incredibly big,
0:32:05 > 0:32:07and the '60s was an era of sexual liberation.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11But for the generation who were actually on telly in the '70s,
0:32:11 > 0:32:13they were slightly older
0:32:13 > 0:32:16than the ones who'd actually been involved in all that,
0:32:16 > 0:32:18and so what they picked up on it
0:32:18 > 0:32:21was a kind of "saucy postcard" element of it. They weren't...
0:32:21 > 0:32:24I mean, Dick was having sex with a lot of women,
0:32:24 > 0:32:26but he wasn't out there in the communes having free love.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29But he was aware, as were the programme makers,
0:32:29 > 0:32:31that there'd been this lifting of restrictions
0:32:31 > 0:32:33on what you could and couldn't say about sex,
0:32:33 > 0:32:36and they joined that with a kind of end-of-the-pier mentality,
0:32:36 > 0:32:38and then you get Dick Emery.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44Cor! Thank heaven for that!
0:32:44 > 0:32:47What with having to sneak aboard and then hide in there.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49I hope this cabin you've got is a bit more comfortable.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52Yeah, I've got one or two minor repairs, love, then you can relax.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55- In you go.- Ooh!
0:32:55 > 0:32:59Dick, all those people, would never have used some of the language
0:32:59 > 0:33:02that is quite happily used nowadays, four letter words, etc.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06So it's amazing that that is acceptable
0:33:06 > 0:33:12but something that might be regarded as slightly sexy or risque, erm...
0:33:12 > 0:33:19aimed, possibly, at a comment about females was perfectly acceptable.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22Well, personally, I don't anticipate any problems in passing.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25- I'll get through all right. - How can you be so certain?
0:33:25 > 0:33:27For TWO very good reasons.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31Well, all the examiners are men, aren't they?
0:33:31 > 0:33:34That licence is as good as in my pocket.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36I can imagine people thinking it was sexist
0:33:36 > 0:33:38and some think it was homophobic, too.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41I'd have another think, sweetheart. You got me for your examiner.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43Put those away.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49You wouldn't have had any trouble, honky tonks.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51I'd have passed you sitting on that bench.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55But certainly the warmth of Dick Emery as a performer,
0:33:55 > 0:33:59erm, it feels very, very inclusive. He has a twinkle in his eye.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02The thing about Dick Emery is there was a charm to him,
0:34:02 > 0:34:07there was a harmlessness about it. It wasn't done...on a vicious level.
0:34:07 > 0:34:12Yes, the honky-tonk character is a very broad, camp stereotype,
0:34:12 > 0:34:16but it's done with affection. We're not supposed to hate this person
0:34:16 > 0:34:18or want to go out and beat him up, or whatever.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23Dick Emery's sketch shows made him a television star.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26Surely the next step was cinema?
0:34:26 > 0:34:30He'd been in a Goons film and popular British films like Crooks Anonymous
0:34:30 > 0:34:32and The Big Job alongside Sid James,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35but he had never made star billing in the movies.
0:34:35 > 0:34:40Now was the time to realise his ambitions in proper drama.
0:34:43 > 0:34:45One of my greatest ambitions is to do films.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49I got onto my scriptwriters and I said, "Please, write me a film."
0:34:49 > 0:34:52So they wrote me a film,
0:34:52 > 0:34:54and it was called, Oh, You Are Awful,
0:34:54 > 0:34:56- and... - HE LAUGHS
0:34:56 > 0:34:59A code for a safe is written in tattoo
0:34:59 > 0:35:02on four different ladies' bottoms, erm,
0:35:02 > 0:35:06and Dick has to find out this code, and, in order to find it out,
0:35:06 > 0:35:09he has to impersonate his various different characters
0:35:09 > 0:35:12in order to get near the bottoms of these ladies.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16Now, that is the most '70s pitch for a film that's ever been done!
0:35:16 > 0:35:19I have seen the film two or three times.
0:35:19 > 0:35:20HE CHUCKLES
0:35:21 > 0:35:23It was 1972.
0:35:23 > 0:35:28Dick's starring film vehicle played on his catch phrase for its title.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31But he plays a conman who is a master of disguise.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Be a love and give us a hand? The damn thing's stuck.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37Ooh, yes. Pleasure.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39It's a clever way to include many of his characters.
0:35:39 > 0:35:44- Thanks, dear. I'll do you a favour sometime.- I'll bear that in mind.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46Now...
0:35:46 > 0:35:50when I say "right", I want you attack me with that truncheon.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52Don't worry, you won't get anywhere near me, right?
0:35:55 > 0:35:58HE SIGHS
0:35:59 > 0:36:01Oh!
0:36:02 > 0:36:06Dick struggled to get his movie career established.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09# Ever since the world began... #
0:36:09 > 0:36:12He was busy. He made records,
0:36:12 > 0:36:16and every year brought a diary full of television, filming and theatre.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20APPLAUSE
0:36:20 > 0:36:25He seemed most at home with a live audience on stage.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28Oh, I'm having a marvellous time, I really am!
0:36:28 > 0:36:32Have you got some more flour? That marvellous, isn't it?
0:36:32 > 0:36:33LAUGHTER
0:36:36 > 0:36:39DRUM BEATS IN TIME
0:36:42 > 0:36:43LAUGHTER
0:36:43 > 0:36:47His talent for slapstick shone.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50CYMBALS CRASH
0:36:50 > 0:36:52Miss Morocco!
0:36:56 > 0:37:01Dick couldn't resist the glitter, the greasepaint, or the girls.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07The audience knew Dick Emery, the confident comedy star.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11But, off stage, he had a complicated personal life.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13It was a story of fast machines,
0:37:13 > 0:37:16five wives, and a string of mistresses.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24In these permissive days,
0:37:24 > 0:37:28marriage as an institution is coming more and more under attack.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31Many couples seem to feel that they can dispense with the formalities
0:37:31 > 0:37:33of a church or registry office wedding.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36I'm here to take a random sample of public opinion
0:37:36 > 0:37:38on the subject of marriage.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40- Excuse me, vicar.- Oh, hello.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43May I ask you, sir, as a man of the cloth,
0:37:43 > 0:37:46how much value do you put on a marriage these days?
0:37:46 > 0:37:49Including the organist? Ooh, about 15 quid.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54Dick's first wife, Joan, was a war bride.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58He wed second wife Irene in 1946.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02Iris was wife number three in 1955.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05They had one of Dick's four children together, Nick.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07'He left for his fourth wife.'
0:38:07 > 0:38:10He told me he was going to move a long way away
0:38:10 > 0:38:12and, in fact, moved seven miles.
0:38:12 > 0:38:13HE LAUGHS
0:38:15 > 0:38:18I was 18 when I met him, and he was 43.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21So that was a bit scandalous at the time.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25'My parents were only a few years older than he was.'
0:38:25 > 0:38:29I just think he enjoyed women's company, you know.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32'It was just like that.'
0:38:32 > 0:38:36Dick married Vicki, who became wife number four,
0:38:36 > 0:38:40and later left her for his last wife, Josephine.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43He was very much like an uncle, coming toing and froing.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46It wasn't until a lot later on, when I left school,
0:38:46 > 0:38:49that he became a real...
0:38:49 > 0:38:51And I started to get to know him more.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Sometimes he didn't understand being a parent,
0:38:54 > 0:38:57because he would say things to me, like, "You always call me Dad.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59"Why do you call me Dad?"
0:38:59 > 0:39:02And, "I'd rather be your friend than your father."
0:39:02 > 0:39:05And I'd say, "But..." And he'd say, "Why do you call me Dad?"
0:39:05 > 0:39:08I'd say, "Because you are my father."
0:39:08 > 0:39:12'Erm... He just didn't get that side of it.'
0:39:12 > 0:39:13LAUGHTER
0:39:15 > 0:39:18That'll give them something to think about on their honeymoon, won't it?
0:39:18 > 0:39:21- Are you married yourself, sir? - No, I'm not.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24And according to all the motorists I knock off,
0:39:24 > 0:39:26neither were my mother and father.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31Dick's world was routinely filled with glamorous women,
0:39:31 > 0:39:34but he was a charismatic, good-looking star...
0:39:34 > 0:39:36Un, deux, trois!
0:39:36 > 0:39:39..a high-octane combination that could be ignited
0:39:39 > 0:39:41by the slightest spark.
0:39:41 > 0:39:42He was a very attractive guy.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45He said, "Can I give you a lift somewhere?"
0:39:45 > 0:39:48And I said, "No, thanks, I've got my car,"
0:39:48 > 0:39:50and he said, "Well, I'll drive you to your car, then."
0:39:50 > 0:39:53And I should've said no, but I said yes.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57Thousands, hundreds of thousands of people,
0:39:57 > 0:40:00millions of people were charmed by him all over the world,
0:40:00 > 0:40:02so why wouldn't I be?
0:40:03 > 0:40:05I don't think he was capable, really,
0:40:05 > 0:40:08of being faithful to one woman.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12All the women who he married...
0:40:12 > 0:40:15erm, loved him, worshipped him,
0:40:15 > 0:40:18and, er, would do anything.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21I think my mother would have crawled over hot coals
0:40:21 > 0:40:24and broken glass, you know, to be near him.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26He was... He had that sort of magnetism.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30Dick did stay true to one woman, his mother.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32He supported her into her '90s
0:40:32 > 0:40:35and her shadow stalked every relationship.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39I think his mother became very strong in his life.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43Which, I think, guided him through all these different marriages
0:40:43 > 0:40:46he had, because when he married you you became the mum,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49and then he looked for a mistress somewhere else.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51I think this was the pattern in his life.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56His mother was so clinging that I think she was
0:40:56 > 0:41:00the spanner in the works with all his marriages.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03Until he married someone, she was safe,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06because that was still her Dickie,
0:41:06 > 0:41:10but once he'd married somebody
0:41:10 > 0:41:14erm, she felt threatened, and so she dripped poison.
0:41:14 > 0:41:18The tabloid headlines were all...
0:41:18 > 0:41:22trying to knock him and trying to say, "Oh, he's run off again."
0:41:22 > 0:41:25It didn't affect him. Everyone...
0:41:25 > 0:41:27It didn't affect his popularity. It didn't...
0:41:27 > 0:41:32People didn't go off him because of being married five times
0:41:32 > 0:41:38and then...leaving his last wife for a younger woman.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40It just didn't affect him,
0:41:40 > 0:41:42other than personally.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45I'm sure it affected him as an individual,
0:41:45 > 0:41:49but it didn't affect his profile and his popularity.
0:41:49 > 0:41:54That just carried on. It was... Who cares? Just keep making shows.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58Hello, son. How are you going, all right?
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Excuse me, can you tell me, are you married, sir?
0:42:00 > 0:42:03No, mate, I'd sooner have the bike!
0:42:03 > 0:42:06It's not the same as having a little wife, surely?
0:42:06 > 0:42:08Listen, mate, you show me a bird I could ride up the M1 at over a ton
0:42:08 > 0:42:11and I'll think about it.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14With the shows came the money to indulge his other passions.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17He'd always loved motorbikes and cars,
0:42:17 > 0:42:21and he even fulfilled his RAF dream of being a pilot.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24He was very much a boy racer.
0:42:24 > 0:42:26He loved cars.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29My mother used to say, "When the ashtray's full, he'll change it."
0:42:29 > 0:42:32And, sure enough, the cars would change.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36He once came into rehearsal, we were rehearsing in Acton,
0:42:36 > 0:42:41and he said, "Bill, I've just bought a new car." I said, "Great."
0:42:41 > 0:42:43He said, "Come and have a look at it."
0:42:43 > 0:42:46And I went out into the playground,
0:42:46 > 0:42:52and this beautiful silver-blue Rolls Corniche stood there.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54And I said, "That drivel?"
0:42:54 > 0:42:57He said, "Yeah." I was driving a Morris Minor!
0:42:57 > 0:43:02And I said, "That's beautiful! You deserve it, good luck to you."
0:43:02 > 0:43:06He said, "Come on, I'll give you a ride." And there we were,
0:43:06 > 0:43:11riding around in this bloody smart car in this council estate!
0:43:11 > 0:43:16I think it gave him a feeling of...
0:43:16 > 0:43:18Jack the Lad-ish a bit, you know.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22And took away from that insecurity that he always had, I think,
0:43:22 > 0:43:24- in his life.- He always said that
0:43:24 > 0:43:28because he was a small man he needed huge machines to boost his morale!
0:43:28 > 0:43:33And he had the biggest cars and the biggest motorbikes, planes,
0:43:33 > 0:43:37boats, anything that you could imagine he had, and he loved it.
0:43:37 > 0:43:42He was like a small boy in heaven when he had a big machine under him.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45That was just wonderful, he was so happy with that.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50The RAF gave Dick the opportunity to be an entertainer.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54Being an entertainer gave Dick the opportunity to fly.
0:43:54 > 0:44:01A very shy man as a performer, but, off-camera, a great adventurer.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04He'd go wing-walking, there are stories of him and Eric Sykes
0:44:04 > 0:44:09in their Tiger Moth planes having a catfight over Guildford.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12- It was just... - HE LAUGHS
0:44:12 > 0:44:15I think about flying all the time. You see, I took up flying
0:44:15 > 0:44:21because it takes your mind off show business, off the entire world.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24You get up there and you're miles away from it all,
0:44:24 > 0:44:27and you don't think about anything else but flying,
0:44:27 > 0:44:31and I recommend it to all...people, everybody.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33Anybody who can afford to buy an aeroplane...
0:44:33 > 0:44:36You don't feel you're taking any risks going up in a little plane?
0:44:36 > 0:44:38Oh, yes, a certain amount of risk.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40I think that's part of the thrill of it, though.
0:44:40 > 0:44:46He took me up flying one day in a small two-seater aircraft.
0:44:46 > 0:44:47I was sitting behind him,
0:44:47 > 0:44:52'and, on the way back, he missed Blackpool Tower by about 20 feet.'
0:44:52 > 0:44:55I was sitting in the back, petrified, but anyway...
0:44:55 > 0:44:57Dick had a close call during one take-off,
0:44:57 > 0:45:01when his beloved Tiger Moth biplane collided with a car.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03'He'd gone to open an air display,'
0:45:03 > 0:45:09and he was taking off and a chap in a Morris 1000 estate car
0:45:09 > 0:45:14backed over the road for the car park into his path,
0:45:14 > 0:45:16and he clipped the top of the car with the wing,
0:45:16 > 0:45:18'took the roof off the car,'
0:45:18 > 0:45:22and...wrapped the wing back to the side of the plane and crashed.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26'And he got a letter from the test pilots at Filton saying,'
0:45:26 > 0:45:30"We all have one we walk away from."
0:45:30 > 0:45:33Action man Emery had cheated death,
0:45:33 > 0:45:35but he was finally grounded by a heart problem
0:45:35 > 0:45:38that restricted his flying licence.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42Dick's dramatic private life meant he was never out of the public eye.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46But despite years spent on stage and screen,
0:45:46 > 0:45:49behind the scenes he was a tormented soul.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54Every slight change of direction could trigger self-doubt
0:45:54 > 0:45:57and debilitating nerves.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00He did suffer with stage...
0:46:00 > 0:46:04Well, stage fright of a kind. I mean, he'd sort of overcome it.
0:46:04 > 0:46:09He used to pace around the dressing room like a caged tiger,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12just going round and round. You didn't speak.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14My nerves, I mean, in those days,
0:46:14 > 0:46:17used to take the form of being physically sick,
0:46:17 > 0:46:20- before I did anything.- Really? - Oh, absolutely petrifying.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23But now they take the form of being utterly depressed.
0:46:23 > 0:46:28Then I found this analyst chap, and I went to him for 18 months
0:46:28 > 0:46:32and I got to know me, what made me tick.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35I delved right deep down, we had hypnotism as well,
0:46:35 > 0:46:38and I found out a lot of things about myself
0:46:38 > 0:46:42and learnt to live with myself, I got to know myself.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47He had what he called his demons, and they would come to him.
0:46:47 > 0:46:52He couldn't be alone, he hated being alone, he hated the dark.
0:46:52 > 0:46:53He was insecure,
0:46:53 > 0:46:56he never thought that the next show was going to be a success.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58He couldn't believe his own success.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01So he had emotional problems.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06The pressure to stay current in a changing television world
0:47:06 > 0:47:09made Dick even more anxious.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11He felt trapped in his own format
0:47:11 > 0:47:15and unable to realise his ambitions at the BBC.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17Something had to change.
0:47:17 > 0:47:22In 1979, he moved to ITV.
0:47:22 > 0:47:27Good evening, and welcome to an hour of comedy and music!
0:47:27 > 0:47:29It's Dick Emery's Comedy Hour.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31THEME MUSIC PLAYS
0:47:31 > 0:47:33# One, two! #
0:47:35 > 0:47:36BOING
0:47:36 > 0:47:38MUSIC CONTINUES
0:48:01 > 0:48:04I suspect he may have thought
0:48:04 > 0:48:06that he was taken for granted at the BBC.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08He'd been there so long, he was a BBC property,
0:48:08 > 0:48:12part of the furniture, "Yes, we'll do another 13 Dick Emery shows."
0:48:12 > 0:48:16So when somebody comes a-wooing...
0:48:16 > 0:48:18Why not?
0:48:19 > 0:48:21VACUUM WHIRRS
0:48:24 > 0:48:29I think sometimes that when you've been doing something for a very long time,
0:48:29 > 0:48:32it's quite exciting to think of doing something a bit differently,
0:48:32 > 0:48:34and, again, I think he was hoping
0:48:34 > 0:48:37that maybe it would be more acting than sketches,
0:48:37 > 0:48:40more long-term acting than sketches.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45And it changed a bit, but really the format was much the same.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47Bless you.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52His adventure with commercial television
0:48:52 > 0:48:53lasted for just three shows.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55But when he returned to the BBC,
0:48:55 > 0:48:59things were beginning to change in the world of television comedy.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06The days of the old school stars were numbered.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10Dick's 20-year-old format would have to change.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16Every television artist, particularly comedians,
0:49:16 > 0:49:20have a natural shelf life.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23Erm...Morecambe and Wise was longer than most,
0:49:23 > 0:49:27Bruce Forsyth's longer than anybody's,
0:49:27 > 0:49:30but there is a sort of natural shelf life,
0:49:30 > 0:49:33and you reach saturation point,
0:49:33 > 0:49:38and you have to accept it, that the world moves on, taste moves on.
0:49:38 > 0:49:43You could never see Dick Emery as Dick Emery, hosting a game show.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47He just didn't have that kind of personality,
0:49:47 > 0:49:51so I think his talent was in those characters,
0:49:51 > 0:49:54and that limited the opportunities for him
0:49:54 > 0:49:56beyond simply The Dick Emery Show.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59I think it made him even more paranoid
0:49:59 > 0:50:01than he would normally have been,
0:50:01 > 0:50:05because he hadn't actually done what he wanted to do,
0:50:05 > 0:50:08even though he'd been so huge.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11He hadn't actually done... And the things that he wanted to do
0:50:11 > 0:50:15were the last shows that he did do, with real acting,
0:50:15 > 0:50:19with a cliffhanger, a proper story, a real script.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21He still used all his characters,
0:50:21 > 0:50:23he brought in Mandy and the vicar and everybody else,
0:50:23 > 0:50:25but he had lots of new characters as well,
0:50:25 > 0:50:28and he played the Jewish detective.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31And that was what he wanted to do,
0:50:31 > 0:50:37and when that came along I think it eased the, erm...terror.
0:50:39 > 0:50:45Legacy Of Murder was at last a six part serial with a continuing story.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52The Good Book tells us beyond any doubt
0:50:52 > 0:50:56that the wicked and ungodly shall perish from this earth
0:50:56 > 0:51:00in an all-consuming pillar of fire!
0:51:03 > 0:51:06There were two series of Dick's comedy thrillers,
0:51:06 > 0:51:08each with a cliffhanger ending.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11They were the kind of programmes he had always wanted to make.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16At least he set off in the right direction.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22He was trying to make his act slightly more sophisticated, in a way.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25He got tired of doing those sketch shows
0:51:25 > 0:51:29and was interested in doing something with a longer narrative
0:51:29 > 0:51:32to it, like a lot of comedians around that same moment -
0:51:32 > 0:51:35Morecambe and Wise did it particularly.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37- Let's get cracking before the police arrive.- Good idea.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39It was a way of freshening it up, I suppose,
0:51:39 > 0:51:42and trying to find depth in those characters.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45Except I don't really think there was any depth to find,
0:51:45 > 0:51:50because those characters that Dick Emery created, they're not...
0:51:50 > 0:51:54Erm, they come on and they do their thing and they go off again,
0:51:54 > 0:51:59and it's not about developing a sophisticated personality,
0:51:59 > 0:52:03Hetty and Mandy and all of those people,
0:52:03 > 0:52:05they don't really have psychologies
0:52:05 > 0:52:08in the way that some character comedians
0:52:08 > 0:52:12brought that to their parts, their creations.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15Dick's comedy was running out of steam.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19At 67 years of age, maybe now was the time to hang up the wigs,
0:52:19 > 0:52:23look back on a fabulous career, and make space for the next generation.
0:52:23 > 0:52:27Most people in this business do it until they drop, you know.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31My father did it until he dropped, and I would never stop.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34I might take it a little easier at times.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37There comes a time when you've got, say, a month off.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40That's long enough for me. Otherwise I'd go mad.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42Go mad, absolutely mad.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45A second series was filmed but hadn't yet been shown
0:52:45 > 0:52:49when Dick was recording his memories of life in 1982.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51GENTLE PIANO MUSIC
0:52:51 > 0:52:53APPLAUSE
0:52:54 > 0:52:56He felt compelled to keep working,
0:52:56 > 0:52:59even though it took a toll on his health.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06# When I was 17
0:53:07 > 0:53:09# It was a very good year
0:53:10 > 0:53:12# It was a very good year
0:53:12 > 0:53:15# For small-town girls
0:53:15 > 0:53:17# On soft summer nights
0:53:19 > 0:53:22# We'd hide from the lights
0:53:23 > 0:53:25# On the village green
0:53:27 > 0:53:29# When I was 17. #
0:53:29 > 0:53:32HE CHUCKLES AND SIGHS
0:53:32 > 0:53:35'He got out of breath and he went to sleep.'
0:53:35 > 0:53:38Suddenly, in the middle of talking, he'd just go...
0:53:38 > 0:53:40and he'd suddenly go to sleep.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44And that...showed that there was something the matter.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46He was quite reluctant to
0:53:46 > 0:53:48investigate what could be the matter with him.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51He was frightened of being ill,
0:53:51 > 0:53:55and he wouldn't watch television if there was a hospital programme
0:53:55 > 0:53:57on it or anything like that, he would never watch it.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59He'd say, "Oh, no, I don't want to watch that."
0:53:59 > 0:54:02So he was frightened.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05# But now the days are short
0:54:05 > 0:54:08# I'm in the autumn of the years
0:54:08 > 0:54:12# And I think of my life
0:54:12 > 0:54:14# As vintage wine
0:54:14 > 0:54:17# From fine old kegs
0:54:19 > 0:54:22# From the brim to the dregs
0:54:23 > 0:54:27# And it poured sweet and clear
0:54:29 > 0:54:33# It was a very good year. #
0:54:35 > 0:54:38GENTLE PIANO CONTINUES
0:54:58 > 0:55:01APPLAUSE
0:55:08 > 0:55:13I think Dick Emery's main status in comedy
0:55:13 > 0:55:16is being the first person to do something
0:55:16 > 0:55:22that is now almost the hallmark of a sort of big, successful
0:55:22 > 0:55:24comedy show in Britain,
0:55:24 > 0:55:27which is that he would do characters,
0:55:27 > 0:55:30those characters would become national institutions,
0:55:30 > 0:55:33and they would have catch phrases that everyone knew,
0:55:33 > 0:55:36and a look that everyone immediately knew,
0:55:36 > 0:55:39and he would do them week in, week out,
0:55:39 > 0:55:43and people would not tire of them. At least, not for a very long time.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48Dick Emery passed away more than 30 years ago.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52He was one of the last of the old school comedy stars.
0:55:52 > 0:55:54Oh, hello, honky tonks, how are you? Nice to see you.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57He's left us more than a catch phrase.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01He's left a legacy that has inspired generations of new artists.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04He inspired so many modern comedians,
0:56:04 > 0:56:06and I think anybody now
0:56:06 > 0:56:11doing a character in comedy,
0:56:11 > 0:56:16be it me and Matt, be it Sacha Baron Cohen, be it Harry Enfield,
0:56:16 > 0:56:18be it Steve Coogan with Alan Partridge,
0:56:18 > 0:56:20we all owe a debt to Dick Emery.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22KEYBOARD RATTLES
0:56:23 > 0:56:26Computer says no.
0:56:26 > 0:56:27Certainly me and Paul Whitehouse
0:56:27 > 0:56:29and Harry Enfield were huge fans of the show,
0:56:29 > 0:56:33and when we came to do the Harry Enfield Television Programme,
0:56:33 > 0:56:35Dick Emery was our template.
0:56:35 > 0:56:39I suppose other character actors like Stanley Baxter,
0:56:39 > 0:56:43but probably more Dick Emery of the regular characters coming on,
0:56:43 > 0:56:45doing their stuff, having catch phrases,
0:56:45 > 0:56:48being very recognisable.
0:56:48 > 0:56:52And, yes, we sort of modernised it a little bit,
0:56:52 > 0:56:56but we were never shy of saying that Dick Emery was our inspiration.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59That's all, er, that's all done, Ted.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03- I really, I can't thank you enough for that.- That's all right, sir.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06I'll just climb aboard, shall I?
0:57:06 > 0:57:08And we can be...
0:57:08 > 0:57:10on our way.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17- Now, here's a charming young lady. - Oh, thank you.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21- May I ask you, are you married? - No, but I'm going to be next week.
0:57:21 > 0:57:23- Congratulations. - Thank you very much.
0:57:23 > 0:57:26He was the sweetest, sweetest man that you can imagine.
0:57:26 > 0:57:31He just was lovely, he was funny and kind and generous,
0:57:31 > 0:57:32and charming.
0:57:32 > 0:57:36I found out that my fiance's going to buy me a surprise present.
0:57:36 > 0:57:40- And I'm on my way to buy him one. - An exchange of gifts? How charming.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43And will you show him yours before the wedding?
0:57:43 > 0:57:46Hugely accomplished comedic artist.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49Star of his own show. You can't get higher than that.
0:57:49 > 0:57:51He's one of the greatest there has been.
0:57:51 > 0:57:54Or will you let him have it on the honeymoon?
0:57:54 > 0:57:56You are awful!
0:57:56 > 0:58:00I think for 17 years to have a show on TV
0:58:00 > 0:58:03that made, you know, up to nearly 20 million people laugh,
0:58:03 > 0:58:07that is an incredible achievement, and is a wonderful thing.
0:58:07 > 0:58:09But I like you!