Eric and Ernie’s missing special
Lost tape of comedy legends’ BBC show to be aired
ALTHOUGH it’s almost 40 years since Eric Morecambe passed away and 22 since Ernie Wise died, the duo continue to bring sunshine to our lives.
The latest programme in this series delves into a remarkable discovery made by Eric’s family just last year.
While searching for some missing paperwork, his son found an old film can in the loft containing the first episode of their BBC show, which has remained unseen for more than 50 years.
It first aired on October 14, 1970 and was watched by 14 million viewers.
We’re now about to be treated to a glimpse of its contents.
Among those offering their views are Eric’s widow Joan, their children
Gail and Gary, as well as celebrity fans including Jonathan Ross, Ben Miller and Eddie Izzard. The half-hour special featured a mix of gag-packed routines involving stage curtains, ventriloquism and a toy dog that shoots nerve gas out of its bottom. There’s even a daring bedroom sketch in which Eric eavesdrops on newlyweds. And they end the show with their signature song Bring Me Sunshine. Although the film is the first Morecambe & Wise Show to air on the BBC, the double act had appeared on the station before. They starred in Running Wild in 1954, but it was a flop and led to the notorious review: “Definition of the week: TV set – the box in which they buried Morecambe and Wise”.
Eric was said to have kept the cutting in his wallet for the rest of his life.
A successful comeback started on the ITV station ATV in 1961, before they moved to BBC2 in 1968.
Nowadays many see
Morecambe and Wise as Britain’s undisputed kings of comedy. In their 70s heyday they regularly pulled in more than 20 million viewers every week, and their Christmas Special is still repeated every year. The
Lost Tapes features the funniest sketches from the newly found show.
Eric died in May 1984 aged just 58 after collapsing on stage, while Ernie passed away aged 73 in March, 1999.
Morecambe & Wise: The Lost Tapes is repeated on ITV, Sunday, at 10.20pm