Statues for British Comedy Greats

New statues commemorating some of Britain’s best-loved comedians have been making the news in the past few months — and reviving many laughter-filled memories.

The legendary duo of Morecambe and Wise, who brought us so much sunshine over the decades, have been honoured with a statue in the foyer of the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. It was unveiled, last October, by Eric’s wife, Joan, his son Gary and daughter Gail, together with a representative from Ernie’s family.

The statue, the first to feature both comedians together, was commissioned to mark the 75th anniversary of the double-act’s first stage appearance in 1941.

The Lancashire resort is the perfect location for the tribute as Morecambe and Wise performed in the town more than 1,000 times during their career.

Standing eight-feet tall, the statue was sculpted by Graham Ibbeson and funded by donations.

A similar tribute is planned for the comedian Victoria Wood who died last April. In July her brother, Chris Foote-Wood, announced plans for a

statue in Bury where he and his sister grew up. He has the backing of the council and a fundraising appeal for the statue on the Justgiving website (https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/chris-footewood) is nearing its £30,000 target.

Among the generous donations received was one of £1,000 from the Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench.

Following a public vote, the statue will depict Victoria as the long-suffering canteen supervisor, Bren, from the popular BBC comedy Dinnerladies, which she created and wrote.

It is intended that the statue will be completed later this year.