Morecambe & Wise: Genius writer who brought all of us sunshine

One statistic tells the story: their Christmas special for the BBC in 1977 attracted 28 million viewers. Only royal weddings can top that now. 

By 1977, they were Christmas, with the most common question as each festive season approached: “Who’s the special guest for Eric and Ernie this year?”

But was there also a dark secret behind their incredible success? The 28 million figure is one of the final frames in a new TV drama this Christmas called Eric, Ernie & Me on BBC Four. 

The 60-minute, largely affectionate film focuses on their remarkable but beleaguered writer Eddie Braben, captured in a sensitive and sympathetic portrayal by Stephen Tompkinson (DCI Banks, Drop The Dead Donkey). 

In one of his best performances Tompkinson shows how Braben set about reshaping the iconic double act in the 1970s into the Eric and Ernie that the nation took to its heart, but battled against what became impossible pressures on rewrites, pushed on him by the duo, especially Eric Morecambe. 

We also see Eric’s temper in a row with Ernie over staging changes which in the end created the show we now associate with them. 

“Thanks to Eddie Braben, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise became the most beloved comedy double act since Laurel and Hardy,” says Tompkinson. 

“The intimate utopia Eddie created for the boys over 14 years has left us with everlasting joy. 

“To be able to tell this beautifully crafted piece by [writer] Neil Forsyth is a rarity that reminds us how lucky we were that these three gentlemen bonded together and the efforts that went behind holding generations eternally grateful. 

“For this project to have the blessings of the Braben, Morecambe, and Wise families, makes us constantly aware of what an honour it is to portray these comedic legends.” 

He admits to a life-long love of Morecambe and Wise. 

“I would memorise the end credits of the Christmas show as a child and can recall that he was the sole writer on the series for many years. He changed their act completely, with daring things like the ‘flat sketch’ with the two of them in the bed. 

“To research the character, I watched a very good Omnibus. There was also a documentary that was done for Nationwide. Dee, of course, Eddie’s widow, was his absolute rock and his inspiration. Without her there would never have been this success.” 

There’s little doubting Braben’s contribution to the duo’s iconic status. 

From his first day writing for them, the film shows he was determined to change the dynamic between the two. 

Initially, Eric and Ernie didn’t like it but audiences did. It was thanks to Braben that Wise started talking about the plays “what I wrote – sometimes 26 in one day”.

He went on to script Glenda Jackson’s line in Ern’s Antony And Cleopatra: “All men are fools and what makes them so is having beauty like what I have got.” 

And Morecambe’s playing of Andre Previn’s Grieg Piano Concerto… “the right notes, though not necessarily in the right order.”

Braben, the son of a butcher, insisted that he continue to live in Liverpool despite working in London.

After each show he would take the sleeper home and the film shows him penning ideas from his bed on the train for the following week. 

He won a Bafta for his contribution to television in 1972 but the same year suffered a nervous breakdown. 

Yet he would recover and go on to write for other performers such as David Frost, Ronnie Corbett, Little and Large, and Les Dawson. He died in 2013, aged 82. 

The pressures put on the former fruit and veg man were beyond the norm. They mounted to such an extent that he would leave the series temporarily through “nervous exhaustion.”

When he refused to return, all the while supported by Dee (played by Liz White), the boys descended on Liverpool to plead for his return. Braben couldn’t resist the call. 

The film is the first glimpse of a very different Eric Morecambe after his first heart attack. He was no longer the quick-witted, avuncular figure which the nation loved. 

In this film, he has a stand-up row with Ernie over set changes to accommodate a full orchestra for the Christmas show. Morecambe does not like it at all, declaring: “We don’t change for anyone,” insisting “it’s not what we do”. 

He questions Ernie’s talent and they have a heated discussion over their ill-fated attempt to break America, an ambition of Ernie’s. Eric hated it, especially the food.

Morecambe was known for a “temper” but this is the first time it has been shown on TV. 

But the drama is not dominated by this darker episode. It’s also very funny, with great one liners. 

Ernie jokes: “I get 10 per cent of the laughs and 50 per cent of the money!” And Eric: “Why is there only one word for thesaurus?” 

In the film, Neil Maskell stars as Ernie Wise and Scottish actor Mark Bonnar is Morecambe. 

Despite a lack of physical similarities, Bonnar captures the comedian’s accent and peculiarities perfectly, even though his wife “had to push me out the door” to go to the audition. 

“He had a temper like we all do and it was born out of their work ethic,” says Bonnar, adding tellingly: “They wanted to work and work and work. They wanted to be the best they could be. The best thing about doing the role was watching countless episodes of Morecambe And Wise. That was a joy.” 

Writer Neil Forsyth researched the drama by reading autobiographies and watching biopics. 

But would this drama damage the reputation of two much-loved figures? Says Forsyth: “I don’t think it will. It’s more about them being obsessed with the work, they were so dedicated. We’re doing a story about the creative process.” 

The director is Bafta award-winning Dan Zeff (Hattie, the Johnny Vegas series Ideal). 

“There’s obviously a tension that comes through but also a self-doubt,” he says. 

“And that’s what was so exciting. It was a chance to show what can seem so effortless on the screen but behind the scenes they were constantly pushing, but it’s not an unkindness towards him.” 

Says Tompkinson: “I just wanted them to do it justice. I don’t think we will ever see a writer again get such responsibility as Braben did.” 

Eric, Ernie & Me, BBC Four, date to be announced.