Morecambe nearly dropped Wise over fears he wasn’t good enough

Tonight British TV’s charming double act Morecambe & Wise return to screens with the latest highlights show depicting their incredible career on screens. Airing from 8.35pm on Channel 5, Morecambe & Wise: 30 Funniest Moments will countdown some of the pair’s most hilarious moments, and some of the biggest stars that featured on their primetime show. During their career, which started as a double-act in 1941, they were described as “the most illustrious, and the best-loved, double-act that Britain has ever produced”. But astonishingly, BBC chiefs weren’t initially convinced.

A letter, uncovered from the BBC archives, from scriptwriter John Ammonds, dated in 1959, claimed that Eric Morecambe would be a much better prospect were he a performer in his own right, as opposed to with comic partner Ernie Wise.

At the time, Morecambe and Wise were still two years off breaking into the mainstream, bringing with them their impeccable senses of humour and original sketches. But Ammonds was unconvinced and championed Morecambe into leaving Wise.

The bombshell letter even described the pair, who would go on to win posthumous BAFTA Fellowship Awards, as “quite disappointing” after watching them during a show in Lancashire.

In the letter, Ammonds wrote: “After seeing Morecambe and Wise the other week in their show [in] Blackpool, I am not at all sure as to their strength on a TV programme. They are still working to old gags and in my opinion, frequently working the wrong type of material.

“They are quite a disappointment to me because when I first worked with them in this region on sound, I thought they had a great future. It is even more depressing than it seems because they are quite happy to jog along as they are doing at the moment.

“I always thought Eric Morecambe was a funny man and still think that he could be very successful on vision but only if he could be detached from Ernie, who I think is a big weakness. I really cannot see them making the grade in a TV series.”

At first, Morecambe and Wise began as stars in their own rights for their exploits on the stage and the airwaves, though the transfer to television was troublesome.

Among those was Running Wild, which saw the pair star in the 1954 comedy show, panned by critics and viewers alike. It even led one viewer to sensationally call a TV set as “the box they buried Morecambe and Wise in”.

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“You will appreciate my clients’ main livelihood depends upon theatrical engagements and they cannot possibly afford to jeopardise any further their reputation in this market.”

Despite the original troubles, the stars eventually found their place on TV through the 1961 show Two of a Kind, made by broadcaster ATV.

Some seven years later and they were back with the BBC, beginning their sketch show on The Morecambe and Wise Show. It broke TV records at the time of its release, including the 1977 Christmas edition, which was watched by 28 million viewers.

By 1976, the comedy legends were handed OBEs, and in 1999, just after Wise’s death, they were given the BAFTA Fellowship award.

Around 14 years later, they were honoured with blue plaques outside Teddington Studios, where the finals of their four series of The Morecambe and Wise Show was recorded.

Morecambe & Wise: 30 Funniest Moments airs from 8.35pm on Channel 5 tonight.