London, 23 October 2018:
Morecambe & Wise, perhaps more synonymous with Christmas than any other entertainers, will be the focus of a brand new documentary series hosted by Jonathan Ross this December on the nation's favourite comedy channel Gold. Morecambe & Wise in America (3x60') is a UKTV Original telling the story of Eric and Ernie's attempts to break America, featuring over an hour of footage that has never been seen in the UK.
Jonathan Ross said:
As a fan of both Morecambe & Wise and vintage American TV, it's been a real joy to discover all this footage of their performances in the States in the Sixties. I'm looking forward to telling the story for Gold's viewers of how Eric and Ernie's work in America became a tantalising foretaste of their very best shows here in Britain.
Over the course of five years in the 1960s, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise made multiple trips to New York to appear on the USA's biggest variety show, The Ed Sullivan Show - also credited with helping The Beatles 'crack' America. The untold story of their attempt to make it in the States is documented for the first time, including footage that has never been shown on British television before, alongside Eric and Ernie's own photographs, home movies and memorabilia from the time.
In Morecambe & Wise in America, host Jonathan Ross will also peel back the curtain on the working dynamic of the legendary pair behind the scenes, with contributions from family and colleagues as well as some of the legendary guest stars who worked with them including Glenda Jackson, Nicholas Parsons, Millicent Martin and Dame Diana Rigg.
The series also includes Morecambe & Wise's very first appearances on television in colour.
Morecambe & Wise in America is commissioned for UKTV by Joe McVey, commissioning editor, and ordered for Gold by Richard Watsham, director of commissioning, and Steve North, genre general manager, comedy and entertainment. Morecambe & Wise in America is produced by Double Yellow (Bob Monkhouse: The Million Joke Man) in association with SOFA Entertainment, and executive produced by Mark Wells of Double Yellow and Andrew Solt of SOFA Entertainment.
Joe McVey said:
Morecambe & Wise are as much part of Christmas as presents, carols and unbearable family tension, and this is the untold story of how their attempt to crack America in the 60s shaped their golden era and all of our Christmases ever since and forever. As many as 60 million people watched them on The Ed Sullivan Show, so if the British public could all watch it, that would be a great Christmas present for me.
Gerald Casey, Gold channel director, said:
The discovery of this footage amounts to a treasure chest of essential new material for any comedy fan. We hope Gold viewers will be as enthralled by the on-stage routines and off-stage revelations in these shows as we have been.
Mark Wells said:
The footage of Morecambe & Wise working on American television in the Sixties is fascinating, because to begin with the audiences don't quite know what to make of them. But Eric and Ernie established themselves very quickly, and performed some wonderful routines that British viewers will never have had the chance to savour before.
Morecambe & Wise in America is just the latest UKTV Original for Gold, following My Favourite Sketch, in which Sally Phillips interviews some of Britain's finest comedians, and recent retrospective series Saluting Dad's Army, dinnerladies diaries and How The Young Ones Changed Comedy. Gold continues to commission programming from and about the best of British comedy, with the forthcoming Death on the Tyne reuniting Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson in a sequel to Murder on the Blackpool Express, the channel's highest ever rating show. Next year Sir David Jason will present his own travelogue David Jason: Planes, Trains & Automobiles.
Morecambe & Wise in America will air on Gold in December.
For more information please contact: Ben Duncan, Publicist, UKTV
About Gold
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Dedicated to celebrating the best of British comedy, Gold is the nation's favourite comedy channel. Much-loved comedy series such as Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley and The Royle Family sit alongside an array of successful UKTV Originals including David Jason: My Life on Screen, The Rebel, The Story of Only Fools and Horses, and Murder on the Blackpool Express, which stars a stunning cast including Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson. The feature length UKTV Original attracted 1.72 million viewers in its first week in 2017, making it Gold's highest ever rating show.
The perfect tonic to make you laugh whatever the time of day, Gold shows universally funny content that everyone can enjoy.
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About UKTV
UKTV is a commercial broadcaster reaching almost 40m viewers every month.
The award-winning independent has eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food. These include the two most popular non-PSB channels in the UK and account for nearly 10% of the British commercial TV market.
The network delivers inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat, Amazon Fire and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories. Now celebrating over 20 years at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Studios and Discovery, Inc. - is proud to be the first British television broadcaster in The Sunday Times top 100 companies list.