Original Morecambe and Wise script up for auction

An original script from a rediscovered episode of The Morecambe & Wise Show has come up for auction.

The auction is just in time for a special BBC show to celebrate what would have been Eric Morecambe's 100th birthday.

Eric and Ernie's comeback episode was first broadcast on 16 September 1968 and will be played again on BBC iPlayer and BBC Four on 14 May after it was found in a private collection.

The 37-page script belongs to Pauline 'Spyder' Bennett - who appeared on the show as one of a pop trio The Paper Dolls - and is expected to fetch up to £1,500 at Ewbank's in Woking on 29 May.

Bennett had previously worked with Eric and Ernie in pantomime and said she has fond memories of performing on The Morecambe & Wise Show, noting the kindness they showed to The Paper Dolls before their performance.

The rediscovered script was the third episode from Morecambe and Wise's first series after their return to the BBC since 1954, and is one of four missing episodes from the series.

The missing show was able to come to light thanks to research by the charity Film is Fabulous! (FIF), and the surviving 16mm black and white footage was discovered in a private collection of a former television industry professional.

It includes a single-page running order and pages written by successful British television comedy partnership, Sid Green and Dick Hills, as well as the full-length script for the 4:32 boxing sketch featuring Eric and Ernie, with British boxer Jimmy Lee refereeing.

"The comedy duo became a staple of British popular culture and have been described as 'the best-loved double-act that Britain has ever produced'", said Ewbank's consultant specialist Denise Kelly.

"This is a unique opportunity to acquire a script from a magnificent rediscovered episode."

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