These releases have been a long time coming but on the 7 October 2013 fans can expect a lorra, lorra laughs when Cilla’s two “award-winning” series of 1970s comedy plays finally arrive on DVD. You can order ‘Cilla’s Comedy Six‘ and ‘Cilla’s World Of Comedy‘ now from amazon.co.uk (see below for more on each DVD set).
In celebration of both DVD sets arrival here’s a reminder of how this chapter in Cilla’s illustrious career came about by Cilla’s superfan Paul Mellor:
Cilla Black was always more than a chart-topping recording artist. Her ‘girl-next-door’ appeal, infectious personality and sense of humour helped Cilla to make the tricky transition from pop star to TV star.
At the beginning of 1968, Cilla was given her own BBC TV variety series, the eponymously titled ‘Cilla’ shows, which ran for eight years. The shows featured Cilla participating in comedy routines and sketches with her star guests. They became an integral part of each show, and over time, the sketches became more substantial and elaborate.
Cilla’s natural comic timing and her ability to deliver a line with great comic effect eventually caught the attention of executives at the rival ITV company, Associated Television (ATV). They convinced the Liverpudlian star to take a break from her regular BBC series to star in half a dozen specially commissioned situation comedy plays – aptly titled ‘Cilla’s Comedy Six‘.
On the 15 January 1975, ‘Cilla’s Comedy Six’ premiered and it proved to be a very successful series, earning Cilla a ‘Best Comedy Actress’ award from the Script Writers Guild, a forerunner to the Comedy Awards we know today. Each show made it in to the top 5 programmes every week, leading to the commissioning of a follow-up series, ‘Cilla’s World Of Comedy‘.
On the 31 August 1976, the second series aired featuring a new theme tune which Cilla had recorded – ‘Easy in Your Company’ – this was penned by her regular music arranger Mike Vickers and co-produced by her husband Bobby Willis.
Throughout both series, Cilla played ten different characters including Mrs Average Housewife (mid-’70s style), a temp fending off the amorous advances of her latest boss, a round-the-world yachtswoman, a footballer’s wife, a biology teacher who’s forced to take stock of her own life and even a wife who stumbles across her husband’s girlfriend. The shows featured a host of comedy talent, Keith Barron (Duty Free), Richard Wilson (One Foot In The Grave), Geoffrey Hughes (Keeping up Appearances), Frank Middlemas (Heartbeat), Tony Selby (Get Some In), Maggie Jones (Coronation Street) and Norman Rossington, to name a few.
There were however two outstanding characters, which could well have been developed into a series in their own right but sadly each were limited to just two shows. They were Linda Pearson (Cilla), married to Henry Pearson (Keith Barron), a middle class setting which had endless possibilities. The characters first appeared in ‘No Harem For Henry’ (Cilla’s Comedy Six) with the husband having an affair and again in ‘She’ll Have To Go’ (Cilla’s World Of Comedy), where the meddling mother-in-law comes to stay – these were amongst the best episodes of both series. Another outstanding character was Christine Bradshaw, a woman still living with her father (played by Leslie Sands) having to deal with her father’s infatuation with a younger woman in ‘Father’s Doing Fine’ (Cilla’s Comedy Six) and being left standing at the altar in ‘Get Me To The Church’ (Cilla’s World Of Comedy).
These are gentle comedies, often with a bitter sweet theme, all expertly written by Ronnie Taylor. Ronnie had an outstanding script-writing background having written for TV variety shows that starred David Jason, Val Doonican, Al Read, Harry Worth and Jimmy Clitheroe. He was also responsible for writing the hit situation comedy series ‘My Good Woman’ starring Leslie Crowther and Sylvia Sims and ‘Thirty Minutes Worth’ with Harry Worth. Another key player who helped make both series a success was producer Les Chatfield (Duty Free).
Although not as successful as her singing career, and perhaps overshadowed by her later huge TV hits, ‘Surprise! Surprise!’ and ‘Blind Date’, Cilla can look upon her ventures into situation comedy with pride. They were well-written, well acted and very popular with TV audiences of the time!
Thanks to Network Distributing, a whole new generation now have the opportunity to enjoy these comedy classics and to admire the versatility of one of our best all round entertainers, Cilla Black OBE, who is currently celebrating her 50th anniversary in show-business.
CILLA’S COMEDY SIX
Release Date: Expected 7 October 2013
Order the Region 2 DVD set from amazon.co.uk
- No Harem for Henry (15 January 1975) – Guest starring Keith Barron and Anna Sharkey “Linda Pearson wonders if there is another woman in her husband’s life.”
- Every Husband Has One! (22 January 1975) – Guest starring Henry McGee, Tony Selby “Doris Livesey is chosen as the typical housewife by a consumer research organisation.”
- Sea View (29 January 1975) – Guest starring Maggie Jones, Alan Rothwell “Thelma and Barry Fosset take their two small children to the seaside for a week’s holiday but it is only when they are ready to return home that problems arise.”
- Father’s Doing Fine (5 February 1975) – Guest starring Leslie Sands, Helen Frazer “Christine Bradshaw’s life becomes complicated when her widowed father meets Gloria…”
- Who’s Rocking the Boat? (12 February 1975) – Guest starring Dudley Sutton, Norman Rossington “Vera Clayton is about to set sail around the world, in a small boat with two men for company.”
- Dictation Speed (19 February 1975) – Guest starring Dinsdale Landen, Nicolette Mackenzie “Secretary Sally Norton has to work out how to cope with the unwelcome attentions of her boss.”
CILLA’S WORLD OF COMEDY
Release Date: Expected 7 October 2013
Order the Region 2 DVD set from amazon.co.uk
- She’ll Have to Go (31 August 1976) – Guest starring Keith Barron, Dorothy Reynolds “During an incident involving a trifle and a mince pie, Henry Pearson’s mother called his wife Linda a slut. Now the unpleasant old lady is coming to stay with the Pearsons for a few days and with no sign of an apology forthcoming, Linda decides to put things straight betweeen her and her mother-in-law.”
- Home and Away (7 September 1976) – Guest starring Paul Greenaway, Paul McCarthy “Barbara Norton’s husband is a football player who is up for transfer to another team. But Barbara isn’t happy about the idea and hatches a plan to scupper the deal.”
- Desirable Property (14 September 1976) – Guest starring Richard Wilson, James Hazeldine “A separated couple become involved in a battle to buy the same house, much to the chagrin of an exasperated estate agent.”
- Sisters (21 September 1976) – Guest starring Cheryl Kennedy, Geoffrey Hughs “Teacher Carol Coombes wants to meet a man, so when her sister Elizabeth is called away urgently, she offers to entertain a male friend of Elizabeth’s, unaware that he is a photographer who thinks that he has been invited to her house to take nude pictures of her for a calendar. This comic misunderstanding leads to much hilarity.”
- Get Me to the Church! (28 September 1976) – Guest starring Leslie Sands, David Wood “It is Christine Bradshaw’s wedding day. She and her father are just about to leave for the church when Kevin, the best man, turns up to inform them that the groom has been taken ill. A series of amusing mishaps ensues.”
- Who’s Your Friend? (4 October 1976) – Guest starring Philip Lowrie, Frank Middlemass “When Philip Travers wakes up after his engagement party to find a strange woman looking for her shoes in his living room, he hatches a convoluted plot to prevent his future father-in-law from finding out. Farcical goings-on and cross-dressing antics ensue.”
