By . Terry Ravenscroft . PUBLISHED: . 16:11 EST, 29 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:11 EST, 29 March 2013 . To say I was in awe of Les Dawson the day I met him would be an understatement; I was a still-wet-behind-the-ears television scriptwriter (at the time, the only credit I had to my name was contributing to the 'news items' that topped and tailed The Two Ronnies), whereas Les was one of the biggest comedy stars in the country. What would I say to him? Would I be able to say anything, or would the words stick in my mouth? I needn't have worried. He . had no airs and graces, no edge, nothing of the 'Big I Am' about him; . he was exactly the man viewers saw on their TV screens, and from the . moment we shook hands it was like being with someone I'd known all my . life. It remained that way for the six years I spent providing him with . many of the gags he used on his shows, the rough pebbles that became . polished gemstones once he'd added his perfect inflection and delivery . to them. Les Dawson as Ada and Roy Barraclough as Cissie in Cissy & Ada . We'd been brought together by chance. The Two Ronnies producer Peter Whitmore had been handed the task of producing what would be Les's first solo series since joining the BBC from ITV the year previously. In its wisdom the BBC, rather than relying on tried-and-trusted scriptwriters, had decided to try out four new writers to provide the scripts for what was to be The Dawson Watch. They were Andy Hamilton, Tom Magee-Engelfield, Colin Bostock-Smith and myself. I was treated to an example of Les's off-the-cuff wit when it became apparent that Tom and Colin weren't coming up with the sort of material that suited Les. At a script conference, Peter Whitmore said to Les, 'Oh by the way, I've had to let Magee-Engelfield and Bostock-Smith go.' Quick as a flash, Les replied, 'Well, that's got rid of four of them.' Eric Potts and Steve Nallon in the new play . By the time it had become The Les Dawson Show, I was the sole writer apart from Les himself. I wrote the sketches and Les wrote the stand-up, and we each chipped in with ideas for both. Of course, some of the best-loved moments were the Cissie & Ada sketches, and the intriguing history behind them formed the starting point for our new play. The gossiping old housewives came about through improvisation when Les was with Yorkshire TV doing Sez Les years earlier. He was a big fan of music-hall legend Norman Evans, famous for dressing up as an 'Ada' type woman for his 'Over the Garden Wall' act, and between takes Les and his Sez Les co-star Roy Barraclough would make up bits with each other as Norman Evans-type women. The sketch was resurrected on the BBC at my suggestion because I knew, perhaps more than Les did, just how popular it would be. The way it worked is that I would write the sketch and while we were rehearsing it Les would throw in the odd line (between you and me, it was usually one he'd used in the past and he knew would get a laugh) and Roy would do likewise. I'd sometimes add something myself, or suggest an alteration if it wasn't quite working. When Chris Mellor, creative producer at The Broadway theatre in Barking, noticed the discrepancies between my original scripts and the televised footage while researching Les's career, he decided to try and track the artistic journey of all the sketches - including the heated discussions that took place - and the play reveals what he discovered. It not only captures the nostalgia of the pieces, but the backstage antics that went on while they were being created. Les was 'exactly the man viewers saw on their TV screens', known for his ad-libbing and generous spirit . So, what was working with such a comedy legend really like? On the first run-through of a sketch, Les would always be word perfect. Initially I thought it was because he'd taken great pains to learn the script, but the truth was he had an almost photographic memory and only had to read a script once to retain about 90 per cent of it. And the ten per cent he didn't retain he would fill in with his own ad-libs - which were often funnier than the words he'd forgotten. Although Les knew his lines, this wasn't to say rehearsals were a pleasurable experience for me. Traumatic would be a better description. The way it went was that Les and his co-stars would act out a sketch. Les's performance would be nigh-on perfect. Minutes later, after a few suggestions from the producer, the cast would do the sketch again. This time Les would perform his part in an entirely different way and usually not nearly so well. Les Dawson as Ada and Roy Barraclough as Cissie on the Les Dawson Show . By the time the actors had rehearsed the sketch for a fourth or fifth time Les's performance had diminished to truly abysmal. The truth, it eventually dawned on me, was that Les quickly became bored and was trying to relieve the tedium of doing it again and again! In his mind he'd already done it the way he meant to and had no intention of doing it the same way again until it really mattered - the performance to the studio audience on recording night. I have one abiding memory of Les that demonstrates the man's generosity of spirit. It was a recording night and, with the audience settled in their seats for the 7.30pm start, Les was nowhere to be seen. Search parties were sent out to all four corners of TV Centre. The star of the show was eventually run to ground in the BBC canteen telling jokes to two cleaning ladies. The PA who found him said, 'Les, for God's sake, there's an audience of 300 waiting for the show to start.' Les, without showing the slightest concern, said, 'Make that 302,' turned to the cleaning ladies and said, 'Follow me, girls.' And they did, to seats on the front row. Cissie And Ada: An Hysterical Rectomy is at The Broadway, Barking, London IG11 7LS, until 6 April. For tickets, tel: 020 8507 5607 or visit www.thebroadwaybarking.com .
Terry Ravenscroft wrote Cissie & Ade scripts for six years .
Cissie And Ada: An Hysterical Rectomy is at The Broadway, Barking .
By . Terry Ravenscroft . PUBLISHED: . 16:11 EST, 29 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:11 EST, 29 March 2013 . To say I was in awe of Les Dawson the day I met him would be an understatement; I was a still-wet-behind-the-ears television scriptwriter (at the time, the only credit I had to my name was contributing to the 'news items' that topped and tailed The Two Ronnies), whereas Les was one of the biggest comedy stars in the country. What would I say to him? Would I be able to say anything, or would the words stick in my mouth? I needn't have worried. He . had no airs and graces, no edge, nothing of the 'Big I Am' about him; . he was exactly the man viewers saw on their TV screens, and from the . moment we shook hands it was like being with someone I'd known all my . life. It remained that way for the six years I spent providing him with . many of the gags he used on his shows, the rough pebbles that became . polished gemstones once he'd added his perfect inflection and delivery . to them. Les Dawson as Ada and Roy Barraclough as Cissie in Cissy & Ada . We'd been brought together by chance. The Two Ronnies producer Peter Whitmore had been handed the task of producing what would be Les's first solo series since joining the BBC from ITV the year previously. In its wisdom the BBC, rather than relying on tried-and-trusted scriptwriters, had decided to try out four new writers to provide the scripts for what was to be The Dawson Watch. They were Andy Hamilton, Tom Magee-Engelfield, Colin Bostock-Smith and myself. I was treated to an example of Les's off-the-cuff wit when it became apparent that Tom and Colin weren't coming up with the sort of material that suited Les. At a script conference, Peter Whitmore said to Les, 'Oh by the way, I've had to let Magee-Engelfield and Bostock-Smith go.' Quick as a flash, Les replied, 'Well, that's got rid of four of them.' Eric Potts and Steve Nallon in the new play . By the time it had become The Les Dawson Show, I was the sole writer apart from Les himself. I wrote the sketches and Les wrote the stand-up, and we each chipped in with ideas for both. Of course, some of the best-loved moments were the Cissie & Ada sketches, and the intriguing history behind them formed the starting point for our new play. The gossiping old housewives came about through improvisation when Les was with Yorkshire TV doing Sez Les years earlier. He was a big fan of music-hall legend Norman Evans, famous for dressing up as an 'Ada' type woman for his 'Over the Garden Wall' act, and between takes Les and his Sez Les co-star Roy Barraclough would make up bits with each other as Norman Evans-type women. The sketch was resurrected on the BBC at my suggestion because I knew, perhaps more than Les did, just how popular it would be. The way it worked is that I would write the sketch and while we were rehearsing it Les would throw in the odd line (between you and me, it was usually one he'd used in the past and he knew would get a laugh) and Roy would do likewise. I'd sometimes add something myself, or suggest an alteration if it wasn't quite working. When Chris Mellor, creative producer at The Broadway theatre in Barking, noticed the discrepancies between my original scripts and the televised footage while researching Les's career, he decided to try and track the artistic journey of all the sketches - including the heated discussions that took place - and the play reveals what he discovered. It not only captures the nostalgia of the pieces, but the backstage antics that went on while they were being created. Les was 'exactly the man viewers saw on their TV screens', known for his ad-libbing and generous spirit . So, what was working with such a comedy legend really like? On the first run-through of a sketch, Les would always be word perfect. Initially I thought it was because he'd taken great pains to learn the script, but the truth was he had an almost photographic memory and only had to read a script once to retain about 90 per cent of it. And the ten per cent he didn't retain he would fill in with his own ad-libs - which were often funnier than the words he'd forgotten. Although Les knew his lines, this wasn't to say rehearsals were a pleasurable experience for me. Traumatic would be a better description. The way it went was that Les and his co-stars would act out a sketch. Les's performance would be nigh-on perfect. Minutes later, after a few suggestions from the producer, the cast would do the sketch again. This time Les would perform his part in an entirely different way and usually not nearly so well. Les Dawson as Ada and Roy Barraclough as Cissie on the Les Dawson Show . By the time the actors had rehearsed the sketch for a fourth or fifth time Les's performance had diminished to truly abysmal. The truth, it eventually dawned on me, was that Les quickly became bored and was trying to relieve the tedium of doing it again and again! In his mind he'd already done it the way he meant to and had no intention of doing it the same way again until it really mattered - the performance to the studio audience on recording night. I have one abiding memory of Les that demonstrates the man's generosity of spirit. It was a recording night and, with the audience settled in their seats for the 7.30pm start, Les was nowhere to be seen. Search parties were sent out to all four corners of TV Centre. The star of the show was eventually run to ground in the BBC canteen telling jokes to two cleaning ladies. The PA who found him said, 'Les, for God's sake, there's an audience of 300 waiting for the show to start.' Les, without showing the slightest concern, said, 'Make that 302,' turned to the cleaning ladies and said, 'Follow me, girls.' And they did, to seats on the front row. Cissie And Ada: An Hysterical Rectomy is at The Broadway, Barking, London IG11 7LS, until 6 April. For tickets, tel: 020 8507 5607 or visit www.thebroadwaybarking.com .
Ada: An Hysterical Rectomy is at The Broadway,