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| Morecambe and Wise writer Eddie Braben dies | Morecambe and Wise writer Eddie Braben dies |
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| Eddie Braben, the comedy writer best known for his work on the Morecambe and Wise show, has died after a short illness, aged 82. | Eddie Braben, the comedy writer best known for his work on the Morecambe and Wise show, has died after a short illness, aged 82. |
| Braben, who also wrote material for BBC radio comedy show Round the Horne, Ken Dodd, David Frost and Ronnie Corbett, died on Tuesday morning, his manager Norma Farnes announced. | Braben, who also wrote material for BBC radio comedy show Round the Horne, Ken Dodd, David Frost and Ronnie Corbett, died on Tuesday morning, his manager Norma Farnes announced. |
| "The writer Eddie Braben, the third man behind the success of Morecambe and Wise, died this morning at the age of 82 after a short illness," Farnes said. | "The writer Eddie Braben, the third man behind the success of Morecambe and Wise, died this morning at the age of 82 after a short illness," Farnes said. |
| "It was Billy Cotton Jr at the BBC who recognised the brilliance of Eddie's writing was the ideal marriage that would guarantee the success of Morecambe and Wise. | "It was Billy Cotton Jr at the BBC who recognised the brilliance of Eddie's writing was the ideal marriage that would guarantee the success of Morecambe and Wise. |
| "He is survived by his loving wife Dee, three children and six grandchildren." | "He is survived by his loving wife Dee, three children and six grandchildren." |
| Braben, born in Liverpool in 1930, began his writing career selling jokes to comedians such as Charlie Chester and later worked with fellow Liverpudlian Dodd for a number of years. | |
| However, his most famous collaboration, with Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, began in 1969 when the BBC's then head of TV light entertainment, Bill Cotton, suggested they work together. | |
| Braben was credited with reshaping the duo's on-screen personas, introducing more elements of their off-screen friendship into their TV act, exaggarated for comic effect, such as having them live together and even innocently sharing a bed in their BBC sketches. | |
| He played a key part in Morecambe and Wise's success throughout the 70s, with their BBC Christmas specials in particular becoming must-see festive events. | |
| However, the pressure to top each year's Christmas special, which featured big numbers such as BBC newsreaders high-stepping through a There Is Nothing Like a Dame routine (1977), took a toll on Braben's health. | |
| Speaking to comedian Miranda Hart in March this year, Braben said: | |
| "The Morecambe and Wise Show became more important than Christmas. | |
| "The real pressure came when I was sat in front of that typewriter with all those blank pages and there was a deadline and there was nothing happening. That's when you realised there were 20 million or 25 million people looking over your shoulder – all saying 'Make me laugh'." | |
| Although he kept the burden to himself, Braben admitted that he did "pay a price with health". | |
| When Morecambe and Wise switched to ITV in 1978, Braben remained at the BBC, although he did later write for them again. | |
| He also wrote for and performed in BBC radio comedy programmes The Show with Ten Legs, featuring Bill Pertwee and Alison Steadman, and The Show with No Name, also with Steadman. | |
| Braben also wrote for Seaside Special, The Les Dawson Show, Ronnie Corbett, Jim Davidson, Little and Large and Mike Yarwood in the late 70s and early 80s. | |
| In 2001, Braben collaborated with Hamish McColl and Sean Foley on the Olivier award-winning The Play What I Wrote, a tribute to the relationship between Morecambe, Wise and himself. His autobiography, The Book What I Wrote, was published in 2004. | |
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