Cissie and Ada
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| | Les Dawson's Cissie and Ada is a collection
of some of the scripts I wrote for Les when I worked as his scriptwriter during the years 1978 to 1983, originally on two series of the BBC's 'The Dawson
Watch' and subsequently on three series of 'The Les Dawson Show'. Les was Ada Shufflebottom of course, and Cissie Braithwaite was played by
Roy Barraclough, who later went on to star as Alex Gilroy in Coronation Street.
Les Dawson, British comedy's finest, was a joy to know, in real life exactly the same person you saw on your TV screens. Writing comedy scripts
isn't the easiest of occupations , but writing Cissie and Ada was easier than most scriptwriting jobs I took on because as a boy I grew up amongst
women much like Cissie, and especially Ada, hair-curlered Ena Sharples-like harridans who would habitually spend a good part of their day standing
on their front doorsteps commenting to each other about the disgusting state of the curtains at number 29 over the road - “She’s had them up since
D-Day” - before going on to do a demolition job on the character of the woman at number 14 who was 'no better than she should be' and 'too thick
with her lodger for my liking - well I heard her bedsprings going at three-o-clock this morning and her husband's on permanent nights'.
My abiding memory of Les is of him standing at the BBC Club bar during the hour between dress rehearsal and show time, having already had
a couple of double scotches, whilst the show's producer Peter Whitmore looked anxiously on, hoping against hope that Les wouldn't order another.
Les ordered another. "Don't you think you've had enough, Les?" said Peter, “We've a show to do you remember." Les indicated to the barman to
fulfil his order, turned to Peter, and in the manner of a great Shakespeare tragedian actor said: "I can't go on alone." Priceless.
Les is sadly no longer with us, and television repeats of his work are few and far between, so perhaps these Cissie and Ada scripts,
which were brought wonderfully to life by Les and Roy, will go a little way towards filling the void he left.
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