Eric & Ernie

Morecambe and Wise remain to this day one of the best double acts of all time and this great drama from the BBC shows us their early years. We all know what happened when they achieved fame so it is nice that this drama focuses on the other side of the coin.

The casting in this is great. All the actors playing Morecambe and Wise not only look the part but capture the voice and characteristics of the two men and in some places you start to think you're watching the real men.

Victoria Wood is also great as Sadie, Eric's mother and her story arc is at the centre of this piece that is beautifully captured by director Johnny Campbell.

My only grumble is that much like every other media piece surrounding the comedians this drama is centred more on Eric than Ernie but otherwise this is a great drama.

Watching this for my sweetheart, Miranda Hart. She's not in the movie, but it's a biopic of her comedy hero and his sidekick, Eric Morcombe and Ernie Wise.

Miranda loves Eric so very much, and it makes me care about them too. She is my darling, and we tend to have the same taste and things. So I'm sure when I get into their show, even if it's not my style, I will still like it.

Another reason to see this is Victoria Wood's involvement. I was pleasantly surprised to see her name be the first one flashing in the credits when I started watching it. So I'm looking forward to that. She was my British comedy favorite before I found my sweetheart, Miranda. But I still adore Victoria Wood, for different reasons. She was never my crush, she was always my role model in a way. I wanted to be more like her, and I saw a lot of myself in her. In the case of Miranda Hart, I'm just absolutely smitten with her and want to marry her. So I love them both, but as you can see, for totally different reasons haha!

If you love British comedy, I recommend this. It's got history, so much history attached to it.

Simply the best programme on British TV over the festive period. Unlike previous biopics of comedians which tend to be dark and depressing, Eric and Ernie was a warm, moving and funny story of the early days of Britain's best loved double act.

The cast was marvellous, it was really like watching the real Eric and Ernie perform. Victoria Wood and Jim Moir (Vic Reeves)were outstanding as Eric's parents.

The film was clearly a labour of love and it shows in every detail.

So why did I give it 9 instead of 10? Well, I would have preferred it to end with their song "Bring Me Sunshine".

Like nearly everyone in the UK I am a huge fan of Morecambe and Wise. I truly believe that they were probably the greatest comedy double act ever. So I watched Victoria Woods biography of Eric and Ernie s early years with a little trepidation. I really shouldn't have worried. The BBC have obviously pulled out all the stops. Eric and Ernie is a master class in how to honour two show biz legends. The writing, direction and especially the performances were simply perfection. Daniel Rigby and Bryan Dick were spot on. They managed to show the friendship between Eric and Ernie without lapsing into parody. Special mention should be made of Vic Reeves who played Eric's dad, George. The part was played with quiet humour and dignity and Victoria wood was especially good as Eric's pushy mother. The only reason that I have given Eric and Ernie 9 out of 10 is that I had a small pang of regret when the credits rolled. I really wished that I could had maybe half an hour more. maybe showing more of the great years of Morecambe and Wise. Maybe one day they could make a sequel, but only if its up to this standard.

Daniel Rigby and Bryan Dick portrayed Eric and Ernie to perfection. It must have been an incredibly daunting task to do Morecambe and Wise's material and make it work. And make it work they did. Daniel Rigby had Eric down to a tee and Bryan Dick was equally as good as Ernie. Jim Moir played Eric's dad in an understated way and Victoria Wood was her usual reliable self as Eric's mum. The writer of the this piece did a fantastic job, capturing the times and the rhythms - he made it all hang together perfectly. If this does not win some kind of award this year there will be no justice. I had waited to see this eagerly but with trepidation as I would have thought it impossible to pull off, but pull it off is what they did, with aplomb.