I had just made the first series of My Wife Next Door. My agent rang and said I had been asked to appear in The Morecambe & Wise Show, but I had to be there that afternoon. Another actress had said no, and no one had ever turned them down before. I was very nervous but Eric was smashing and very kind to me.
Eric was genuinely funny in real life – so funny and quick. Eric once said to me: ‘I walk into a room and people expect me to be funny.’
Morecambe & Wise couldn’t have done what they did without all their experience. They served a wonderful apprenticeship. They were such a team. I learned so much from them.
When I appeared on Morecambe & Wise’s Christmas Show in 1980 for Thames Television, we rehearsed at Richmond Football Ground. We had such a good time that I remember saying to Peter Barkworth, who was also on the show: ‘Can you believe we’re getting paid for this?!’