With the help of marvellous scripts by Sid Colin and Talbot Rothwell, writer of the Carry On films and the support of Dickie Henderson and Diana Decker, the first television comedy series in front of a studio audience was launched in March 1953. It was Band Waggon all over again. The critic said I was the only comedian who knew how to use the camera. I made it my friend, instead of being afraid of it.
The half hour was made up of three sketches, after an introduction, and I would have to change from, say, Florence Nightingale to Sherlock Holmes and then to Rupert of Henzo while some other characters did half a page of dialog. There was no tape recording and the show was very much live and all the better for it. Many's the time I've rushed down half dressed to ask them to talk slower, or "Would you mind saying all that over again?
All the top actors, announcers, and musicians were dying to appear on
the show [Before Your Very Eyes]. There were further series in 1955,
1956 and 1957. Unfortunately Dickie Henderson could not appear in these
and therefore I felt I wanted to give the show a gimmick of some sort.
So I hit on the idea of having a dumb blonde around the set.
The BBC
was rather alarmed and wanted to know what I intended to do with her!
I didn't know myself at the time, but I got my own way, and so Sabrina
was born.
We held auditions for a suitable dumb-cluck and found one
in Norma Sykes. She had a lovely face and figure,
but could not act, sing, dance, or even walk properly, although she
had come to London to try her luck as a model. I asked her what she
was doing and she told me she was making artificial jewellery, as her
broken nails bore witness. Anyway, she was exactly what we wanted.
I had just finished appearing in a farce at the
Palace Theatre and this was followed by a show called Sabrina Fair,
so I changed her name from Norma to Sabrina [read
the debate about who gets credit for naming Norma as Sabrina] . You will have to take my word that I did not engage
her on the size of her bust. I knew she was 'well built' but had no idea how
big she really was until the BBC wardrobe mistress told me she couldn't get Sabrina
into a medieval costume on account of her enormous chest. I realised then that
I had unknowingly struck 'gold in them thar hills'!
But she really was 'dumb' in those days. I was opening a garden fête
and was asked if I could bring her along. After the opening the vicar's
young daughter curtsied and presented Sabrina with a bouquet of flowers.
'Sabby' said, 'No thank you - we've got plenty of flowers at home.'!
She eventually became bigger (in every sense) than me in the show and
we couldn't keep the Fleet Street reporters and interviewers away from
Lime Grove. The tail began to wag the dog, so she had to go. But with
the money she made she had acting, singing, dancing and deportment lessons
and eventually finished up doing a very polished cabaret act with special
songs, usually about her deformity!
People often ask me 'Whatever happened to Sabrina?' and I tell them
that she is now married to an American doctor and living in Hollywood.
Whenever she visits this country, she usually calls on me, and she looks
a million dollars, with her American grooming and her mid-Atlantic accent.
Who said I wasn't a talent-spotter!"
