Les Dawsonโs Cissie & Ada Documents a Key Period in British Television Comedy
Rather than offering commentary or reinterpretation, the book focuses on preserving the scripts themselves. It presents the work as it was written during production, allowing readers to see how the characters and conversations were shaped before being performed on screen. It also references when Terry Ravenscroftโs reflections on when he first met Les Dawson and how the Cissie and Ada characters were brought into being.
๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ
The book includes scripts written between 1978 and 1983, a period during which Cissie Braithwaite and Ada Shufflebottom were a regular part of BBC comedy programming. Ada was portrayed by Les Dawson, while Cissie was played by Roy Barraclough. Their scenes were largely based on dialogue, timing, and observation rather than on visual spectacle.
The published scripts reflect the working relationship between writer and performer. While some sketches were adjusted during rehearsal or shortened for broadcast, the material in the book closely follows the versions originally submitted during production.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐๐น๐ฒ
The humour in Les Dawsonโs Cissie and Ada is grounded in everyday conversation and familiar situations. The scripts focus on ordinary domestic life, personal habits, and social attitudes, using character voice rather than exaggerated scenarios. Much of the comedy comes from how the characters speak to one another and how they react to small details. The humour is broad, sometimes bawdy, based on working class people whom Terry Ravenscroft and Les Dawson were brought up with.
By presenting the material in written form, the book offers a clearer view of how comedic structure, pacing, and dialogue were developed on the page before being performed for television audiences.
๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ
The book is intended for adult readers with an interest in British television comedy and scriptwriting. It may appeal to those who watched British comedy during the late twentieth century, as well as readers interested in how television scripts were written during that period.
It also provides useful reading for writers, performers, and students who want to understand character-based comedy and the process behind writing for established performers.
๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ
Terry Ravenscroft is a British writer with a long career in television and radio comedy. His work includes scripts for The Les Dawson Show, The Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise, Alas Smith and Jones, Not the Nine OโClock News, and The Ken Dodd Show. He also wrote the BBC Radio comedy series Star Terk Two, which received industry recognition.
Born in 1938 in New Mills, Derbyshire, Ravenscroft later turned to book writing after retiring from television scriptwriting. Since then, he has written more than twenty books, including memoirs, novels, and humorous works. He continues to live in Derbyshire.
๐๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ
Since its publication, Les Dawsonโs Cissie and Ada has stood as a written record of a particular period in British television comedy. The book documents the written foundations of characters that became widely recognised through broadcast performance.
By preserving these scripts in print, the publication contributes to the wider record of British comedy writing and offers insight into how familiar television material was created behind the scenes
The book is being re-launched partly to bring it to the attention of the reading public who were teenagers when the book was first launched 12 years ago..
Bracken Joseph
Book Marketer UK
+44 20 3930 1313
email us here
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
