Running Wild (1954 TV series)

Running Wild was a comedy sketch show originally broadcast by BBC television, the first TV series by English comedy double-act Morecambe and Wise.

Their debut TV show, Running Wild, was not well received and led to a damning newspaper review: "Definition of the week: TV set — the box in which they buried Morecambe and Wise."

From the late 1940s onwards, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise had been steadily building a reputation for their comedy on the national variety circuit.

After the war, Morecambe and Wise began performing on stage and radio and secured a contract with the BBC to make a television show, where they started the short-lived show Running Wild in 1954.

From the late 1940s onwards, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise had been steadily building a reputation for their comedy on the national variety circuit.

They reunited after the war and made their name in radio, transferring to television in April 1954—although their first TV series, Running Wild, was unsuccessful.

These were successful enough to lead to guest appearances on other television shows, followed by a six-month tour of Australia in 1958.

Following this, they were to make a number of appearances prior to being given the opportunity to do their own television series, Running Wild, in 1954.

They would eventually achieve this in 1961 when they were signed to ATV and began work on Two of a Kind.

In 1954, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise had starred in their first television series, Running Wild on the BBC.

In 2011, the BBC broadcast Eric and Ernie, a dramatization of the early years of Morecambe and Wise's career written by Victoria Wood.

After war service they become successful on stage and on radio but their attempt to crack the new medium of television is a disaster because they have been forced to accept a script which will make their Northernness acceptable to Southern viewers.

Running Wild was a comedy sketch show originally broadcast by BBC television, the first TV series by English comedy double-act Morecambe and Wise.

Running Wild was a comedy sketch show originally broadcast by BBC television, the first TV series by English comedy double-act Morecambe and Wise.

Running Wild was a comedy sketch show originally broadcast by BBC television, the first TV series by English comedy double-act Morecambe and Wise.

Running Wild was Morecambe & Wise's first collaboration with Ernest Maxin, who subsequently worked with the duo on their second BBC television show.

Running Wild was Morecambe & Wise's first collaboration with Ernest Maxin, who subsequently worked with the duo on their second BBC television show.

In September 1951, the duo made their first appearance on television with a guest spot on a BBC show called Parade of Youth, while they began making regular appearances on BBC Radio, first as semi-regular participants on Variety Fanfare, and then with their own show, You're Only Young Once, on the BBC Northern Home Service.

In September 1951, the duo made their first appearance on television with a guest spot on a BBC show called Parade of Youth, while they began making regular appearances on BBC Radio, first as semi-regular participants on Variety Fanfare, and then with their own show, You're Only Young Once, on the BBC Northern Home Service.

Ronnie Waldman, the head of BBC Light Entertainment, was in the process of attempting to devise an idea of television variety programming, rather than televising stage based variety.

However, although the duo had performed in Southern England on the variety circuit, their broadcasting career had largely taken place in Northern England, which led BBC producers to suggest that their act might not work with southern audiences.

However, although the duo had performed in Southern England on the variety circuit, their broadcasting career had largely taken place in Northern England, which led BBC producers to suggest that their act might not work with southern audiences.

The series was given an initial run of six episodes, to be broadcast live every other week from the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush.

The series was given an initial run of six episodes, to be broadcast live every other week from the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush.

Following the broadcast of the first episode, the reviews were poor, with the most notable coming from Kenneth Bailey in the People on Sunday 25 April;

The Reaction Index, an indicator of the audience's approval of a television programme, given as a score out of 100, had slowly increased over the course of the series, while the reviews had improved.

Their initial appearances after their television experience were uniformly positive; their first post-television appearance, at the Ardwick Hippodrome in Manchester, which came after a period where they had re-written their act, saw them receive a standing ovation.

Their initial appearances after their television experience were uniformly positive; their first post-television appearance, at the Ardwick Hippodrome in Manchester, which came after a period where they had re-written their act, saw them receive a standing ovation.

Two years after the failure of Running Wild, Morecambe & Wise were invited to do a series of guest spots on The Winifred Atwell Show on ATV.

Two years after the failure of Running Wild, Morecambe & Wise were invited to do a series of guest spots on The Winifred Atwell Show on ATV.

Running Wild was broadcast live, with no telerecording made.