About the Author

Once demobbed from the Army, Eric Sykes was soon writing for hit BBC radio shows such as Educating Archie and Variety Bandbox. In 1948 he began working for television and appeared in a number of variety shows on TV. In the midfifties he co-wrote, with Spike Milligan, 24 episodes of The Goon Show, and in 1960, he created, with Alf Garnett writer Johnny Speight, the first series of his sitcoms. The show would last two decades and produce 128 episodes. Sykes' film credits include Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines [1965] and The Plank [1968]. In 2002, Sykes appeared alongside Nicole Kidman in The Others and was named Oldie of the Year.

Reviews

"'With the great comics, you laugh at the whole person, and not at their jokes, and that's why some of them are so miserable. They don't know why they are funny, you see. Some people walk on stage and the audience warms to them. You can't explain it, and you shouldn't try' Eric Sykes"