''Sez Les'' is a British

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

show that starred Les Dawson. It was produced by Yorkshire Television, and aired on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

from 1969 to 1976. Les Dawson and Roy Barraclough (who was a cast member from series four onward) regularly performed together as the characters Cissie and Ada.

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...

appeared in a few sketches in series 3 and appeared regularly in series 8 and 9. Other cast members included Norman Chappell, Brian Glover, Brian Murphy, and Kathy Staff. Music for series 1-5 and 7-8 was provided by

Syd Lawrence Syd Lawrence (26 June 1923 – 5 May 1998) was a British bandleader, who became famous in the UK for his orchestra's Big Band sound, which drew on the 1940s style of music of Glenn Miller and Count Basie amongst others. Career Born in Wilmslo ...

and his orchestra.

Cast

Broadcast history

According to Barfe and IMDb,IMDb
"Sez Les"
Retrieved on 12 April 2020. the broadcast episodes were as follows: * Series 1: 6×30 min, 30 April – 18 June 1969 * Series 2: 6×30 min, 10 September – 19 November 1969 * Series 3: 4×30 min, 16 August – 6 September 1971 * Series 4: 6×30 min, 13 January – 17 February 1972 * Series 5: 7×45 min, 29 July – 9 September 1972 * Series 6: 6×30 min, 30 October – 4 December 1972 * Series 7: 7×30 min, 28 July – 8 September 1973 * Series 8: 7×30 min, 25 January – 8 March 1974 * Series 9: 7×30 min, 28 June – 9 August 1974 * Series 10: 4×60 min, 2 January, 25 February – 10 March 1976 * Series 11: 7×30 min, 19 October – 30 November 1976 All of series 1 and episodes 1–5 of series 2 were made in black and white. All others were made in colour. Timings are given including advertising breaks: the actual running times are several minutes shorter. Most episodes followed a 'variety' format, including musical and dance numbers with various musical guests. An exception is Series 6, which although treated by IMDb and video label Network as part of the series, bears a different title, ''Les Sez'' and consists only of comic sketches and standup. Series 11 also lacks musical and dance items. Most episodes were directed by David Mallet, later a prominent director of music videos. The exceptions were Series 6, directed by Bill Hitchcock, and Series 10–11, directed by Vernon Lawrence. A Christmas special aired in 1973, and a New Year special in 1976. All episodes of series one and two are missing, and are believed to have been wiped. The remaining episodes survive in the archive and have been released on DVD by Network.

Video releases

* ''Sez Les, Volume 1'' (October 2008), series three and four * ''Sez Les, Volume 2'' (25 May 2009), series five and six * ''Sez Les, Volume 3'' (8 February 2010), series seven and eight, plus the 1973 Christmas special * ''Sez Les, Volume 4'' (7 May 2012), series nine, ten, and eleven, plus the 1976 New Year special

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Sez Les''
at the

BFI Film & TV Database The BFI Film & TV Database (ftvdb) is an online database created by the British Film Institute containing information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual e ...

1969 British television series debuts 1976 British television series endings 1960s British television sketch shows 1970s British television sketch shows British English-language television shows ITV sketch shows Television series by Yorkshire Television