Eddie Braben is synonymous with Morecambe & Wise. His writing skills took their natural warmth and brought it out for everyone to see. His skill with words, matching them perfectly with Eric and Ern brought in the largest viewing figures ever, and made icons of Britain's best loved comedy duo.

In June 2007, we asked him for an interview and he very kindly agreed. This is the first part of a multiple series posted each month.

When you first saw Morecambe & Wise, we understand you didn’t like them, is this true?
I first saw when I was in my teens, so I suppose they were in their early twenties. I saw them at the Liverpool Empire, quite accidentally because I hadn’t gone to see them, nor had anybody else for that matter. It was a packed, enormous Liverpool Empire theatre and they had all gone to see the top of the bill, Lena Hall.
Before we got to Lena Hall, these two boy came on the stage and nobody knew them or heard of them, and they were painful. They were awful.

Many years later when I was working with them, I spoke about this and they said “yes we were”.  They were learning and they were very very young. Every time they went on they learned something, they were building experience. Everything has to have a beginning, no matter how humble.

My first jokes were awful. I used to write five hundred a week but anyone can write five hundred awful jokes a week. You had to do that to learn experience and it was the same with Eric and Ernie.

You were working for Ken Dodd before Morecambe & Wise and he used to use a lot of jokes quickly, five hundred wouldn't go far.
I worked for Doddy for 15 years and the rate was something like eight per minute, they were fast.

That’s different from the style of Eric and Ern, they were more laid back in delivery.
Yes they were. But the way Doddy worked was very very quick. That was his style, and still is today.

When you first saw Morecambe & Wise, did you ever think they had a future, or that you would be part of it?
No. I never thought I’d see or hear of them again but they proved me wrong. They proved a lot of people wrong. Years later, maybe four or five, heard them on radio and they were far better. They were resilient and they were learning all the time. When I heard them, I though what a difference, because they had great radio voices. They came across very well on radio and then they moved on to television and the early days weren’t very good.

Was that Running Wild or the early ATV shows?
I never saw Running Wild. It was the ATV shows, written by Hills and Green.

What did you think about it?
Not a lot. I told them this when I met them for the first time at the invitation of Bill Cotton. He asked if I would like to write for Eric and Ernie and of course I said yes I would. I told him they were not really my style after 15 years with Doddy.

Was that the first time someone had approached you about doing something different than the Ken Dodd material?
No, I had a quite a few offers from television before then, but this was Eric and Ern. They were stars already thanks to Hills and Green. Credit were credit is due, they were stars.
I was asked to go and meet them in two days time and I agreed. I went into Bill’s office and the meeting lasted for about three hours. I think it took about ten minutes though for me to realise that something magical had happened between the three of us. What it was I don’t know, but there was something there, something inexplicable.

Did they recognise it as well?
Yes. The meeting continued and I watched the two of them, the way they spoke and the way they behaved and the way they were with one another. I knew then what was missing from the Eric and Ernie I had watched on television.