Skegness Landladies Larks

By Angela Gooch on December 21st, 2008

Skegness Landladies were the talk of the town in November 1972.

THE Skegness Landladies Larks were the talk of the town in London on Wednesday night when they went to record their part in London Weekend Television’s Russell Harty Plus Show.
They opened the second half of this chat show with song and dance routines and then closed the show with their version of “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”
The cast of 21 landladies and seven landlords, and their friends left Skegness by coach at 7.45 on Wednesday morning arriving at the new South Bank Television Centre just before 2 pm. After lunch in the centre’s canteen they started rehearsals which went on throughout the afternoon.
After another break the studio was ready for the recording session and an invited audience were introduced to the host of the show. Russell Harty.
The first half was taken tip by an interview with Carol Charming, , the star of the “Hello Dolly,” show’ was in London far the Royal Command Performance.

DANCE ROUTINE
The landladies started off the second half with “Another Show,” and a dance routine, and then Marjorie Romanis took the lead in “September Song”. This first appearance was completed by “A Live Show.”
The landladies all wore beautiful lurex dresses, but the most eye-catching members of the cast were the men, dressed in drag and carrying large ostrich feather fans! They proved to be the really big hits with the studio audience.
The Larks’ Producer, Cyril Catlyn and some of the landladies were then interviewed by Russell Harty, who asked them about their show.
Mr Catlyn explained that one reason behind it was to try and rid people of the idea that all seaside landladies were fat and buxom.

UNREHEARSED
Then Mr Catlyn had a surprise for Mr Harty when he Presented him with one of the Skegness Jolly Fisherman statuettes. This presentation was completely unrehearsed.
The show continued with an interview with London’s Talk or the Town club impresario Mr Robert Nesbitt.
A film of the pianist Liberace meeting his fans in London came next and the “Larks” closed the show with “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”
In this routine the men were back in conventional dress, with shiny top hat and tails. The numbers were accompanied by the Sun Castle’s resident organist, Paul Kirner.
After the show the cast and their guests were invited to drinks with the producer, Mr Humphrey Barclay, before the coach journey home.
This was the third in the Russell Harty Plus series, and it was shown to London Weekend Television audiences only on Saturday night.
This was the second time Landladies Larks had been used by London Weekend Television. The first time was on the Kenny Everett Show about 18 months ago.

Picture: Some of the cast of the Landladies Larks being interviewed by Russell Harty (seated). On the far right are Marjorie Romanis and the show’s producer, Cyril Catlyn. Photo by London Weekend Television.

Landladies go before the cameras in January 1973
THE Skegness Landladies’ Larks cast travelled to Leeds last Monday to record two sequences for Yorkshire Television’s ” Calendar” news magazine programme.
In the first sequence they sang “Dream Daddy,” and “Wish Upon a Rainbow,” Then they changed into naval costume for “Crest of the Wave,” “Let’s Have a Basinful of the Briny,” and “Skegness is the Place For Me”.
Four of the usual cast were away on holiday so four landladies who have never taken part in the show before had to fill their places in, the number two team.
The show’s producer, Mr Cyril Catlyn, said that the studio was very small and there was very little room for movement.
MET STARS
During the day they met various stars who were working at Yorkshire Television, including Margaret Lockwood and Jess Yates, of “Stars on Sunday,” fame.
The landladies were caught up in a bad snow storm on the way home. Four lorries were stuck on a hill near Bawtry and it took their coach an hour to get round them.

Picture: The Skegness Landladies Larks cast recording their spot on Yorkshire Television’s “Calendar” programme at the Leeds studios. Photo by Norman Beckett.

The Skegness Landladies Larks hit the local news headlines again in 1974:

The Skegness Landladies’ Larks team performing “Back To The Old Routine” in front of Anglia Television cameras on Skegness Pier last Thursday. The routine will be shown on Anglia’s “About Women” programme during February. The landladies also took part in an informal “studio chat” in the Variety Bar. An interview with Skegness Urban Council chairman Coun Harold Fainlight will also be included in the programme. (Photo Norman Beckett).