Gary Morecambe, son of the late comedian Eric Morecambe, believes his father would be “absolutely thrilled” by the new BBC One television adaptation of his 1982 children's book, The Reluctant Vampire. The six-part family sitcom, which began airing this month, has already proven popular with viewers.
The story centres on Valentine, a vampire prince played by Bafta-winning actor Lenny Rush, who lives at Bloodstock Castle in the village of Katchem-by-the-Throat. Valentine discovers he is actually human, not a vampire, and prefers chips and red wine to blood. He cannot grow fangs or transform into a bat, and his attempt to bite a leather armchair proves painfully futile.
The Eric Morecambe Effect
Gary, who worked as a script consultant on the series, shared an anecdote illustrating what he calls “The Eric Morecambe Effect.” Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Express, he recalled filming an episode of The Canal Boat Diaries with presenter Robbie Cumming in Leeds, where Ernie Wise was born.
“We were sitting on a wall, setting up the cameras, when this woman came out and started shaking her fist and screaming at us: 'Get off my wall!',” Gary said. After the cameraman explained that Ernie Wise was born in that street and they wanted to take photographs, the woman remained unimpressed. However, when the cameraman told her, “This is Eric Morecambe's son,” her reaction changed dramatically.
“Well, I've never seen anyone just collapse so quickly into a state of pure joy. She ran inside the house and came out with three strawberry split ice lollies. Then we were all sitting on the same wall, eating ice lollies. I mean, how daft is that? But that is what I call The Eric Morecambe Effect.”
A Comic Legacy on Screen
The series also stars Sian Clifford as Valentine's mother, with Bill Bailey and Ross Noble as gargoyles at Bloodstock Castle. Tom Davis plays King Victor, Valentine's demanding father. Writers Rob and Neil Gibbons, known for their work on Alan Partridge, adapted the tale for the screen.
Gary praised the writers' work, saying he had the power to read and nitpick their scripts but did not need to. “They followed elements of the story, and then created their own world around it. I re-read the book over this weekend, and I thought, 'I can see this is in the series'. So they have done a great job.”
Gary, who has written four sequels to the novel, believes his father would be surprised by the adaptation. “He'd also have been slightly gobsmacked, actually, because I don't think he saw that there was a great TV show in there necessarily. I think he would have made it very much around the book. I don't think he'd have thought outside the box and expanded it into that new world like the Gibbons boys have. But I think he would have been really, really pleased with it.”
A Passion for Writing and Horror
Gary recalled that Eric fell in love with writing, once telling him, “I enjoy sitting in the office writing this as much as anything I've done with Ernie in the double act.” Gary added, “He was never happier than when he was writing. He thought that was as good as it got, equal to anything he achieved with the Morecambe and Wise Christmas shows.”
Eric was also fascinated by vampires and horror films, loving actors like Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing. Gary said his father read Bram Stoker's Dracula many times. “His excitement was infectious; he was always like a child about it.”
Reflecting on his father's enduring popularity, Gary said, “He brought us all such joy and continues to do so. He is the gift that keeps on giving.”
The Reluctant Vampire continues tonight at 6.40pm on BBC One; all episodes are available on BBC iPlayer.
