Editing Eric Morecambe (section)

===With the BBC: 1968–1978===
While Morecambe was recuperating from a heart attack, Hills and Green, who believed that Morecambe would probably never work again, quit as writers. Morecambe and Wise were in [[Barbados]] at the time and learned of their writers' departure only from the steward on the plane. [[John Ammonds]], the show's producer, replaced Hills and Green with [[Eddie Braben]]. Theatre critic [[Kenneth Tynan]] stated, Braben made Wise's character a comic who was not funny, while Morecambe became a straight man who was funny. Braben made them less hostile to one another.

Morecambe and Wise did annual [[BBC]] Christmas shows from 1968 to 1977, with the 1977 show having an estimated audience of 28,385,000, although at a time when there were only three UK television channels.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/17/eric-morecambe-son-gary "Eric Morecambe: Growing up with a comic legend"], ''The Guardian'', 17 October 2009</ref> They were one of the most prominent comedy duos in [[British popular culture]] and in 1976 were both appointed [[British honours system|OBEs]]. (Morecambe's wife, Joan, received an OBE in 2015 for her work with children's charities.)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thevisitor.co.uk/news/local/royal-nod-for-eric-morecambe-s-widow-1-7232756|title=Royal nod for Eric Morecambe's widow|publisher=thevisitor.co.uk}}</ref>