David fronts Emery documentary

David Walliams is to present an hour-long Radio 2 tribute to cross-dressing comic Dick Emery.

The documentary will cover Emery’s career and colourful private life – which included five wives and six long-term relationships – and feature a rare interview with Emery’s only daughter, Eliza.

Ashley Byrne – creative director of the production company Made In Manchester – said: ‘David Walliams is a perfect host for this programme. He’s one of Emery’s greatest admirers and will hopefully help to introduce new generations to his genius.’

Producer Phil Collinge added: ‘Dick Emery brought us a fantastic range of characters – from the peroxide blonde bombshell Mandy and menopausal man-eater Hetty to the outrageously camp Clarence and the ‘toothy’ Vicar. Sadly his material is hardly ever repeated these days, and that's a real shame, because he was one of the greats.’

The documentary will air at 10pm on September 29 as part of Radio 2’s Comedy Greats series, which starts next Tuesday with Clive Anderson profiling Frankie Howard, followed by Eddie Izzard on Stanley Baxter the following week.

Made In Manchester has previously made programmes about Les Dawson, Laurel and Hardy, and the Carry On films.

Published: 11 Sep 2009