David Suchet to examine music hall legend Sid

BBC Four has commissioned a documentary about music hall comedian Sid Field, a pioneer of sketch and camp comedy.

Poirot star David Suchet – whose grandmother was a sand dancer in the music halls –  is to front the film, when it airs later this year.

Birmingham-born Field was one of the biggest stars of the Forties. After honing his skills on the provincial music-hall circuit, he broke into the West End, topping the bill at the London Palladium and becoming one of the few artists to make an appearance in two consecutive Royal Variety Performances.

But he died in 1950, aged just 45, during the run of the play Harvey, where he played the lead role, and little is left of his work, except for three films – a medium that was not his forte.

Suchet is a fan of Field’s, and owns a photograph of Sid taken by his grandfather, a press photographer, and a small white rabbit memento that James Stewart gave Sid Field as a good luck charm.

He said: ‘Sid Field is my hero and one of my proudest moments was performing as Sid in William’s Humbles musical What A Performance at the Queens Theatre in 1994. To be asked to present this programme is an absolute honour.’

The film is being made by Mentorn Media, whose chief executive John Wills, said: ‘Sid Field was a comic genius and whilst the documentary promises to be amusing in many ways we hope it will also really get under the surface to reveal a sense of the man behind the laughter.’

Mark Bell, who commissioned the show for BBC Four, added: ‘I know of nobody better than David Suchet to tell the remarkable story of this great lost star of the music hall who at his height was an entertainment legend and lay down the prototype for many of today's most famous acts.’

He is Field being typically camp:

Published: 24 Feb 2010