I'm writing a book about a comedy actor called Danny Ross, whose career spanned the 1960s and 1970s.

If you've heard the name somewhere, you're probably remembering him as Jimmy Clitheroe's sidekick in the BBC radio series "The Clitheroe Kid" (in which he played a character called Alfie Hall), or in Jimmy's ITV television series "Just Jimmy" (in which he played Jimmy's cousin).

Danny Ross had a long association with a theatrical production company called Philip Bernard Productions, run by an Aubrey Phillips, which produced pantomimes and variety shows from its headquarters in Salford. One of the venues these shows played, on tour, was the Grand Cinema in Leek.

I'm trying to find information about the shows put on by that company, in which Danny appeared. He did shows with them from 1964 to 1973.

Karl Simpson-Lowe remembers seeing Danny Ross at the Grand Cinema, Leek in one of these pantomimes during the 1960s. He can't be exact as to a date; but Danny joined the company in 1964, and did touring pantomime with them in most years after that - touring from December to February in each year - until about 1973.

The shows would play just one week at each town. The company included Leek on their touring schedule for some years, and although I can't be quite certain that the shows were always presented at the Grand Cinema, they were certainly held somewhere in town.

Danny also did summer shows with that company after 1967, until around 1973. These also toured on Philip Bernard's usual theatrical "circuit", which included Leek, playing one week at each stop on the tour.

Karl suggested it was possible someone might have taken photos of the Grand Cinema, and might recall one of these pantomimes or summer shows that was presented there.

I'd be interested in learning any details at all, such as the name of the show or pantomime, the name of the venue, the date (or even just the year) of the show, and the advertised cast members - although of course any details about the content of the show would be very welcome too.

Danny Ross was a big television star at the time, so he was always the star of these shows.

There was a form of entertainment in the 1960s called "cine-variety", which combined variety with films, featuring a live variety show before the intermission and a film show after it. I'm interested to know if it was commonplace for the Grand Cinema to stage variety shows or pantos, and not simply films? And whether the Grand Cinema was the only venue in the town where shows could be put on?

I can be contacted by e-mail at ClitheroeKid@hotmail.com

Kind regards,
Stephen

Sandra Skuse & Stephen Poppitt
Jimmy Clitheroe: The Kid Himself
http://www.JimmyClitheroe.co.uk