Cissie and Ada

Cissie and Ada
The characters as seen during the 1984 adverts for fresh cream cakes.
Created by	Les Dawson and Roy Barraclough
Portrayed by	Roy Barraclough and Les Dawson respectively
Information
Aliases	Cissie Braithwaite and Ada Shufflebotham Cissie Braithewaite and Ada Sidebottom
Gender	Female
Nationality	British

Cissie and Ada, fully Cissie Braithwaite and either Ada Shufflebotham or Sidebottom^[1] are two Northern housewives created and played by the comedian Les Dawson and comic actor Roy Barraclough on television in the 1970s and 1980s. With a love of gossip, stoical pursing of lips and constantly heaved bosoms, the perfectly realised characters became an unforgettable comic hit with the British public and are regarded as Dawson's most notable creation.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]}

The pair created the characters in rehearsals, in homage to music hall star Norman Evans, before being persuaded by the producer to use them in the Sez Les show. Although Dawson needed persuading to don drag, and Barraclough was nervous that he would not be able to match Dawson's comedic talent for ad-libbing, the characters became permanent features of the show. Barraclough's portrayal of Cissie saw him draw on his talents as an actor to create reactions to Dawson's comedic lines.^[8] The characters were revisited by the pair in a series of ads for fresh cream-cakes in 1984.^[9] In 2006 Sir Ian McKellen, writing in The Independent named them the tenth best drag act ever created, commenting that they "were as real as the crones in the Rover's Return".^[10] Barraclough noted that his own characterisation for Cissie "was drawn from an aunt of mine who always thought she was slightly above the rest of the family, Auntie Annie. You know, she would always have a sherry. And the rest of the family always took the piss out of her."^[8] Key to Dawson's portrayal of Ada was a handbag "tightly clutched to the waist in a manner suggesting infinite disapproval".^[11] In A National Joke, Andy Medhurst sees humour mined from the equating of cleanliness and morality, a theme later explored by both Alan Bennett and The Royle Family.^[12] A planned Christmas special with a series to follow was cancelled due to the death of Dawson in 1993.^[13] Barraclough has declared "it's rewarding to see Cissie and Ada have passed into comedy legend."^[13]

References

1. ^ Ada's surname is recorded both as Sidebottom and as Shufflebotham in various sources. The Guardian record it as Shufflebotham in "The Guide: Hard as males" (9 August 2008, p. 8) as does The Mirror in "Football: It's time for Liverpool and Chelsea to.. Show some dignity" (20 April 2008, p. 55). However both The Sun, "It's diva les vegas" (20 March 2008, p. 25) and The Independent, "The Ten Best Drag acts" (27 June 2006, p. 24) state Sidebottom.
2. ^ McMullen, Marion. "Go! Theatre: It's Alec Girl-Roy", Evening Telegraph (Coventry), 26 October 2001. p. 33
3. ^ Hopps, David. "Cricket: Second Division: Resigned to Chilton hundred: Lancashire 379 & 291-5 Yorkshire 335", The Guardian (Manchester), 11 June 2005. p. 17
4. ^ "Hooray for Hollywood", Burnley Express, 06 October 2005.
5. ^ Brown, Craig. "Sons, lovers and mothers-in-law", The Daily Telegraph (London), 11 February 2006. p. 025. "I always find Dawson's portrait of the two gossiping Lancashire women Cissie and Ada far more observant than any of the creations of D H Lawrence, especially when the two women start mouthing silently to each other about such unmentionable matters as sex or illness."
6. ^ "Statue appeal for comedian Dawson". bbc.co.uk. 2007-03-05. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/6418403.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-07. 
7. ^ Matthew, Henry Colin Gray; Brian Howard Harrison & British Academy. "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: In Association with the British Academy: from the Earliest Times to the Year 2000" (2004), Oxford University Press. p.565. ISBN 019861411X
8. ^ ^{a b} Billen, Andrew. "Race to get laid, and then you die", The Guardian (Manchester) 22 May 1994.
9. ^ "A Real Mouthful For Les", Sunday Mirror, 17 June 1984.
10. ^ McKellan, Ian. "The Ten Best Drag acts" The Independent (London), 27 June 2006. p. 24.
11. ^ North, Ian Herbert. "Cooper's fez fetches five times reserve price at auction 'just like that'", The Independent (London), 28 September 2005. p. 18
12. ^ Medhurst, Andy. A National Joke (2007), Routledge. p.83. ISBN 0415168783
13. ^ ^{a b} Peake, John. "I'm such a smart Alec", The Sun (London), 10 February 2001. p. 17.