Sez Les was a British comedy sketch show that starred Les Dawson

Les Dawson

Leslie "Les" Dawson was a popular English comedian remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife.-Life and career:...

. It was produced by Yorkshire Television

Yorkshire Television

Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...

 and aired on ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 from 1969 to 1976. The show also starred Roy Barraclough

Roy Barraclough

Roy Barraclough MBE is a comic actor. He is best known for his role as the shifty, lugubrious landlord of the Rovers Return, Alec Gilroy in the long-running British TV soap Coronation Street where he formed an on-screen partnership with Bet Lynch .- Career :Roy Barraclough...

 from series Four - who would go on to become Dawson's most recognisable sidekick. The two most notably appeared together in drag as characters Cissie and Ada. John Cleese

John Cleese

John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...

, who quit the Monty Python

Monty Python

Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...

 team, also appeared, from 1974, in two complete series. Other cast members included Norman Chappell

Norman Chappell

Norman Chappell was a British character actor most known for his roles in the Carry On films and in The Avengers...

, Brian Glover

Brian Glover

Brian Glover was an English character actor, writer and wrestler. Glover was a professional wrestler, teacher, and finally a film, television and stage actor. He once said, "You play to your strengths in this game. My strength is as a bald-headed, rough-looking Yorkshireman".-Early life:Glover was...

, Brian Murphy

Brian Murphy (actor)

Brian Murphy is a British actor.Murphy was born in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Although a prolific actor in many films and theatre productions for almost half a century, Murphy's most famous role was as the henpecked husband George Roper in the sitcom Man About the House and spin-off George and...

 and Kathy Staff

Kathy Staff

Kathy Staff was an English actress, well known for her work on British television...

. Music was provided by Syd Lawrence

Syd Lawrence

Syd Lawrence , was a British bandleader from Chester, England, who became famous in the UK for his orchestra's Big Band sound, which drew on the 1940s style of music of Glenn Miller and Count Basie amongst others....

 and his orchestra.

Cast

• Les Dawson
  Les Dawson
  Leslie "Les" Dawson was a popular English comedian remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife.-Life and career:...
  
  
  Roy Barraclough
  Roy Barraclough
  Roy Barraclough MBE is a comic actor. He is best known for his role as the shifty, lugubrious landlord of the Rovers Return, Alec Gilroy in the long-running British TV soap Coronation Street where he formed an on-screen partnership with Bet Lynch .- Career :Roy Barraclough...
  
   - (from series 4)
  John Cleese
  John Cleese
  John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
  
   - (from series 8)
  Norman Chappel - (Series 11)
  Brian Glover
  Brian Glover
  Brian Glover was an English character actor, writer and wrestler. Glover was a professional wrestler, teacher, and finally a film, television and stage actor. He once said, "You play to your strengths in this game. My strength is as a bald-headed, rough-looking Yorkshireman".-Early life:Glover was...
  
   - (Series 5 & 6)
  Brian Murphy
  Brian Murphy (actor)
  Brian Murphy is a British actor.Murphy was born in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Although a prolific actor in many films and theatre productions for almost half a century, Murphy's most famous role was as the henpecked husband George Roper in the sitcom Man About the House and spin-off George and...
  
   - (Series 1-2)
  Kathy Staff
  Kathy Staff
  Kathy Staff was an English actress, well known for her work on British television...
  
  - (Series 11)

DVD releases

The first two series of Sez Les from 1969 are currently missing from Yorkshire Television's archives, the master tapes having been re-used or lost after first broadcast. A tape box labelled as containing a series 1 show exists, but the contents are a recording of a different programme. Archivists hope that the recording is merely misfiled rather than lost.

Sez Les - Vol 1 containing the complete third and fourth series was released in October 2008. Sez Les - Vol 2 containing the complete fifth and sixth series followed on 25 May 2009.

Sez Les - Vol 3 containing the complete seventh and eighth series including the 1973 Christmas special has been released on 8 February 2010. Sez Les - Vol 4 containing the complete ninth and tenth series including the 1976 New Year special is scheduled for release in 2011. With Sez Les - Vol 5 containing the complete eleventh and final series to follow.