After Dinner Speakers: Little & Large, Rt. Hon Francis MP Maude, Hilarie Owen

Syd Little and Eddie Large are still bill toppers in Pantomime approaching their 40th year together as a double act. Last year they appeared at the New Theatre, Hull . Syd & Eddie got together in the club circuit in 1963. They began working on a semi-pro basis as Cyril Mead (Syd) and Friend (Eddie), then Syd and Eddie, and finally “Little and Large” for their winning appearance on TV’s “Opportunity Knocks” talent show. In 1963 they turned professional, appeared on “Opportunity Knocks” and won the show in 1971. “The Little and Large” show ran on television for fourteen years, assuring them of top of the bill status in Summer season and pantomimes. In the mid 90’s they opened “The Paradise Rooms”, Blackpool pleasure beach, and returned to do several seasons there. Their Panto subjects include “Jack & The Beanstalk”, “Aladdin” and “Goldilocks”. In 1998 they starred at Stoke in “Robin Hood” as the robbers, the following year at Liverpool Royal Court in the same roles, and more recently The Beck in Hayes and Hull . Their comedy style is, as one would expect the straight man, Syd and the cheeky one, Eddie, who rarely lets Syd get through a ballad without interrupting, disrupting and causing comic chaos.