Eric Morecambe's widow Joan has died aged 97

Eric Morecambe's widow Joan has died almost 40 years after her comedy legend husband passed away.

News of her death emerged the day after her 97th birthday when popular social media account Classic British TV posted: 'I have received the somber news that Joan Morecambe, the widow of Eric Morecambe, has passed away at the age of 97.'

She is believed to have passed away peacefully at her home in Hertfordshire. 

Comic icon Eric credited his wife, who was also known as Joan Bartholomew, for providing him with the strong foundation he needed as his career rocketed beyond his imagination. 

The couple married in Margate in 1952, having their reception in the Bulls Head pub in the same town.

Joan had three children with the comedy star, who died 40 years ago this May, Gail, 71, Gary, 67 and, Steven, 54, who they adopted aged four.

In 2016, burglars raided the home of Joan as she unveiled a new statue of the legendary comic.

Family believed the thieves may have targeted her house in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, after discovering she was away due to social media. 

The thieves forced their way in and stole watches and jewellery worth thousands of pounds.

This was after an 8ft tall monument of the Morecambe-born comedian and Ernie Wise, who died in 1999, was created by Graham Ibbeson who also sculpted the Eric Morecambe statue on Morecambe seafront. 

In 2021, a poignant new book revealed how Ernie and Eric's wives didn't get on, which meant the double act never socialised outside of work. 

As Ernie got married to dancer Doreen Blythe and Eric to Joan, it reportedly brought fresh problems to the dynamic.

‘The boys never socialised because the wives didn’t get on,’ remembers ventriloquist John Bouchier, who toured extensively with Eric and Ernie in the 1970s.

‘Ernie’s wife thought that he was the star and that Eric couldn’t manage without him and so consequently, although they were electric on stage, they never mixed.’

In 2009, Doreen told an interviewer that when she and Ernie first began dating, Eric was always there, too. ‘We never could get rid of him,’ she said. ‘He was always in the way. I used to joke that we’d have to find a girl for Eric, otherwise we’d be lumbered with him for ever.’

Eric and Joan wasted very little time in starting a family, their first child, Gail, arriving ten months after the wedding.

Taking his family responsibilities seriously, Eric learned to drive. But as soon as finances allowed, he employed drivers so he could arrive for work as calm as it was possible for someone as naturally stress-stricken as him to be.

Ernie and Doreen took a decision early on not to follow the same path as Eric and Joan. Family life was not to be for them.

After Wise’s death in 1999, Doreen explained it had been a question of fidelity. If she travelled with him and they kept up their sex life, he’d never be tempted to stray.

In Joan's most recent interview in 2021 she revealed that her husband was worried that his comedy would be forgotten after his death.

She said he would be 'over the moon' to know that Morecambe and Wise sketches are still fondly remembered.

In an earlier interview at the home she shared with husband Eric in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, the former Miss Margate beauty queen told how she first met him while they were both on tour.

She said: ‘There was nothing between us at first, just normal touring people helping each other out. He was due to play Margate and I was going to Morecombe.

‘He said I should stay with his parents and I told him to stay with mine. The only problem was, when he turned up at my parents pub, he brought half of Billy Cotton’s band with him!

‘Somehow they all managed to fit in, that’s how it was back then, very friendly and always helping each other.’

However, Eric claimed for him it was love at first sight. He is reported to have told the girl who introduced them: ‘That’s the girl I’m going to marry.’

The couple were married, on December 11th, 1952. They were together for 32 years until Eric’s death, aged 58, in May 1984.

Eric Bartholomew was born in Morecambe in 1926 and took his stage name of Eric Morecambe from the town of his birth.

He is renowned for his double act with Ernie Wise, who died in 1999.

Morecambe and Wise are among Britain's most loved entertainers of all-time and their 'The Morecambe and Wise Show' TV specials remain enduringly popular today.

The Eric Morecambe Statue was unveiled on Morecambe seafront in 1999 and is a hugely popular attraction for visitors to the town and residents alike.