Mike & Bernie Winters - Double Act

Double Act

In World War II the brothers won a talent contest held in Manchester, England. They won the first prize which was a one-week tour. Despite changing their stage name to the Winters Brothers, they were not successful at first, and went their separate ways for a time.

On 25 June 1955, Mike and Bernie made their first television appearance. This was on the BBC show Variety Parade, which was a great hit. The brothers stayed with the show until 1958. Their next move, secured by their agent Joe Collins (father of Joan Collins and Jackie Collins), was to the ITV show Sunday Night at the London Palladium, which at the time was the most important variety show on UK television. Due to their popularity they were invited to appear before Queen Elizabeth II at the 1962 Royal Variety Show. In 1963 they starred alongside Frankie Howerd and Tommy Cooper in the Michael Winner film The Cool Mikado. By 1965 their act was a great success, thanks in part to the shows Big Night Out and its follow-up, Blackpool Night Out.

The brothers were rewarded with their own show that ran from 1965 to 1973. They also received equal billing as guest stars on The Peters and Lee Story on ATV on 27 December, 1975. The BBC TV series The Story of Light Entertainment (broadcast 29 February 2012) reported that Bernie had a long running affair with a dancer 20 years his junior, Dinah May (now a hairdresser) and that this caused friction between the brothers. When, in 1976, Bernie ended the affair to protect his public image Dinah was heartbroken as she thought they were destined to stay together so she 'phoned Bernie's wife, Siggi, and revealed their affair. Siggi agreed to take Bernie back if the brothers split up and tried to go it alone. The double-act broke up by 1978, amid well-publicized animosity between them.