The Leslie Roberts Silhouettes
The Leslie Roberts Silhouettes was a UK dance company which performed on British musical variety television shows and with a close association with the Billy Cotton Band Show[1]
History
The name for the Silhouettes came about when BBC technician Brian Tesler devised a method of having the outline or silhouette of a person filled with any sort of pattern. This was called Overlay and Inlay.[2] The Silhouettes and their dance director Leslie Roberts were introduced to Billy Cotton when the Billy Cotton Band Show was in the process of being developed for television. They appeared with Billy Cotton at the first televised Royal Variety Performance in 1960. Apart from Billy Cotton, the Silhouettes also appeared with entertainers such as Ted Rogers, Ken Dodd and Benny Hill.
Cast
In 1960 the Silhouettes consisted of dance director Leslie Roberts and the following members:[3]
- Maura Bowes
- Jo Cook
- Hazel Hepworth
- Pat Hughes
- Wendy Murphy
- Coral Reynolds
- Brenda Ross
- Maureen Rudd
- Rita Scrivener
- Audrey Spurden
- Candy Scott
- Betty Walker
In 1962, Linda Hotchkin (19) is the youngest member of the company.[4]