A CRADLEY doctor is to speak about his distant relative - a broadcaster and playwright who penned the next play at Malvern Theatres and the world's first ever soap opera.

Dr Bruce Herriot will give his talk Merely Melville at fundraising events before Full Circle, which comes to Malvern Theatres later this month.

Both Alan Melville and Dr Herriot came from Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dr Herriot knew the entertainer well in the seventies and eighties and now uses Melville's writing desk in his surgery.

He described Melville as "a complete character, very bright, very wry, very sharp and great company".

During World War Two, Melville wrote Front Line Family, which was broadcast on radio in America and Canada to give people a picture of wartime life in Britain. It was the first ever long-running soap.

In the forties he wrote material for various London revues including the infamous Sweet and Low series, and the words for Ivor Novello's last musical Gay's the Word.

Working for the BBC he won the light entertainer of the year BAFTA for his series A to Z, a satirical send up of popular figures.

While in the RAF he landed in Normandy on D-Day and actually did a radio broadcast from the beaches, which Dr Herriot will play in his performances.

Melville wrote many plays including Full Circle, which ran for several years in London and comes to Malvern on June 21 starring Joan Collins. He continued writing for theatre and television until he died in 1983.

Dr Herriot said Melville had an interesting life outside the world of entertainment.

The writer had a special relationship with his housekeeper Midge. He exchanged banter with her constantly and bought her a house opposite his own, eventually marrying her when he was on his deathbed.

Dr Herriot will perform his talk twice, at a pre-theatre supper and lunch in the Pepper and Oz restaurant, organised to raise funds for St Michael's Hospice and the Malvern Theatres Trust.

Tickets for the supper event on Thursday, June 24 at 5.45pm are nearly sold out but places at lunch at noon on Tuesday, June 22 are still available.

Priced at £22.50, they include welcome drinks, a two-course buffet and the talk. To book call 01684 892277.