Frances Watt, BEM (16 March 1922 – 14 October 2003) and Anna May Watt, BEM (4 January 1924 – 19 February 2009) were two Scottish sisters from

Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...

, who formed a singing duo. They came from a showbusiness family, and were child performers, touring

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

clubs from an early age. They initially joined their father David and sister Lily, a pianist, on stage as

puppeteers A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

. They remained in show-business for almost seven decades. Lily became their manager, and continued until her death in 1998. Their father David was a

ventriloquist Ventriloquism or ventriloquy is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) speaks in such a way that it seems like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventrilo ...

and children's entertainer who went by the stage name Valentine Prince; he came from a family of musicians. He was married to Margaret Lacey (née Tobin). Fran and Anna came from a family of five siblings who never married and who shared a house in Coatbridge. They performed as "The Prince Sisters" internationally and on cruise ships in the 1950s and 1960s. In the early 1970s, they changed their name to "Fran and Anna", and started to appear regularly on the

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now legally known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchisee for Central Belt, Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation si ...

programme '' Thingummyjig''. They also appeared with

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in Britain for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday brea ...

on his show in the 1980s. They were both awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

in 1989 for services to light entertainment. Fran and Anna were known for their

tartan Tartan or plaid ( ) is a patterned cloth consisting of crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming repeating symmetrical patterns known as ''setts''. Originating in woven wool, tartan is most strongly associated wi ...

miniskirts, rouged cheeks and fishnet stockings. They were known for jabot-fronted tartan mini dresses, with matching tartan hats, each decorated with a large feather. Their style is often referred to as "

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

". They are reported to have worn their trademark style daily. Their friend and fellow performer Johnny Beattie said that he never saw them without full make-up and costume, even when not working, commenting, "I think they even went to bed like that". Fran and Anna performed many times at the Pavilion Theatre in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, giving their last performance there in 2002 alongside

Jack Milroy Jack Milroy, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born James Cruden; 28 December 1915 – 1 February 2001), was a Scottish comedian. Born in Govanhill, Glasgow and educated at Shawlands Academy, Milroy is noted for his partnership with comedy actor ...

and Johnny Beattie and with

Gordon Cree Gordon Charles Cree BMus FGMS (born 14 July 1977, Ayrshire) is a Scottish musician who also performs as a singer, light entertainer and actor. Early life and education Gordon Cree was born and brought up in a working class home in Ayrshire, ...

at the piano. Fran died of pneumonia in 2003. Terry Wogan praised Fran and Anna in his condolences on Fran's death. Anna died of natural causes at St Andrews Hospice in Airdrie six years later. The sisters are buried alongside one another in Old Monkland Cemetery, Coatbridge.

References

External links

BBC reports Anna's death''The Herald'' reports Anna's deatharticle from the ''Sunday Mail''
{{authority control Sibling musical duos Scottish musical duos Scottish folk music groups Scottish musical theatre actresses People from Coatbridge Recipients of the British Empire Medal Deaths from pneumonia in Scotland 20th-century Scottish women singers Scottish girl groups