The stars who came for a trim during golden age of theatre

She was a barber to the stars who graced the stages in Blackpool.

And Ester Iemberger made such an impact on the famous faces who popped into her hairdressers in Caunce Street during the resort’s golden age, that her grandson Russell Lambert now has scores of photos, autograph books and memorabilia.

Russell’s mum, Rose, passed away recently and Russell has shared some of the pictures and cuttings saved through the years.

Ester’s shop was the first female hairdressers specialising in men’s grooming in Blackpool. And the shop, Roberts Hairdressers, was one of the closest to the ABC theatre. It soon became a popular barbers for stars such as Josef Locke, Tommy Steele, Wilfred Pickles and Freddie Star.

Russell said: “Apparently Freddie Star used to practice his routines for the girls in the shop and if they liked them, they would go straight into the show.”

Born to a family of hairdressers in London, Ester came to Blackpool during the war as an evacuee.

They had lived adjacent to a railway line which was heavily bombed and her parents knew they had to send Ester to safety.

The toddler should have boarded a ship to America but fate stepped in when they missed its departure, only later to hear it was torpedoed killing all the children.

Instead, the three year old boarded a train to Blackpool, where her uncle lived and she stayed with an elderly couple.

She was very unhappy and in the end her dad caught a train to the resort, in the middle of the Blitz, to pick her up. That was the moment he decided to stay in Blackpool, it was safer than London and so phoned Ester’s mum, told her to sell up and they moved permanently to Blackpool, setting up Roberts Hairdressers.

Ester was trained by celebrity hairdresser of the time Raymond Bessone (Teasy Weasie Raymond) in London and Russell has also learned that Tommy Steele was his late sister’s godparent.

Ester, known as Essie Roberts, lived until the grand age of 94 and moved to St Annes in her later years.