The Play What I Wrote

And one of his biggest fans was his young son, Gary.

"In a way it was very normal, but I say that as someone who knew little else from about the age of five when Morecambe and Wise first became TV stars," says Gary Morecambe of his childhood.

"I sort of understood that his work and his fame were not something anyone else I knew shared, but that just added to the fun of it and overall I think I had an easy ride through my various boarding schools," adds the 58-year old writer.

Living with Eric Morecambe was a unique experience and is something that Gary cherishes.

"I'm very unlike my father who 'thought funny' from the moment he awoke each day," he remembers.

"I could never have been that driven and it exhausts me just to recall him dashing around the house cracking gags and being brilliant, possibly to the cost of his own health. I like a laugh, but I also like - and prefer - peace and tranquillity. Perhaps that is a direct result of his work."

It was more than ten years ago that Gary, who was a publicist for a theatrical agent before becoming a full-time writer in 1982, first had the idea of staging a show about the lives of his father and his comedy partner.

"I had a desire to stage a play about Eric and Ernie, partly because it was a project that fitted in nicely with my writing career, but mostly because I didn't want anyone else to do it and somehow get it wrong," he explains.

"Then my agent told me that a West End producer called David Pugh had the same idea. We met up and decided it would be pragmatic to join forces rather than compete. Also, we found we had a lot in common and got on really well. But it took a further five years to see the play get anywhere.

"That happened when comedy duo The Right Size had the brainwave of doing a play about themselves and in it they just happen to become Morecambe and Wise.

"The Play What I Wrote is a kind of sideways tribute thus avoiding straight impression which had been the one thing holding the project back all the time. David, quite rightly as it transpired, believed direct impersonation of Eric and Ernie wouldn't work because they are still too contemporary."

Gary is happy with the finished product of this collaboration, for which he served as a consultant, and is sure his father would have approved.

"My father was a very modest and unaffected man who performed comedy in the belief he could do little else. He would have been delighted by the play purely on the basis that anyone could have taken the trouble to do a tribute to himself and partner."

True to the way in which Ernie's plays featured special guest stars on The Morecambe and Wise Show, The Play What I Wrote also features a mystery celebrity guest at every performance. But who is Gary's favourite special guest?

"To me the whole idea of the guest star is a stroke of genius which I believe is attributable to David Pugh.

"When David and I first met, he immediately said how he would love to have people like Glenda Jackson appearing in the show but he couldn't work out in what capacity.

"The guest star not only makes audiences return to the play time and again - it's a very different experience each time - but it is the one way to link the cast of the play to Eric and Ernie themselves.

"I'll never forget the opening night when Ralph Fiennes was the guest star and there was a standing ovation.

And then there was stalwart Roger Moore who was even up to travelling to Milton Keynes on a weekday until ill health slowed him down a bit. Nigel Havers is possibly one of my favourites too. And I'd definitely like to see Kylie Minogue make a return," he laughs, adding, "but that's probably for other reasons!"

The Play What I Wrote is at The Mayflower, Southampton, from Monday to October 23. Tickets: from £11. Box office: 023 8071 1811.