HOTSEAT Dropping a piano on someone... that’s the perfect murder

The all-star cast may have left Johnny Vegas feeling nervous – but it’s the comic actor who’s in the driving seat for one-off comedy, Murder On The Blackpool Express. The 47-year-old assures

that, despite the laughs, the twists and turns are sure to keep audiences guessing

It was nice to have this underlying thing that he’s carrying this secret torch for his co-worker Gemma too.

He doesn’t think anything will ever come of it, but he sees that she’s still got that confidence and fight in her to make a success of the company. Cast: From left are Johnny Vegas, Sian Gibson, Griff Rhys Jones, Nina Wadia, Kimberley Nixon, Una Stubbs, Mark Heap, Sheila Reid, Susie Blake, Kevin Eldon, Nigel Havers, Katy Cavanagh, Matthew Cottle and Javone Prince comedy than drama. Apart from Griff (Rhys Jones) who is enjoying himself! His character is big so I think he sits nicely within that – and that gives us a lot to play off, the fact that he is playing it hammy within. YOU’RE genuinely pinching yourself a bit, going: ‘I can’t believe I’m on a set with them and that I’m enjoying being on a set with them so much’.

’Cause I do get nervous. I’m from a stand-up background and I’ve constantly got that self-doubt.

I’m not trained, I’m not from a theatrical background, and it’s always a really nice relief when people take you on face value and don’t presume that you haven’t the skills in the bank. I WAS a huge fan of it for years. I grew up in the kind of Colombo era and my mum’s a massive, massive murder mystery fan.

I’ve just been away on holiday with her; I just had a week of watching Vera because that’s all she wanted to do. She is not as mobile as she used to be, so I brought her this little Apple TV box and she just watches back to back Vera or back to back CSI.

So she got me in the zone, if you like. Murder On The Blackpool Express has a nice twist.

It’s nice when you get to the end of THE perfect murder is dropping a piano on someone.

Just the satisfaction of that. It’s got that kind of Laurel and Hardy-esque thing to it, you know what I mean? Or I’d push them off a cliff.

A gentle push first, so they’d be clinging on, and then I could explain why I did what I needed to do before treading on their fingers.