Daughter: It’s like seeing my dad back on stage

Hislop and Newman have received approval for the show from one of Milligan’s six children.

Jane, the fourth of his children, saw the show in Cheltenham earlier in the tour and gave her approval to both it and Robert Wilfort’s portrayal of her father.

Hislop said: We were terrified because this was her life we were doing and we hoped we hadn’t messed it up, but we got a big thumbs up from her.”

Newman added: “Robert is very physical

in the role but he doesn’t do an impression. His relationship with the audience is very Spike-like. Jane said to Robert afterwards that it was her dad on stage, and she’s since been to see it several times.

“We wanted to give the impression that Spike never stopped performing, and we asked Jane if we were right about that. She told us that they used to have an intercom at home, and her dad would ring her on it and read a joke or a poem and ask if she liked it. When we next revise the show, we’ll be including that.”