Kenneth Tynan picked up on Morecambe And Wise’s success in the 1970s. He said Eric was the straight man who was funny, and Ernie was the funny man who was straight.

“Ernie would do the silly dances and Eric would be standing there with his hand in his pocket asking what he was doing.”

The idea of a one-man show about a double act is a concept straight out of the Morecambe And Wise jokebook.

But Bob Golding’s performance earned both a Fringe First award at the 2009 Edinburgh Festival and an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment when Morecambe was at the Duchess Theatre in London’s West End later that same year.

Now Golding is donning the black-rimmed glasses and Brylcreem once more to mark the 30th anniversary of his comic hero’s untimely death.

“It’s a real labour of love,” says Golding, who spent two years living in Eastbourne in the mid-1990s.

“It was a tricky decision to be on my own on the road for 12 weeks, but it was a no-brainer in terms of recreating such an iconic character.”

Golding was involved in the original creation of the show alongside writer Tim Whitnall. This tour has a new energy to it according to Golding, partly because of the newly recorded music, featuring Julian Landymore’s 17-piece swing band, the 78 RPM Big Band.

This tour also has Morecambe’s own son Gary as executive producer, while his daughter Gail has previously taken part in Q&A sessions after performances.

“It has made me appreciate Eric even more,” says Golding. “I asked Gary what it was like sharing his dad with the nation and he said, ‘It worked for me’. He gets emotional watching Morecambe And Wise shows because he shared them with the whole world.

“We didn’t know too much about the private Eric – only that he was never off. He was always the showman.

“Gail has told me some lovely stories about growing up as the daughter of Eric Morecambe. When her boy-friend phoned the house, Eric would answer and say, ‘I’m sorry, there’s no telephone at this address’ and the lad would hang up!

“What we say during the play is that we never know what Eric was like when he was frustrated or worried. We had to rely on friends and family to tell us, and it turned out those times were very rare. The humour was always there to pull him through.”

In researching the show Golding and Whitnall did come across reflective pieces Morecambe wrote when he was suffering from ill-health.

And he never forgot his past.

“Eric and Ernie’s first show for the BBC, Running Wild, was a huge flop,” says Golding, repeating the infamous quote from The People which defined the TV set as “the box in which they buried Morecambe And Wise”.

“Eric kept that cutting in his wallet until the day he died to remind himself to never take these things for granted. They had the longest overnight success in showbusiness – they kept dusting themselves off and coming back.”

He believes the worry played a big part in Morecambe’s health problems – allied to his service as a Bevin Boy in Accrington Pit during the Second World War.

“That took its toll on his health,” says Golding. “He had this constant drive to make people laugh. At the end of the play we ask when does that stop? If he doesn’t stop it will kill him, but how do you kill second nature?”

Golding describes the show as a stylised piece of theatre rather than a recreation of favourite Morecambe And Wise sketches.

As well as Morecambe he plays a range of other important characters in his life, from his mother, wife and agent to Bruce Forsyth and Lew Grade.

And it would be difficult to do a show about Morecambe without mentioning his comedy partner of 43 years.

To represent Ernie Wise, Whitnall brought in a popular feature of the double act’s live show.

“Eric had a ventriloquist’s doll in the live act called Charlie,” says Golding. “He would pretend to be a rubbish ventriloquist. Tim came up with that device to represent Ernie in the play.

“Their relationship was so integral to their comedy. When Eric had his first heart attack, Ernie carried on working and gave half of all he earned to Eric.

“Most double acts in history had enough of each other at some point. Professionally they were together all the time, but I think their secret was a certain degree of separation. Eric was a family man – when they finished a show he would be straight in his Jensen Interceptor to Harpenden.”

The result was a team who broke records when more than half the country watched their 1977 Christmas Special, and who have certainly had no equals since.

“How would you define Eric and Ernie’s comedy?” asks Golding. “They did stand-up, sketches, comedy songs, glamorous numbers, movies... They had fingers in so many pies and came from a music hall background, which had a massive influence on them.

“There’s a live recording from a show at Fairfield Hall in Croydon and it’s a completely different Eric and Ernie.

“I think Eric had an epiphany when he had to improvise on television in 1960. He realised you had to treat the camera like another member of the audience. That was the secret ingredient at the heart of his career.”

  • Morecambe is at Devonshire Park Theatre, Compton Street, Eastbourne, from Tuesday, April 1, to Saturday, April 5. Starts 7.45pm, 2.30pm matinees on Wednesday and Saturday, tickets from £14.50. Call 01323 412000
  • Morecambe is also at Theatre Royal Brighton, in New Road, on Tuesday, June 17. Tickets £24.40, call 0844 8717650