The West End-bound revival of Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit, which I review elsewhere on this site, supplied me with the opportunity to savour mature performances by two of its stars whose considerable talents I spotted very early in their careers.

A glowing notice of mine for Ruthie Henshall I came across quite by accident, while Googling to assess her previous work. It was the first review, chronologically, on her own website and related to her performance (predating her West End debut) in a touring production of A Chorus Line at the New Theatre (then the Apollo) in 1987.

I wrote: “Undoubtedly the finest singing of the evening comes from Ruthie Henshall, as Maggie, who teams up with Samantha Hughes and Taffy Taylor for some splendid harmony in the haunting song At The Ballet.”

Given that there were 27 other leading performers in this show, which is famously ‘without a star’, I consider I showed some perspicacity, in recognising Ruthie’s special qualities.

In the Mail On Sunday’s You magazine this week, an article on the Joking Apart star Robert Bathurst reminded me of his student performances with the Cambridge Footlights. What had I said about him? I wondered.

I reviewed his performance in 1977’s Tag! (which, by coincidence, featured a spoof on A Chorus Line). I wrote that my favourites included “Robert Bathurst’s television commentary, in the deadpan manner of Richard Dimbleby, on the death [more likely funeral, surely] of Sooty”. Rory McGrath and Jimmy Mulville were also in the cast.

Reviewing 1978’s Stage Fright (director Clive Anderson), I noted that Bathurst “possessed considerable talent”.

I didn’t review 1979’s Nightcap, though I dimly remember seeing it. Dimly! When it boasted a cast to die for in 2011 which included, besides Bathurst (in his presidential year), Hugh Laurie (now the highest paid actor in US television drama for House), Emma Thompson and Complicité founder Simon McBurney.