KATHERINE MACALISTER asks former Casualty actor Clive Mantle about his latest role bringing comic legend Tommy Cooper’s life to the stage.

Clive Mantle was grumbling by text to his mates about having to do a matinee in Hull on a wet Thursday afternoon, when a fellow actor texted back telling him to get on with it and Clive was the only actor he knew who was working at all.

“Even a Hull matinée should be done with grace because parts like this are so rare,” Clive said thoughtfully. Not that Clive has any trouble summoning up his character Tommy Cooper in the new show Jus’ Like That. In fact, so intent was Clive on doing justice to the comic genius that he spent six months researching the role – watching old shows, reading biographies and sitting outside Tommy’s Chiswick house, imagining his idol’s life there.

He even met Tommy’s son who regaled him with stories long into the night. “I have just immersed myself in his life,” Clive says simply.

Add Tommy’s magic tricks and you begin to understand just how convincing Clive is at this part. “It’s a godsend of a role, so I’ve grabbed it with both hands and I’m running as far as possible with it.”

But Clive Mantle? He of Casualty and The Vicar of Dibley fame? As Tommy Cooper? “Well, physically I’m right for the part – we are the same height and have the same size feet,” the 52-year-old says defensively. ”And he’s my idol. I grew up on comedy – Hancock, Sid James and the like – and cut my TV teeth on Lenny Henry and Rick Mayall in the 1980s. Comedy is my first love.

“And Tommy was such an incredible entertainer because he appealed right across the board without becoming mundane or mainstream. ”

Of course the downside was that Tommy also struggled with depression and the bottle. So how does Clive feel about exposing this side of the comedy legend? “We are not dishing the dirt. We’re just trying to rebuild him accurately. Tommy drank and smoked as if it was a habitual thing and the delays before his shows got longer while the acts got shorter, and it literally destroyed him. But it’s important to show the downward spiral because Tommy would erupt on stage, make everybody laugh and then return to his theatre box room alone. What sort of life is that? A lonely one, that’s for sure.

“But no, this isn’t a maudlin show. He wasn’t grumpy,” Clive continues, “He was always more interested in making people laugh.”

So is Clive tempted to continue his Tommy Cooper impression off stage as well?

“Oh no. My limit is two pints after the show and then I fall asleep. It’s not very rock-and-roll. But then this show is a massive undertaking and if I behaved like Tommy off stage the tour would have ground to a halt weeks ago,” he laughs.

“And I love coming to Oxford because it’s home to one of my favourite pubs in the world – the Turf Tavern – so you’ll efinitely be able to find me there after the show.”

As for the future, Clive has his next project lined up – he plays Will Mellor’s dad in White Van Man, a new TV comedy.

So the only downside is that the tour means Clive is separated from his wife Zoe and five-year-old son Harry, commuting to their homes in Wiltshire and Devon when he can.

But at least his Tommy Cooper magic tricks came in handy at his son’s recent birthday party. “It saved a few bob,” Clive laughs. “I trained with The Great Soprendo for three months and he was such a wonderful teacher. It’s a glorious skill to have.”

Clive Mantle appears in Jus’ Like That at the Oxford Playhouse from Wednesday. Call the box office on 01865 305305.