Secombe and Castle honoured

Sir Harry Secombe and Roy Castle have been honoured with blue Comic Heritage plaques in Manchester

The stars' widows, Lady Myra Secombe and Fiona Castle, were present at the tribute outside the Opera House theatre, where both entertainers appeared during their careers.

Other celebrities there included Royle Family star Ricky Tomlinson and Coronation Street actress Sue Nicholl..

Sir Norman Wisdom, who had been due to unveil the plaques, was unable to attend due to ill health. He was recently admitted to hospital

In a letter read out at the ceremony, he said: "It would have been good to have shared the honour of my two old chums, as we all shared many laughs over the years."

Paul O'Grady, who is starring in the venue's panto Snow White in his Lily Savage guise, said: "It's great to remember two great people."

"When I was a kid, I was obsessed by The Goons. I just loved Sir Harry Secombe and he was a nice man."

Sir Harry died in 2001, while Roy Castle died of lung cancer in 1994, attributed to his years of work in smoky clubs.

Published: 11 Jan 2003