Arsenic and Old Lace at the Basingstoke Haymarket theatre. A fantastic production starring Louise Jameson and Sherrie Hewson as the murderous old ladies and a surprisingly outstanding Wayne Sleep as the Peter Lorre-styled Doctor.

Sad to hear of the death of distinguished character actor and ‘King of the voice overs’, Patrick Allen. His long connection with the Carry Ons includes the narration for Don’t Lose Your Head, Carry On Doctor and Carry On…Up the Khyber, new linking material for the ‘Comedy Club’ audio tape releases in the mid-1990s and, most recently, the stirring introduction for Ken Burns’ Carryoons. Great to see Patrick working until the very end; adding style to the ‘music telly’ links for More4 earlier this year. Admirers of his work should invest in the Tigon DVD Collection from Anchor Bay. It features his mind-blowing lead performance in The Body Stealers, along with his entertaining audio commentary moderated by Robert’s good pal, John Hamilton.

Robert has been extremely busy with a couple of ‘classic’ Carry On projects over the last few weeks. All will be revealed a little later in the year! However, for those keen to get hold of his latest book, The Goodies Rule O.K, a few weeks before the official publication date, Robert will be signing copies in Edinburgh on Saturday 19th August. He will be joined by Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden, currently selling out concerts at the Fringe Festival, from 2pm at the city’s Waterstones.