Tommy Cannon, one half of the comedy duo Cannon and Ball, is set to take on a new challenge with his first solo acting role in a new comedy musical and will perform to delighted audiences in Chesham this month. 

Seriously Dead tells the hilarious tale of Thelma Henderson, deceased, who cannot gain entry through The Pearly Gates as the system has gone digitalised and she has the incorrect paperwork. 

Thelma is told to wait by the scrapyard gates until the issue can be resolved but she finds herself a rather reluctant guardian angel watching over her school friend and the one true love of her life, Billy Blenkinsopp.

Tommy will star alongside Benidorm actress Crissy Rock and comedian Billy Pearce.

Asked if he was apprehensive about acting in this new venture without Bobby Ball, Tommy said: “I’ll have a crack at anything, as long as the offers keep on coming. You know the two saddest words in the English language? They are ‘if only’. 

“When someone gets to a certain age, and they look back and they sigh and say ‘If only I’d done this….or that’. Of course everyone makes mistakes, but you have to learn from them. That’s the way forward.” 

Tommy and Bobby both these days go their own ways for parts of the year - but they always meet up for a Christmas panto. 

He admits with a chuckle that he still gets one of the Cannon and Ball catchphrases shouted after him. 

“If I had a fiver for every time someone has yelled out ‘Rock on, Tommy’ at me, Hazel and the kids and I wouldn’t be living in Great Ouseburn, we’d be able to afford to live in style in Barbados, believe me.”

Seriously Dead comes to The Elgiva in Chesham on April 27. Tickets are £21, available online at elgiva.com, email boxoffice@elgiva.com or call 01494 582900.