When Joyce (my late sister) and I were appearing in Kiss Me Kate in Nottingham, Eric and Ernie were touring in variety and were also appearing in the city. The theatres faced each other and so we used to have coffee together. Eric was lovely to us, but Joyce and I were always rowing at the time and he used to tell us off!

When I did my first Royal Variety Performance in 1961, performing with Sammy Davis Jnr., Eric sent me a telegram jokingly saying: ‘I hear you’re the only one getting paid!’

When Eric and Ernie were appearing together in Blackpool, Eric used to come and watch us rehearse in the daytime for the TV show Blackpool Night Out.

Eric and Ernie often used to mention my name in their shows, like the sketch with Rudolf Nureyev. They were lovely. I wish I could say that I choreographed ‘The Stripper’ routine!

I was doing a PA in Cardiff, judging a competition. I got up early and saw on the news that Eric had died and I just burst into tears. He was only fifty-eight – he had so much more to give.

I loved him. He was a genius, brilliant, wonderful. I miss him.