Shameless's David Threlfall to star

Shameless star David Threlfall is to play Tommy Cooper in a new ITV drama.

New Tricks actress Amanda Redman will play the comedian’s wife Gwen in the feature-length film.

The script is expected to cover his drinking and his affair with his personal assistant Mary Kay, as well as his on-stage performances.

Next April will mark the 30th anniversary of Cooper’s death, after he collapsed on stage at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London, during a show that was being aired live on TV.

The idea has been in development for at least six years. In 2007, executive producer Andy Harries, said: ‘I have long had a desire to make a film about the last week of Tommy Cooper’s life. It was extraordinary because he died live on TV.

‘The story behind his death is staggering, because not only did he drop dead in this show, but the audience thought it was part of the show. Then they decided it was quite serious and moved his body to the side of the stage and carried on.’

And in another interview about the project, he said: ‘He wasn't a tragic clown like Hancock so it's not a downbeat story - it's a celebration of this comedy genius.’

Harries was the former controller of comedy at Granada who helped develop the Mrs Merton Show and The Royle Family, and now co-runs Left Bank Pictures, which makes the Cardinal Burns sketch show, among others.

Filming will begin in London next month. John Fisher, who has written a biography of Cooper and compiled books, is acting as a consultant.

Cooper has been the subject of several stage plays, including the currently touring production Being Tommy Cooper, but it is thought this is the first screen biography of the comic.

Published: 23 May 2013