TONY Hancock burst onto the airwaves of the BBC in 1954 and his brand of comedy shaped a generation.

When Hancock started to play a less successful version of himself and surrounded by a cast of fellow comedy greats including Sid James, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams, Hancock’s Half Hour became one of the first programmes in the genre we now know as sitcom.

It was an obsession with the show as a youngster which started the love affair with Hancock for actor/impressionist James Hurn.

“It started when I was about 12-years-old,” Hurn tells the Gazette.

“My parents used to love listening to him [Hancock] so it was always sort of in the background.

“I always used to love listening and watching all these old things, and one day my dad was watching a TV version of Hancock’s Half Hour and they started repeating it on Sundays that was it- I was hooked.

“It was humour that I could understand.”

Now, the actor takes on the role of Hancock in the stage production of the old radio show, which he was fortunate to be part of the writing and adaptation process.

Hancock’s Half Hour redefined radio comedy and has had people laughing non-stop for the past 65 years.

So to take on a much-beloved show and character, Hurn had to make sure he and the rest of the crew got things right.

He added: “What has been wonderful is that we have had die-hard Hancock fans coming up to use quoting episodes of the old show to us.

“I see that as a sign of validation as they could easily tell us we did a rubbish job.”

Hurn added: “The majority of our audience is of an older generation which grew up with Hancock, but we are seeing younger audiences coming to some of the shows, and it’s funny because that’s the type of age I was when I was introduced to it.

“With Hancock it is situational comedy that it is always easily relatable and everyone can relate to the character of Hancock.”

For Hurn, who fell in love with drama at a young age, he always knew he wanted to pursue a career in acting but didn’t really know where to turn.

“I was so naïve when I was younger,” he adds.

“I thought once you finished school you would just go to auditions and try your best, which don’t get me wrong that works for some people, but I hadn’t a clue about drama schools.

“Thankfully my drama teacher put me on the right path.”

Having appeared on the likes of Dead Ringers, Scoop, The Slammer, Spoof and even The Band of Brothers, where he was directed by Tom Hanks, Hurn has honed his impression over the years.

The Gazette asked the actor what it takes to get into character.

He said: “I listen to a lot of audio recordings of the person so I can just hear their voice, then I might watch a clip to see how they shape their mouth, how they stand how they stand because it all adds to the voice.”

Hancock’s Half Hour comes to the Haymarket on March 8 and 9.