A prodigious talent for slapstick humour kept 18 million viewers in stitches on Friday nights when they tuned in to Sykes - the sitcom Eric Sykes wrote and starred in.

But it’s his ‘dad hugs’ that his daughter, Julie Sykes, 67, misses most about Eric, who aged 89. She tells The : "He was a great hugger. I knew his hands were always warm. I always had cold hands and I miss him holding my hands to warm them.”

Speaking ahead of a new documentary Eric Sykes: 50 Years of Laughter, on Channel 5 tonight at 9pm, she recalls: “Dad was always visually funny. And that's what he was like at home. I remember he’d come into a room and inadvertently drop something, a knife or fork. There was a cheeky laugh. He always made us laugh.”

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Julie, her mum Edith and siblings Katherine, Susan and David’s laughter joined that of the millions of fans who loved watching

She says: "When the theme tune was on, we’d all come running into the living room. The shout would go around the house - ‘Dad’s on!’"

Originally called Sykes and a... when it ran for nine series between 1960 and 1965, the show’s name was shortened to Sykes when it enjoyed a second run between 1972 and 1979.

Eric and who played his twin sister, were the perfect comic duo and remained close friends until her death from a heart attack in 1980, aged just 53.

After Hattie's death, Eric concentrated on stage work, but won critical acclaim for his role in 2001 film The Others, starring alongside Nicole Kidman, as well as appearing as Frank Bryce in in 2005.

Eric, who died at his home in Esher, Surrey, after a short illness, counted writing for The Goon Show until it left the air in 1960 among his accomplishments.

One of its stars and his great friend Spike Milligan described him as "the bravest man I know," with justification - as Eric was dogged by hearing problems and, in 1997, had a quadruple heart bypass.

Julie says: “Dad never socialised because of his deafness. He never brought people home because he couldn't get to hear them - it would be a struggle and a strain. We never went out as a family. ”

Edith, a Canadian nurse who he met in 1952 while in hospital for one of his ear operations, created a loving home that gave Eric a much-needed sanctuary from work. The couple were happily married for 60 years and Edith passed away in 2018 - seven years after her husband's death.

"Dad wasn't often around ... but he loved coming home, he loved that grounding that he came home and his children were there and his wife was there. The and the cats and his clubs were in the corner. "

Born in Oldham on May 4, 1923, Eric's mother died three weeks after his birth, due to complications with the labour, although he believed she remained his guardian angel throughout his life.

He grew up in poverty and with no education, he was facing a life of menial jobs when, aged 16, he was drafted into the RAF during World War II.

The war launched his comedy career as, while stationed in he auditioned for a theatre company - set up by actor Bill Fraser,

to entertain troops and improve morale and realised he had a talent for writing.

The war also gave him the most harrowing experience of his life, when he and fellow members of the company went to a recently liberated prison camp in 1945 to borrow some lights - not knowing what lay behind the gates of the facility - Bergen Belsen.

The sight of the emaciated people - victims of the brutal Nazi regime - haunted him for the rest of his life.

Julie says: "He never spoke about it. The only reason I knew was because I read his autobiography. "

After the war, Eric began writing for RAF theatre pal Bill and another fellow wartime performer, Frankie Howerd, then a successful radio comic.

His career took off and he was soon working with talent such as Tony Hancock, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers.

And when he met Hattie in 1948, when she was performing old-time music hall classics to packed houses, his career as a performer began.

Recalling Hattie in action, he said: "At the end of the number she leapt in the air and did the splits. I had never seen such charisma."

His success was all the more remarkable because of Eric’s partial deafness, having survived a near fatal infected mastoid in 1950, which eventually led to total deafness.

As Eric only had a partial ear drum in one ear, hearing aids didn’t work. Instead, he relied on heavy black lense free ‘hearing aid’ glasses - concealing micro-speakers which conducted sound through his skull.

Writing for laughs he could no longer hear was challenging - especially when he was working with Spike Milligan who could be tricky as his bipolar disorder triggered regular bouts of depression.

"When Spike became a bit depressed, Dad would take over and write some of the Goon scripts. They would all be in their office - Dad, Spike, Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine - writing these scripts and having a laugh. They became life long supportive friends but there were some arguments."

In one heated row, Spike threw an ashtray at Eric's head. Julie says: “I think they fell out over using the word “and” or “but” in a joke. They were both very creative, and dad’s comedy was as surreal as Spike’s, but Spike was not quite as controllable as my dad."

Laurel and Hardy greatly influenced Eric - which is clear to see in his 1967 short movie masterpiece, The Plank, co-starring

Julie recalls: "Tommy was very nervous about acting, but my dad told him ‘Don't act. Just be yourself. You don't need to be anyone else apart from Tommy Cooper. That's why you're doing this with me’. And Tommy was amazing."

It also features a young Jimmy Tarbuck, who speaks in tonight’s documentary, along with Julie, and reveals how Eric became a benevolent mentor to him.

"My dad was very caring and respectful of other performers - full of advice when they asked,” says Julie.

Hattie Jacques, who started working with Eric on Educating Rita in 1950, loved their partnership. Julie remembers attending the taping of Sykes at the every week as a child and seeing ‘Auntie Hattie,’ saying: "She was such a loving, welcoming, warm person. She’d make sure everybody was okay - cast and crew. And she would always have delicious food for us. When dad was on tour with her during the summer season. We'd go down and see them and stay a few weeks. She was a great auntie, always making us a nice dinner or lunch."

Hattie found fame in The Carry on films - typecast in the matronly role and there were often references to her weight.

But Julie says: “Dad never saw the joke being that Hattie was a big woman. He saw her- and that’s how he wrote for her. It had nothing to do with size. He had huge respect for her and she for him. They both had genuine, genuine love for each other."

Eric was devastated when she died. Dismissing rumours that he was banned from her funeral, Julie - who went together with her siblings - continues: "The whole family was invited to the funeral, but my dad was touring with a play in and my mother had gone with him.

“My dad sent a note to the funeral and Kenneth Williams read it out. It was a heartfelt note. I don't remember it word for word, but Dad said I know when I’m ready to go. Hattie will have a hot meal ready for me. “

And Eric knew he would not carry on Sykes without her.

Awarded a CBE for in 2005, Eric’s final role was in Agatha Christie’s Poirot, two years before his death.

Meanwhile, three of his children followed him into showbiz. After working as her dad's driver in her twenties - chauffeuring him to chat show appearances and filming work, Julie went into TV,

"Katherine and David also went into the industry, while my sister Susan went into nursing like Mum, " she says.

Julie also inherited her father’s love of golf, saying: "Some of my happiest memories are being on the golf course - playing with Dad,

"In the end, he was deaf and couldn't see, so he never left the house. But he was grateful and happy for his long life. It still amazes me that now - people still want to talk to me about my dad.”

Eric Sykes: 50 Years of Laughter airs tonight Channel 5 at 9pm. An episode of Sykes follows at 10.30pm.