Born into a working class family in North London in 1959, Slattery won a scholarship to study medieval and modern languages at Cambridge University.

It was from here that he entered the world of showbiz, meeting a young Sir Stephen, who invited him to join the Cambridge Footlights – the university’s famous amateur dramatics club.

From then on, Slattery once said: “Getting up on stage and hearing laughter took over.”

At Cambridge, he was also a contemporary of Dame Emma Thompson and Hugh Laurie.

In 1981, the group won the inaugural Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Festival, for their production of The Cellar Tapes.

And the following year, Slattery was named Footlights’ President, following in the footsteps of Eric Idle, Clive Anderson and Peter Cook.

Slattery went on to appear on the London club circuit doing “kind of a variety act with bizarre turns” as he put it.

He made several TV appearances, including a stint hosting children’s programme TX.

But his big break came in 1986, when he landed a starring role in the West End musical Me and My Girl; before going on to appear in Radio Times, Privates on Parade and Neville’s Island – to critical acclaim.

His other on screen credits include To Die For, Up ‘N Under and The Wedding Tackle.

But he will be most fondly remembered for his work on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Channel 4’s flagship comedy show which saw performers conduct a series of short improvisation games, creating comedic scenes from suggestions made by the host or the audience.