Rory Bremner will be our Chris Tarrant in Chichester

James Graham’s play went on to the West End. But now it is back in Chichester as part of a national tour, this time starring Rory Bremner in the Chris Tarrant role (September 22-30). In between times, the play was a hit again in a TV adaption, starring Michael Sheen: “I saw the TV version a couple years ago with Michael Sheen being as brilliant as ever and I think it just really captured the imagination,” says Rory. “The whole thing does. It was just huge. As James Graham says in the play, it deals with the two great British things of drinking and general knowledge, and the whole programme was just tapping into the great British obsession with quizzes. It was a huge programme to start with and then you add into that the scandal of the Coughing Major. Courtrooms make great theatre and the quiz set is great theatre as well but there is also this great drama of jeopardy. It just takes things to the next level and when you have somebody who apparently cheats on a national quiz show then there is that next level of jeopardy above that, but it is also very very traumatic. The Ingrams lost everything. Somebody shot their cat and their dog was kicked to death and he was spat at in the streets. In some ways it was a victimless crime and in some ways the people that came out of the whole thing the worst were Charles and Diana Ingram themselves. They were convicted but they were not sent to jail, but I think that even now they still hold out hopes of taking the whole thing to appeal. They insist they are innocent.

“But the play is also about how you tell a story. It could be called Reasonable Doubt. It's about that whole question of whether they were guilty or not. The audience gets to vote at half time and they also get to vote again at the end. At the end of the first half everyone thinks it's just so obvious that of course they were guilty, as Chris Tarrant would say ‘He is as guilty as Guy Fawkes! He's as guilty as sin!’ But then after the second-half the audience votes again and what is so interesting is very often that they change their minds.”

Does Rory have an opinion? “There is that whole Scottish verdict of not proven which usually refers to my bread-making skills! I do think there is sufficient doubt there but as I say it's also a play about how you tell the story. And the interesting thing is that usually the conspiracy theories question the established truth but in this case the conspiracy theory is the case that's being put forward by the prosecution. The prosecution have to prove that a conspiracy has taken place.”

For Rory, it’s exciting new territory: “It’s the first time that I've done a character at this length. Usually it's quick-fire or sketches or a few lines in a stand-up act but with this you have to keep the impersonation up for the whole play.” Chris Tarrant hates Rory's impression of him, Rory laughs. And Rory is delighted with that. They are, after all, great mates: “I have known Chris for ages, and he's been very helpful. He was saying ‘Why pay to get the monkey when you could have the organ grinder!’ He likes to tease me about it but on the guilt issue Chris’ mind is absolutely made-up: Ingram is as guilty as Guy Fawkes.”