That evening the current cast — Gary Wilmot (Caractacus Potts), Caroline Sheen (Truly Scrumptious), Victor Spinetti (Baron Bomburst), Sandra Dickinson (Baroness Bomburst) and Wayne Sleep (The Child Catcher) — will be joined by Russ Abbot, fresh from his success as Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Abbot is one of the country's best-loved comedians. He has a very engaging stage presence, matched only by Eric Sykes, with whom he appeared onstage in a memorable comic double-act as part of the cast of Ray Cooney's Caught in the Act at the Vaudeville Theatre, from 2001 to 2002.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has proved a personal triumph for director Adrian Noble, and is a very popular family musical. The stage musical was based on the film, which was based on the children's book by author Ian Fleming, better-known for the very adult fiction of the James Bond thrillers.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is currently booking to March 2004.