Loki star Tom Hiddleston makes a surprise appearance on stage at the Chichester Festival Theatre

Tom Hiddleston graced the stage of the CFT. Picture by Getty Images

Unbilled, his unexpected role in The Play What I Wrote went down a storm with the packed house who couldn’t believe their good fortune at seeing one of the world’s biggest celebrity names.

Tom is perhaps best known to television audiences for his starring role in The Night Manager and for playing Loki in the ‘Thor’ and ‘Avengers’ film franchises.

But he is also regarded as a thoroughly nice guy - as well as being a heart-throb.

He featured on Debrett’s 2017 list of the most influential people in the United Kingdom and has been named most stylish/best dressed man in several listings.

His Crimson Peak director Guillermo del Toro and the comic book writer Stan Lee are reported to have called him “the nicest guy on earth you’ll ever meet” with del Toro adding that he breaks the usual barrier of being either nice or good-looking.

The Play What I Wrote is an affectionate look at Britain’s all-time favourite comedians Morecambe and Wise.

In the 1970s their annual Christmas Day show would attract TV audiences on the BBC of nearly half the British population - and tens of millions regularly tuned in to them. There were ongoing battles between ITV and the BBC to secure their shows.

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Superstars - ranging from Elton John to Vanessa Redgrave - all lined up to be part of the programmes and were more than happy to make fools of themselves, aided by Eddie Braben’s brilliant scripts.

This latest touring production, which takes its name from Ernie Wise’s grand finale of every show which he described as ‘the play what I wrote’, is funny, foolish entertainment beyond words and the audience loved it.

The billed cast of Dennis Herdman, Thom Tuck and the extraordinarily versatile Mitesh Soni, are outrageously good - never seeking to impersonate the revered comedy duo but merely to capture the spirit of their famous acts.

However, the undisputed star of the show was Tom Hiddleston who radiated personal charm and magnetism in a typically self-deprecating style.

Sadly, there is no guarantee future audiences will see him there this week. The surprise guest stars will continue to change.

But for audiences on Tuesday it got no better than this.