Dennis Waterman was able to laugh at himself, which was a good thing for the Little Britain creators.
The popular actor, Who was best known for his roles in Minder, New Tricks and The Sweeney, has sadly died at the age of 74 at his home in Spain with his wife at his side.
Leading the tributes to the TV star were comedians Matt Lucas and David Walliams, who worked with Dennis after creating a wacky caricature of the actor for their show.
Dennis sang the theme tune for four of the show his starred in, including 'I Could Be So Good For You' for Minder which was a top three hit in the UK.
He also did the vocals for the theme song of New Tricks, Stay Lucky and On the Up - giving rise to the hilarious impersonation on Little Britain.
A running joke throughout the show was that Dennis, played by Walliams, was an extremely tiny actor who visits his agent (Lucas) to discuss an upcoming role.
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Part of the gag is that Dennis is so small that normal objects seem massive in comparison to him, although the scale deliberately didn't really make sense.
There's no real explanation for why this element was added as the real Dennis was average height at 5ft9.
The other part of the joke was that Dennis always turned down amazing roles because he wasn't allowed to write and sing the theme song, which was pronounced as "write da feem toon, sing da feem toon".
Dennis himself was initially said to have been bemused by the strange caricature, but he clearly came to find it funny as he took part in a sketch with the Little Britain creators.
In November 2006, the actor came out on to stage to make a guest appearance in Comic Relief Does Little Britain Live, alongside Walliams as the comedy character version of himself.
He proclaimed he was angry at the charecterisation of himself, but was forced to admit that he did write and sing theme tunes on multiple programmes.
Lucas and Walliams both paid tribute to Dennis after his tragic death was announced on Sunday.
"I grew up watching Dennis Waterman's iconic performances in The Sweeney and Minder," tweeted Matt.
"His guest appearance in our Little Britain Live show at Hammersmith Apollo - in which he hilariously duetted with David's absurd impersonation of him - remains the absolute highlight of my career."
While David shared a photo of him dressed as the character while on stage with the real Dennis in matching outfits.
He wrote: "This is my happiest moment ever on stage. Dennis Waterman & Dennis Waterman came together for a special Comic Relief performance of Little Britain Live at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2006.
"The audience went wild when the real Dennis Waterman walked onto the stage. He was such a great sport and acted his outrage at me and Matt for lampooning him superbly.
"Dennis had magnificent comic timing, and really made us both and the entire audience laugh. Matt and I caught each other’s eyes as we sang with him, thinking how did all this happen to us? It felt like magic.
"We were both huge fans of Dennis because of Minder, which is one of the funniest TV dramas of all time. If you have never seen it you are in for a treat.
"Dennis and George Cole together are perfection. I am so pleased he had a good time with us and had the last laugh."
Dennis had a 60-year career which first began in the 60s when he was just a child, appearing in a few small stage roles for the Royal Shakespeare Company and in BBC TV series William, which had been based on Richmal Crompton's Just William Books.
In 1968 he landed his first major role in the British kitchen-sink drama Up the Junction, which saw him play Peter, boyfriend to Polly (Suzy Kendall).
In the 70s, he starred as a young Gestapo officer in BBC TV series Colditz, which ran for two series until 1974 and appeared alongside the likes of Christopher Lee, Richard Harris and Susan George in 1970's Scars of Dracula, Fright and Man in the Wilderness.
However, his most memorable roles during that period were that of DS George Carter in The Sweeney and Terry McCann in Minder - where he famously sang the theme tune.
After leaving Minder he starred in comedy-drama Stay Lucky and sitcom On the Up, but noughties viewers will recognise him best from New Tricks, which he joined in 2003 and starred on for 11 years until 2014.
He filmed just two episodes before quitting the 12 series and was replaced by Larry Lamb as Ted Case.
Dennis told the Mirror after the series wrapped that he had downsized homes and was enjoying semi-retirement in the sun.
He said: “I’m not rushing about looking for work really – I’ll see how far the money goes.
"I’ve found out a remarkable thing about myself is that I’m really, really good at doing f***-all. I’ve always sneered at people who have gone in to early retirement and thought what are you going to do, but I’ve taken to it like a duck to water."
While he insisted he had not retired completely, he added: "We’re spending a lot of time in Spain so we’re lolling in the sun, having a splash when it gets too hot and then going and having a game of golf.
"And there is drink involved. It’s murder. I am really good at it. We’ve downsized from our four up four down to two up two down too."
His last ever project was Australian drama-comedy film Never Too Late in 2020, which saw four former prisoners of war that broke out of their camp during the Vietnam War become residents in the same retirement home.
When his death was announced, a statement from his family read: "We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved Dennis, passed away very peacefully at his home in Spain.
"The family kindly ask that our privacy is respected at this very difficult time."
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