Former Nat West men Ken Norman and Tim Lyon were hardly laughing all the way to the bank after taking their comedy act to the West End.

But the pair were delighted to have half-filled Her Majesty's Theatre, which they paid 12,000 to hire for one night of showbiz fame.

Ken and Tim used part of their redundancy money from the bank to hire the famous London venue, in their bid to be the next Morecambe and Wise.

They ended up selling 470 tickets, leaving them with a bill of about 7,000. But the two ex-bank managers reckon it was money well-spent.

Ken, 38, of Webb Crescent, Chipping Norton, said: "We had a brilliant night. This has given us the confidence to believe we can do this professionally."

Tim, 47, of Ascott-under- Wychwood, said: "My abiding memory was standing there waiting to go on. It was really quite emotional.