ACTOR John Guerrasio is a veteran of stage and screen, so playing iconic television detective Columbo in a new stage production should be a breeze right? Not quite.

“We opened in Cheltenham and on the very first night, I blew the famous line,” John says guiltily. “Instead of saying ‘just one more thing’ I said ‘oh by the way, one more thing’.

“From then on I was thinking ‘I hope they don’t Murder me’.”

In fact, three weeks into the UK tour, audiences are, according to John, “oohing and ahhing in all the right places”.

Which is no mean feat considering the baggage that comes with playing such a part as Columbo, made almost legendary by American actor Peter Falk.

John adds: “In some respects because Peter Falk did such a good job with the character, there’s no point even trying to imitate that, so my Columbo is more of a homage to that, than a slavish imitation.”

Arriving at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, on Monday, is Prescription Murder, which was Columbo’s first case. It was originally a short story, then it was turned into a stage play and then the pilot episode for what became the long-running series.

John reveals: “They wanted Bing Crosby to do it, but he turned it down because he was doing something else.

“Now you cannot imagine anyone but Peter Falk doing it.

“The way he played it is just so ingrained in the public consciousness, but there are things you can pick up on.

“His character has its basis in other, more literary detectives, such as Father Brown and Detective Porfiry in Crime and Punishment. They all have that seemingly forgetful trait as a weapon to disarm their criminal prey.

“It also helps that this play pre-dates the original television series, so it’s all there in the script.

“I think Peter Falk may have claimed the mannerisms were all his doing, but that’s not the case, it’s all in the original short story written back in the Fifties, even the ‘one more thing’ line.”

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, John has been living and working in the UK for the past 20 years.

He found himself in London as understudy for John Malkovich in a production of Burn This, which transferred from Broadway to the West End.

He says: “I didn’t get on, but it did give me a permit to work here.”

Sticking around to see what work was about, John quickly picked up a series of presenting roles, including such programmes as the History of the Hollywood Western and a number of travel documentaries.

“That was great,” John enthuses. “I was researcher, writer and presenter, and sometimes it was a bit whistle-stop. Judith Chalmers would probably get a week, while we would be in and out of a place in a day. But it was good fun and I saw some amazing places.”

Now, as well as acting on stage, John does a lot of voice work for the BBC destined for the American market, most recently Tinga Tinga Tales and Mr Men.

“I even did a pilot for Postman Pat for America,” John giggles. “But it seems Postman Pat didn’t quite work for the Americans.”

Millions of British television viewers regularly watch John, although they probably don’t know it, because he’s the man playing Albert Einstein in a current advert for a leading brand of breadmakers.

He adds: “The make-up is incredible and made by the guys at Madame Tussauds so it’s pretty realistic.

“I’ve been very lucky with the variety of work I’ve had, but this Columbo show is one of the best things I’ve ever done. I’m really enjoying it and the cast is great. It’s a real blast.”