Russ Abbot: a class act, on stage and off | Letters

Readers respond to Simon Hattenstone’s interview with the retired actor and comedian Simon Hattenstone’s wonderful interview with Russ Abbot (‘In 1984, I worked 363 days’: how Russ Abbot soared to success – then walked away, 24 August) brought back a treasured story that leaves my family eternally grateful to him. During the summer of 2010, we travelled from Scotland on holiday, staying in Windsor, and attended Oliver! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. When the show ended late at night, I had to set off on a 30-minute walk just to retrieve our car. With my wife in a broken-down electric wheelchair and our two daughters, aged just eight and six, beside her, they faced a long, vulnerable wait on the pavement. Making matters worse, I then got caught in a central London driving nightmare, desperately trying to navigate back to them with a broken satnav, no map, and no knowledge of the city streets. When Russ walked out of the stage door, he didn’t just pass by. Seeing my stranded family and my young daughters deeply distressed, he stayed and went to work comforting them, running through multiple Fagin monologues right there on the street. The girls were so completely sidetracked that t