When brave 10-year-old Cole Taylor had undergone yet another open heart surgery, the thought of seeing his favourite comedy duo was all he could think about during seven weeks of recovery in hospital.
Cole, who suffered a cardiac arrest when he was just seven, was desperate to get well enough to watch panto legends Danny Adams and Clive Webb perform their Cirque Du Hilarious on Tynemouth seafront after his op in February.
Fast forward six months and the little battler has finally got to see his heroes perform and – even better – got to meet them in the flesh.
Mum Roisin, from Blyth, said: “He has been in hospital for long stays five times over the past three years but his reaction has been amazing, he just gets on with it.
“During this last stay he saw that Danny and Clive were coming to Tynemouth, and asked for tickets for his birthday when he was in his hospital bed.
“He had seen them before at one of their circus shows when he found his love for Danny. He imitates him and looks at his videos on YouTube all the time, he just loves everything he does.
“I ordered the tickets straight away and from then on he didn’t stop talking about going. Looking forward to seeing them perform helped him through his stay in hospital, definitely.
“It was a real treat for him to see the show and then meet Danny and Clive afterwards. The whole Cirque Du Hilarious team has helped to make a little boy very happy.”
Cole was brought back from the dead by his dad Wayne after collapsing while playing with his brother in a paddling pool in 2015.
He was later diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome – a rare heart condition – and he was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defribrillator (ICD) to help regulate his heart rhythm.
Cole, one of the youngest recipients of the device in the North East, most recently spent nearly two months in hospital and underwent multiple surgeries after problems arose with the device.
But he has not let his condition get him down despite having numerous surgeries and spending months in hospital.
Above all, he loves to laugh, and watch his favourite comedy pair perform their silly routines.
After the show, Cole said: “Danny and Clive are so funny. I have seen them about five times in the panto and they make me laugh so much. I love when Danny shouts ‘I killed the pigeon’ and ‘accident!’.
“I loved the circus – especially when they pied each other – and meeting them both was brilliant.”
Danny and Clive finish a three-week leg of their Magical Mischief Tour at the Beaconsfield, Tynemouth, this Sunday (September 2nd), after performing their brand of slapstick humour in front of thousands of people over summer.
Danny and his brother Mick, who also stars in the circus, will begin filming their new CBBC series ‘Danny and Mick’ next week, the day after the circus ends.
Danny, who has starred in the panto at the Theatre Royal for the past 13 years, said: “Cole has been through so much and we are glad that looking forward to the show helped him get through what must have been a really tough time in hospital.
“It is fantastic to know that our comedy can do things like that. We do what we love to do, and even more than that we love seeing the smiles it brings to people’s faces, young and old.
“It was great to meet Cole after one of our shows, he is a lovely lad and it seemed like he had a great time! He is a real inspiration.”
For more information or tickets for Cirque Du Hilarious visit www.cirqueduhilarious.co.uk, search Cirque Du Hilarious on Facebook or follow them on Twitter @cirquehilarious.