Blue plaques were unveiled at the city's Opera House to commemorate the pair and their work.

Castle's wife Fiona and Lady Myra Secombe attended the event, organised by the Heritage Foundation.

They were joined by Merseyside comedian Lily Savage, actor Ricky Tomlinson and Coronation Street stars Sue Nichols and John Savident for a lunch in aid of Childline North West.

They were both part of my childhood and made an impression on me Paul O'Grady

Sir Norman Wisdom had been due to head the ceremony, but was unable to attend due to ill health.

Paul O'Grady, who as Lily Savage plays the Wicked Witch at the Opera House's pantomime Snow White, said the pair both brought a lot of people a lot of pleasure.

"It's great to remember two great people," he said.

"When I was a kid, I was obsessed by The Goons.

"I just loved Sir Harry Secombe and he was a nice man.

"And Roy Castle on his trumpet was fab when he was on Record Breakers.

Roy Castle died from cancer in 1994

"They were both part of my childhood and made an impression on me, a cynical snotty-nosed kid."

Sir Harry died in 2001, after originally making his name as part of the visionary comic collective The Goons in the 60s.

Lung cancer claimed the life of Roy Castle in 1994, which he believed he contracted through working in smoky jazz clubs during the early part of his career.

He later went on to present the BBC television programme Record Breakers.

A range of charities, including Childline and The Variety Club Childrens' Charity, benefit from the work of The Heritage Foundation.