The Krankies stars revealed they were frequently followed by a crazed stalker who often sent the couple death threats before gigs. The Scottish duo - couple Janette and Ian Tough - soared to fame back in the 1970s as a successful cabaret act before they found a wider audience through their various television shows and pop records.

Their hilarious skit centred around schoolboy, fondly known as Wee Jimmy Krankie, played by Janette, 77, and her paternal figure Ian Krankie performed by Ian, 78. As their act took off, the comedy began to inhabit various other characters as their sketches developed. In the beginning of the 1990s, the comedy duo landed a regular slot on the BBC comedy series French and Saunders where Wee Jimmy Krankie became known for his popular catchphrase 'Fandabidozi!'

But things weren't always 'Fandabidozi' as Ian revealed some of the struggles the couple faced early in a in an interview with us back in 2015.

The doting husband revealed that when they were still performing their act on stage up and down the country, they had a 25-year-old woman who quickly became obsessed with the couple.

Ian recalled: "She came to every stage door and wanted to come to the hotels with us. She threatened to throw herself off the balcony if Janette didn't come out and speak to her. We called the police, and they had her sectioned.

"When they phoned her mother she said, 'Oh she keeps doing this. It's because of The Krankies - she can't get them out of her head'. Then she turned up again and sent a message to the stage door saying she was going to shoot or stab Janette, so we called the police again."

Years later, the pair were subject of lurid press reports claiming they were secret swingers behind closed doors. Addressing the rumours, Janette confessed: "We had fun and we had wild parties in our early days but we were never swingers.

"A lady on the radio came out with that, it appeared in the paper and then multiplied." Thankfully the comics found the funny side of the whole affair, admitting: "We got quite a lot of laughs out of it."

It comes after the showbiz legends announced that they have retired their character Wee Jimmy Krankie for good - and donated his famous school uniform to a Scottish museum last year.

In an interview with The Sun, Janette shared her plans to put the uniform into the Scottish archives alongside Billy Connolly's Big Banana Feet.

She told the outlet: "We would love to see Jimmy's uniform on display somewhere like The People's Palace. They are welcome to keep him permanently because I will certainly never be playing Jimmy again. I've had enough. I'm done. Retired."

Ian added: "Jimmy has taken us all around Europe and as far away as Australia, but it's time to call it a day. Frankly this one boy who is now just too old for school."