Comic Josh Widdicombe has revealed his mother-in-law created iconic puppet Zippy

COMIC Josh Widdicombe has revealed his mother-in-law created the iconic Rainbow telly puppet Zippy.

The funnyman, 38, told of the family link with the much-loved character via wife Rose, whom he married in 2019.

He said her mum created the zip-mouthed puppet for the kids’ TV classic.

Fans of Channel 4’s The Last Leg have even said Josh looks like Zippy.

The comic — who is also related to Henry VIII — told Rob Brydon’s podcast: “I’d be lying if I said that hadn’t crossed my mind at points in the sense there’s an obvious comparison to be made.

“And then the thought of your mum creating a fictional character that you then, not end up marrying, but if there’s a Hollywood movie and it turned out that Zippy had been made into a human, and then it was me, it wouldn’t be outlandish.”

It comes after the comic learnt Henry VIII is his 23 times great-grandfather after discovering a link through a distant great nan, said to be the king’s illegitimate daughter.

BBC genealogy programme Who Do You Think You Are? also revealed he was descended from Edward I.