But the health of the 73-year-old is still causing concern, according to his wife.

Wise, whose partnership with the late Eric Morecambe remains one of the most enduring favourites with the British public, is in a frail condition in a Florida hospital.

Doreen Wise said he had been told of the good wishes being sent for his recovery from fans in Britain.

"We've told him all about it. He just smiles and then falls asleep again," she said.

Eric Morecambe died in 1984 following a heart attack while on stage at the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

Little Ern' played the straight man to Morecambe's zany joker but he was also an accomplished singer and dancer. The pair's Singing In The Rain sketch remains a comedy classic.

The duo's Christmas Day shows were the most eagerly awaited on the festive TV schedule.

Their 1977 Christmas special attracted the biggest audience for a programme shown on a single channel - 27.5 million viewers, a figure only broken by the England v Argentina football match last year.

Wise, who retired from show business following Morecambe's death, spent almost three weeks in intensive care after being taken ill at his holiday home in Florida.

He suffered his first heart attack shortly after returning from a Caribbean cruise.

The veteran comic was released within days but suffered another more serious attack five days later.

He was forced by ill health to withdraw from a BBC Omnibus tribute to Eric Morecambe which was screened over Christmas.