The Goons were a huge influence on comedy writers

On accepting a lifetime achievement honour at the British Comedy Awards in 1994, Milligan called the prince a "grovelling little bastard" after the royal had sent his congratulations in a letter.

In 1998 his nonsense verse On The Ning Nang Nong was voted the UK's favourite comic poems.

At the time he said: "I believe my poem has been voted the favourite poem of children and adults - and I want to thank you very much for doing it. And that's about it."

On The Ning Nang Nong

On the Ning Nang Nong Where the cows go Bong!
And the monkeys all say Boo!
There's a Nong Nang Ning
Where the trees go Ping
And the tea pots Jibber Jabber Joo.
On the Nong Ning Nang
All the mice go Clang!
And you just can't catch 'em when they do!
So it's Ning Nang Nong!
Cows go Bong!
Nong Nang Ning!
Trees go Ping!
Nong Ning Nang!
The mice go Clang!
What a noisy place to belong,
Is the Ning Nang Ning Nang Nong!

(Reproduced by permission of Spike Milligan Productions Ltd)

Milligan's one-liners and quotes have gone into comedy history, many of which are still repeated today:

"I thought I'd begin by reading a poem by Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine."

"My father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic."

Milligan used to joke about Secombe's singing

"Money couldn't buy you friends, but you get a better class of enemy."

"I spent many years laughing at Harry Secombe's singing until somebody told me that it wasn't a joke."

"A sure cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree."

"Are you going to come quietly, or do I have to use earplugs?"

"Said Hamlet to Ophelia, 'I'll draw a sketch of thee; What kind of pencil shall I use? To be or not be?'"

"How long was I in the army? Five foot eleven."

"Well, we can't stand around here doing nothing, people will think we're workmen."

"When I look back, the fondest memory I have is not really of the Goons. It is of a girl called Julia with enormous breasts."

"I'd like to go there. But if Jeffrey Archer is there I want to go to Lewisham" - Milligan on whether he believed he would go to heaven.

"He sent me a fax. It said: 'I hope you go before me because I don't want you singing at my funeral'" - Sir Harry Secombe after receiving a message from Milligan.