Jonathan Maitland on his Wilko Johnson play in Hornchurch

Jonathan, a former BBC journalist, is known for turning true stories into stage shows. Past works include An Audience with Jimmy Savile and The Interview, about Princess Diana’s infamous Martin Bashir interview.

His latest is Wilko – the story of how punk pioneer Wilko Johnson, from 1970s band Dr Feelgood, cheated death. In 2013, Wilko was told he had terminal pancreatic cancer. A whirlwind year followed: press interviews, chart success, awards, sell-out shows. But he then learned he'd been misdiagnosed. After all the hubbub, he had surgery and was cured.

It was Wilko’s interviews before he was cured which piqued Jonathan’s creative interest, where the star described his “euphoria” at learning of his imminent death, as it had taught him to truly embrace life.

“It’s an incredible story,” says Jonathan. “I thought, there is obviously a play in this.”

Dr Feelgood star Wilko Johnson performing at what he thought would be his last ever hometown concert - Village Green festival in Chalkwell, Southend. He had been told he had just months to live (Image: Charles Thomson)

“I wish he could have been there last night,” he laments. “He would have been there last night and he would have played a gig.”

Wilko and Jonathan had hatched a plan for the star to make a surprise appearance at the end of the play's press night, to play a couple of songs. But Wilko died in November 2022, with the play still in development.

“It was very, very sad,” he says – but not unexpected. The last time he visited Wilko, weeks before his death, he was visibly ill.

“I could see the fear in his eyes,” he recalls. “I could see that he wasn’t well and he wasn’t telling me everything.”

The play closes with an audio recording of the pair’s final meeting, in which Wilko tells Jonathan that he might soon “be brown bread”.

“I knew it was touch and go,” says Jonathan.

West End actor Johnson Willis, who received plaudits for his role in Amelie, takes the lead role in Wilko. Jonathan Maitland was at the audition and felt he was perfect for the role (Image: Mark Sepple)

But for those who encountered Wilko, the play is like seeing him revived. At its heart is an almost spookily accurate performance by West End actor Johnson Willis. At the auditions, says Jonathan, he knew right away that Johnson was their star.

“I was fairly confident from the moment I heard Johnson speak, even before the audition, when I chatted to him at the bar,” he says.

“The other actors were all very good but Wilko had a certain hilarious but very distinctive way of speaking. Two minutes into the audition, Johnson said the word cancer, but he said it the way Wilko said it – ‘kent-zah’ – and I thought, ‘Oh yeah’.”

Although the idea came in 2013, Jonathan only knuckled down and wrote the play during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Then he took it to Wilko.

“I went to see him and read it to him, doing all the voices myself,” he chuckles. “He couldn’t have been more sweet and supportive. The only thing he corrected me on was his drug intake.”

The script had Wilko using cocaine. He quickly corrected that: his drug of choice had been speed. He told Jonathan how his brain on speed was like a bowl of Rice Krispies.

Left to right: Actor Johnson Willis, Wilko Johnson's son Simon, his former bass player Norman Watt-Roy, and playwright Jonathan Maitland, at the press night for new play Wilko at the Queen's Theatre (Image: Hannah Davis)

• Review: Wilko - Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch - 'An eerily accurate portrayal'

“It was so funny,” says Jonathan, that the quote went straight into the next draft. Around 20% of Wilko’s dialogue comes straight from the source, he adds - but Wilko never interfered in the script and encouraged Jonathan to use dramatic licence.

“He was such a literary person,” he says. “He liked the idea of doing something on stage – the medium of Shakespeare. He understood the nature of drama.”

Jonathan’s journalistic background, he says, gives him “the ability to marshal a huge amount of information and make a coherent narrative out of it - know what to put in and what to leave out.

“The challenge comes with leaving your journalistic skills behind… In journalism, you can’t make up characters and conversations.”

One big challenge was how to end the story. After his operation, Wilko lived another eight years. His “euphoria” at learning he was dying was replaced by a “melancholy” after he was cured. Public interest dropped off again and he went back to his old life.

Jonathan chose not to dwell on that.

Wilko, currently playing at the Queen's Theatre, starts as Dr Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson is told he has terminal pancreatic cancer (Image: Mark Sepple)

“It would just end up very depressing if you end on him saying he’s alive but he’s terminally depressed,” he explains.

“So to me, it seemed logical to end it after he’d been saved – on an upbeat. I don’t like sending people home depressed.”

He hopes the play will tour next year and perhaps a transfer to a “down and dirty theatre” in central London.

“I’m just incredibly grateful that we got it on,” he says.

“The Queen’s Theatre has been fantastically supportive and funded it. It’s an amazing privilege to have this incredible local resource putting on your play and giving work to really good actors, designers and lighting and sound people.”

*Wilko is at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch, until February 24. Ticket prices begin at £12.50. Visit https://www.queens-theatre.co.uk/whatson/wilko/.