Ken Dodd Fern Britton Meets...

He's one of Britain's last great variety entertainers.

Well, how tickled I am to be here with you tonight!

Has anybody seen my show before? AUDIENCE: Yes!

Would you mind telling me what I do next, please?

At the age of 86,

he's still touring and performing up to three shows a week.

I feel absolutely tattyfilarious and full of plumptiousness.

Celebrating 60 years in show business next year -

his Diamond Jubilee - he is as constant as Her Majesty

and also as mysterious.

For all that time,

Ken Dodd's tattyfilarious sense of humour has been tickling

the nation's funny bone.

Well...haven't you brought yours?

Being top of the bill with your name in lights,

that's what it's all about.

# Tears for souvenirs... #

His hit singles have competed in the charts with The Beatles.

You'd like to do a bit more comedy?

Yeah, but it's so hard, isn't it? Well...

He was the fifth Beatle.

If he'd just have kept his hair flat...

He's appeared in Doctor Who.

Surprise! Surprise!

Tonight is your lucky night.

# We are the Diddymen... #

His Diddymen put Knotty Ash on the map.

# We are the Diddymen... # Come on, kids,

let's go to the jam-butty mines and see how business is.

THROWS VOICE: 'I'm jacking it in.'

# We are the Diddymen who come from Knotty Ash. #

And Liverpudlians have voted him

the greatest Merseysider of all time.

And a man uncoiled himself, he said,

"Cripes! What a horrible sight!"

His sticky-out teeth, his mad hair, his tickling sticks -

they're just props that surround this comedy genius.

But Ken has known difficult times too.

I shall never forget the way he said, "Well, a comedian's role

"is not too different from that of a priest," and very poignantly

he said, "And of course,

"they're both quite lonely professions."

A court which is trying Ken Dodd on tax charges...

In the 1980s, he was tried and acquitted of tax evasion.

If he'd have gone inside, he would've died. He would've died.

Ken still lives in Liverpool

and is part of the congregation at the Anglican cathedral.

I said, "What would you have done, Ken, if you weren't a comedian?"

He said, "I wouldn't mind being a vicar."

Maybe that's the reason I'm here.

I've been blessed with a chuckle muscle.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I feel absolutely tattyfilarious and full of plumptiousness.

Ken Dodd is hugely charismatic

and, yet, on the other hand, intensely enigmatic.

Does anybody really know him? Who is the man behind the laughter?

I was expecting to meet Ken Dodd in his natural habitat, a theatre.

But instead, he's asked me to meet him here

in Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral.

It's a place where he says he feels a greater connection with God.

When I first came to here,

I was absolutely amazed, enthralled,

and a wonderful feeling of the music and the choir.

It's a wonderful service, the Evensong.

And when I'd done it a few times I thought,

"Am I coming here to be entertained?

"Am I coming here because it's show business,

"or am I coming here to communicate with my creator?"

And I still wonder a little bit sometimes

cos I do enjoy it, I must admit.

SWING MUSIC PLAYS

Kenneth Arthur Dodd was born on 8th November 1927

in a suburb of Liverpool called Knotty Ash.

His father, Arthur, was a coal merchant. His mother was Sarah.

The business was run from the family home.

Because it was a very hard-working household,

they struggled, like most people did,

to make a living - Ken was caught up in that.

But that it was a household where there were the traditional values.

He quite often talks about his father who was in the coal business,

who was a brilliant teller of gags,

and that's what got him going.

He said his dad used to tell jokes brilliantly.

Ken had an older brother, Billy, and younger sister, June.

They lived just across the road from St John's Church.

This... This is the playground of the infant school

and this was my favourite subject - playtime. That and singing,

singing in the choir of St John's Church there.

# All for the wings

# Of the wings of a dove... #

He was a chorister at St John's in Knotty Ash,

and people think Knotty Ash

is just a fictional place

but in fact Knotty Ash is a very real place.

He was always full of fun, laughing.

I wouldn't say centre of attention,

but popular.

For someone who messes his hair up,

pulls through his hair,

protrudes his teeth and pulls funny faces,

I wanted to know, was he funny child at school?

Did he make other kids laugh?

Was the humour still there then?

But he said, no, he wasn't.

He was probably too good-looking, as he says, to be a funny child.

I had the most marvellous mother and father.

I never saw two people work so hard in their lives as my mother

and father when they ran the coal business.

Yeah. And they were so kind to us.

Were you a religious family?

Well, my mother taught us prayers and a couple of hymns, yes,

and my dad, who was,

as well as being a coal merchant, he was also a musician.

You know, he used to play the saxophone, which, as everybody knows,

is an ill wind that nobody blows good

but he'd play the hymns on the saxophone.

So, yeah, I suppose we were, yes. And we'd go to church like most children.

I went to Sunday school and heard the usual, er...

stories, the famous, you know, Moses and the bulrushes.

I was a choirboy for a long time

till they found out where the noise was coming from.

And we'd take turns

in flicking pellets...paper pellets across the choir stalls.

The usual reading comics while the vicar was preaching his sermon.

But when he was still a baby, Ken fell seriously ill.

There were fears that he wouldn't survive.

At two years old, I had a very, very bad case of pneumonia.

Both, both lungs, yeah.

And, erm...

..people prayed for me.

I was told the story. It's a little bit personal so a little bit private

but somebody came along and prayed for me all night.

And in those days they didn't have antibiotics,

and you had to wait for what they called "the crisis".

And the crisis came...and went.

And I was spared, so...

So you've always felt that?

Maybe I have been told to hang about and do something worthwhile.

I'd like to think so.

And it wasn't long before the young Ken found his purpose in life.

On family outings to the theatre, he fell in love with the stage.

My dad and my mother, and my brother and sister,

we used to go down to a little theatre here in Liverpool

in a place called Fraser Street, called The Shakespeare Theatre of Varieties.

Ooh. And this was variety theatre.

And as a boy of about nine or ten, I was... I fell in love with this...

this dark room and this lovely smell of cigars and oranges.

And suddenly this curtain went up and this magical place was revealed.

All... Everybody looked so healthy.

I didn't realise what it was... It was called "five-and-nine".

That's the pan stick. Five-and-nine. No, long before pan... Greasepaint.

Greasepaint. Actually they were called "five-and-niners".

And I saw this wonderful place,

and everybody came on looking so healthy and so happy,

and men in big checked suits started shouting at the audience

and making them laugh. I thought, "That's the job I want."

The aspiring young entertainer turned to his parents

for guidance on a career in show business.

According to my mum,

in life you can be anything you want to be,

as long as you want to be.

And I wanted to be... I wanted to be an entertainer.

You said earlier, your father was a very funny man.

He taught me how to tell jokes. Did he?

I went to him one day, I said, "Dad,

"I've watched all these shows and it seems to me that

"the boss, the engine driver is the comedian, he's top of the bill."

In the variety shows? Yeah. "So how do you comede?"

And he told me some jokes, and he told me how to...

well, how to tell a joke.

Ken started doing shows for family and friends

at his house in Knotty Ash.

We went to the "coal yard", as we used to call it, Doddy's place,

and watched him there.

It was good fun, because he made everybody laugh without being

unkind or critical in any way. He was just great fun to be with.

I can remember if you made the mistake

and knocked on the front door,

Mum would shout, "Get round the back!"

Ken saw an advert in a comic for how to be a ventriloquist.

He sent off for it straightaway.

I'm proud to say I was very intellectual.

I used to read The Wizard and The Hotspur.

SHE LAUGHS

The Wizard, The Hotspur and The Rover.

And I saw on the back page, it had this big advertisement.

It had a man with a big box on his back and the bubble came, "Help!"

And the advert said - "Fool your teachers, amaze your friends.

"Send sixpence in stamps. Become a ventriloquist." So I did.

Didn't I? THROWS VOICE: 'Yes!' And that's how I started.

So, I had this ventriloquist figure.

Didn't I? 'Yes!'

And she used to pack my case for me with my props in,

and send me off to a gig, a little job somewhere.

And she said, "Kenny, I don't care where you go or what you do,

"as long as you wear a clean shirt."

That's Mum. Yeah.

NEWSREEL: 'Coal is one of the most vital raw materials

'required for war production.

'It's the cheap source of power for the factories now forging

'the weapons with which we will deal Hitler the knockout blow.'

By the time Ken was 14, Britain was in the middle of World War II.

He left school and went to work in the family coal business.

From there he would branch out on his own,

selling household goods door-to-door.

But by night, Ken was supplementing his wages doing gigs.

It makes me absolutely discumknickerated to see that

so many of you have turned up for the free soup and...

Ken's ambition is to make people laugh,

and I think he figured that

if he could consistently make people laugh,

good things would happen for him.

In the days of variety when he was doing 10 to 15 minutes,

there was a part of him,

I now know with hindsight, that was trying to break out of that mould.

He did not want to be like anybody else, he wanted to be Ken Dodd.

He was proud of where he came from, he was proud of Knotty Ash,

he was proud of his roots,

and he wanted to extend that in a manner that perhaps at that time

he didn't know, but he knew there was more to just telling jokes.

It makes me absolutely...

In 1954, Ken became a full-time professional comedian.

Are you all enjoying yourselves? AUDIENCE: Yeah!

Why, what are you doing?

My first foray into comedy,

I would bill myself as Professor Yaffle Chuckle Butty -

operatic tenor and sausage-knotter.

And that was my first character. Where did he come from?

My dad used to tell us all stories about...

If you were poorly, if you had chicken pox or something like that,

my dad would say, "We'll get Doctor Chuckle Butty to come and see you."

When I first played the Glasgow Empire,

which to most English comedians is the house of terror...

Mmm.

Hmm, it would have 1954.

I'd only been pro about four or five weeks,

and they sent me up to Glasgow.

Yes. And the manager, lovely man, came out on a Monday morning

and he said, "Right, no football gags, cos we need the seats.

"And you'll get the bird on Friday night." What?!

Getting the bird means...?

Means getting either the slow handclap or...

Abuse. You know, shouts of "Get off!"

I went on the stage as Professor Chuckle Butty

with a battered old trumpet,

with my shirt hanging out, and my bow tie all over here...

"Haw haw haw!" Like this. And my teeth like this.

And I looked at the Glasgow audience,

and I said, "I suppose you're all wondering why I've sent for you."

And...?

And a man uncoiled himself,

from the third row, with half a bottle of whisky, and he said...

IN SCOTTISH ACCENT: "Cripes! What a horrible sight!"

SHE LAUGHS

I got a big laugh and that was probably the only laugh.

Anyway, I got off to a good start!

Ken's professional career took off.

He toured right across the North -

including performing in the premiere location

for any northern entertainer - Blackpool.

Everyone's enjoying themselves here at Blackpool down on the beach.

D'you know, it's so crowded here in Blackpool,

the corporation's had to send to Morecambe for more seagulls.

Me Auntie Nellie, me big Auntie Nellie...

'I first was aware of Ken Dodd

'when I went to Blackpool for my holidays.'

..he said, "would you mind getting off the beach?

"The tide's waiting to come in."

'And he was working in Blackpool,

'I think he was at the Central Pier,

'and this has got to be in'

late '50s.

And I went to see the show. I loved to go, I loved Blackpool

cos they got more shows than anywhere else

outside of Las Vegas, I think.

And I went to see Ken, not knowing who he was, what he was.

And I laughed and I laughed and I laughed.

Yesterday she dived into the sea,

and six trawlers were beached at the Isle of Man.

'It was really the top venue for summer shows,'

and that was the place to go to be in,

it was a place to go to if you wanted to see

the great comics of their time.

And he went to Blackpool almost, I think, as an unknown.

But the audiences there,

they loved comedy and immediately they took to Ken.

He gave them value for money.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr Ken Dodd!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Ken's popularity grew out of his rapport with the audience.

'The great thing about Ken, he works off an audience and to me,

'that's what a great comedian should do.'

Picking out the woman in the audience,

somebody who's got a laugh or really gave a big laugh,

and then everything would be aimed at her, and that is just like

dropping a pebble into a pool.

If you get that one going, the ripples go out

and the whole audience suddenly come in and he's got them all.

Watching him create a joke, build the audience up,

Ken does that so well.

He owns the whole stage. He's by himself on it,

but you feel as if he's on the whole stage.

I remember him once telling me that

there is no greater thrill or pleasure

than standing in front of a thousand people

and saying something, and in one moment and at the same time,

a thousand heads throw back

and come out with the greatest laugh.

and come out with the greatest laugh.

I think that's what sustains him.

Yuletide, Yuletide, ladies and gentlemen, is nearly upon us.

Only 12 more shoplifting days till Christmas.

Another wonderful day...

But Ken's chosen profession was double edged.

To earn the applause, he had to stand and face the world alone.

What it must be like when that curtain opens

and then suddenly you've got to perform.

But not just tell a story, you want the response of hearing laughter.

If you don't laugh at the jokes,

I'll follow you home and shout them through your letter box.

I was in a shop in Leeds the other morning,

and I said to the fellow, "Can you help me out?"

He said, "Certainly. Which way did you come in?"

I shall never forget the way he said,

"Well, a comedian's role is not too different from that of a priest."

"You're observers of life. You observe the absurdities of life.

"You try and make some sense of it through humour,

"or, you know, through stories."

And then at the end, there was a pause and very poignantly

he said, "And of course, they are both quite lonely professions."

Preparing your mind to go on, you've seen a race horse

in the stalls, you've seen them, and sometimes they sweat up

or sometimes they kick their back legs up...

Well, that's... An entertainer is like that,

when you're waiting to go on, it...it's terrifying.

Do you have a ritual? Yes.

Are you going to share it with us?

Yes, if you want to. Yes, please. You have word with head office.

Is that it? Yeah. A little word...

A word with head office. What do you say? Say a little prayer.

And say, you know...

could I have...have another piece of help, please?

Do you talk to head office a lot? Yes. Do you? Yes.

Regularly? Just chatting, or do you make time to sit and pray?

Erm...

Most of the time I think, because I am me,

I am asking for things.

So I, er...

Daily I ask for...you know, a little bit of help.

And hope that I'm doing the right thing, yeah.

And does he talk back to you? I think so.

Yeah? I think so, yes.

You just have to be... You have to believe that there is, er...

You just have to be... You have to believe that there is, er...

an all-powerful creator that made us,

and for some reason or other,

we are here. Maybe it's just to tell jokes.

A teacher at Sunday School said, "Where does God live?"

And a little boy said "In our bathroom."

"Hmm? How do you..." "God lives in our bathroom." "How do you mean?"

"Every morning my dad bangs on the door and says,

"'God, are you still in there?'"

Maybe that's it.

Maybe that's... Maybe that's the reason I'm here.

I have been blessed with a chuckle muscle.

# So still runs the river

# While I wait... #

But Ken's act had always been more than comedy.

Songs were also an important part of the show.

I remember years and years ago Ken saying,

"You must sing in the middle of it, don't just go on pattering."

The thing is that's Ken's got a great voice

and he uses it extremely well.

I mean, the songs he picked were smashing songs,

and probably the best one of the lot because it sums him up

better than anything else, Happiness, Happiness.

# Happiness, happiness

# The greatest gift that I possess... #

He looks, when he's singing that on the stage,

he looks happy and he is happy

because he's happy doing what he does.

# ..Human in the human race

# I've got no silver and I've got no gold

# But I've got happiness in my soul... #

As Ken's popularity increased, record producers saw an opportunity.

This somewhat zany comedian had romantic ballads on the charts,

that were sung beautifully. it has to be said.

He could sing in a manner that Andy Williams would almost die for.

# Tears for souvenirs

# Are all you've left me... #

In 1965, Ken's hit single Tears for Souvenirs

topped the charts for five weeks.

# ..I just can't believe

# You could forget me... #

What happened was, you do three songs as a session.

And I had to choose.

Ohh...hmmm...mm...

And then one day somebody said,

"Oh, yes, that's definitely a back of the chara' song."

Tears. You know... HE HUMS THE SONG

Ahh.

I said, "That's the one."

So we... And it...two million. Amazing.

Two million?! Two million.

Two gold discs, yeah.

Unbelievable. I'm a nut from Knotty Ash.

I'm a nut, I'm a comic...

You did Top Of The Pops.

Yeah. Several times, yes.

I'm going, yes.

And all these kids, you're going... HE MIMES

I was going... # So still runs the river... #

FERN LAUGHS

# Happiness, happiness, the greatest gift... #

1965 was also the year that Ken smashed all box office records

at the London Palladium, with a 42-week sell-out season.

# ..To me this world is a wonderful place

# I'm the luckiest human in the human race... #

Being top of the bill with your name in lights,

that's what it's all about.

It's the recognition of success.

# ..measuring a man's success

# Don't count money, count happiness... #

'It was years since the Palladium had seen a comic that good.

'I used to say, "I bet your bottom dollar you will paralyse them,"

and he did.

They'd never seen anyone with that attack,

and that caring about the work

and everything has got to be dead right, he was marvellous.

And he really did wipe the floor with everybody a long time before

and a long time afterwards.

# ..I've got more than my share of happiness! #

One of the most terrifying experiences I ever had

was when I opened my first night at the Palladium.

People come from all over Britain to this wonderful, wonderful theatre,

this temple, this...

this absolute pinnacle of show business variety,

the London Palladium, and when you play there, that's it.

You're standing on the spot where Bob Hope and Danny Kaye,

Judy Garland, all these people they all stood there

and yeah, it's a wonderful feeling.

We opened up on a Good Friday, and the place was packed.

And it was a big show.

I'd look through the curtain - "Oh!"

"Ooh!" I was terrified.

Really? Your mouth goes dry.

Your teeth stick to your top lip

FALSETTO: "Hello, everybody."

And you're supposed to go on there, 2,500 people.

And you're supposed to go on there

and prove to them that you're a comedian.

I went out and I was absolutely petrified,

really, I was, oh...

And I couldn't have been more wrong.

A wall,

a wall of affection and encouragement came from that audience.

so I think there was great respect from the Fab Four for the Fab One.

and a friend, George Martin, phoned me

"for St John's Ambulance?" I said, "Yeah, OK."

I went along there about 4pm in the afternoon,

and they were making the most awful row.

There were kids jumping up and down in the seats in the cinema

chucking orange peel at each other,

there were ladies going to the ladies. Oh! I said, "S-s-ssh-ssh..."

He said, "They're terrible, I'll get them off."

And about three years later, I was doing a radio show

and, er, the guests were The Beatles.

They hadn't quite got there yet but they were near enough

and Paul McCartney said to me,

"We've been on with you before, you know, Doddy."

I said, "No, not with me, son, no."

He said, "Yeah, don't you remember? That talent show at Maghull."

"That wasn't you, was it?"

NEWSREEL: 'The show business personality of 1965,

'King of the Diddypeople, Ken Dodd.'

But this A-list celebrity

was not terribly enthusiastic about the trappings of fame.

Ken's never been one for...

er, the kind of traditional showbiz celebrity life,

popping up at parties, you know. He keeps himself to himself,

he's got his own life, he's got his own world.

He'll turn up when it's necessary

for him to turn up and do publicity or whatever it is,

but he's not one for, er, the sort of celebrity lifestyle.

Ken has never really been a great joiner of things, you know,

and he's like every great comedian -

they do keep themselves to themselves,

which is right, and so they should.

They've got a huge responsibility, have people like Ken.

He's adored by the public and everything

and he doesn't ever let them down,

and he works at what he does for a living, and that needs...

not people round him all the time, you know?

You were the toast of the town.

You had everybody coming round to the dressing room.

You could have gone to every party there was,

there were The Beatles around.

That must have been an extraordinary time.

How do you keep your feet on the ground

when you are suddenly given so much fame?

Well, fame is a very, erm...

It's very fragile.

Er, fame is very, erm...

It come and goes, it happens and...

You know that now, but at the time?

Oh, yes, I knew it then.

I was never really, erm...

never really impressed by it. I was more concerned by what I was doing.

I was more... I wanted to be a good comedian.

I wanted to be a good performer - I still do.

I wanted to be a good act, yeah, I wanted to be good at what I do.

So, er, yeah, I've had some magnificent bouquets thrown at me

and yeah, yeah, it's all, it's very nice

but you mustn't take it seriously, you mustn't start...

Once you start thinking you are somebody really special,

you're in trouble, you're in big trouble. No, no.

But just performers, artists, entertainers,

we're just people who were blessed and er, and try to deliver.

By the 1970s,

television was no longer the preserve of affluent households.

Many families now owned a TV and it was the popular market to crack.

# We are the Diddymen

# Itty-bitty Diddymen

# We are the Diddymen who always have a bash. #

A handful of characters designed

to appeal to the children in Ken's audience came into their own.

# ..who come from Knotty Ash. #

The Diddymen of Knotty Ash had been played by children on stage

and occasional appearances on TV as string puppets.

But now they got their own returning TV show, comic stories and annuals.

Och, by the blathering bagpipes o' Killiecrankie!

I've got fireflies in me kilt.

Och! Quick! Quick! Put me oot! Someone put me oot!

I'll put you out, Hamish, me bucko.

Quick! Stand over this soda siphon. That's it, me boy.

When I was growing up,

I bought TV Comic in those days

and that was full of Ken Dodd stories and Diddymen.

# We are the Diddymen

# Doddy's dotty Diddymen

# We are the Diddymen who always have a bash... #

I used to believe that they lived in Knotty Ash

in a little glen and I always wanted to go to the jam-butty mines.

# ..Diddy socks, diddy shoes, diddy hats, diddy trews

# Around the diddy city, we sing our diddy ditty!

# We are the Diddymen... #

Kids absolutely loved them, they really did.

And it was a great thing, that was another string to Ken's bow.

You know, he was a marvellous children's entertainer as well

and he can be a bit naughty on the stage with the gags and things

but quite different with the Diddymen again.

It's the personality of the man and it shines through all the time.

He doesn't have to try.

There was a word in our house, in our family - "diddy".

It meant anything that was quaint, whimsical, lovable.

Look at that little diddy house. Look at that little diddy man.

Look at that diddy bike. Look at that diddy cloud, look at that...

Everything was diddy.

I had to find a Scot, a gentleman from Scotland,

who became Wee Hamish from Invercockieleekie.

I got that off a tin of soup. Wee Hamish from Invercockieleekie.

I got, erm, from London, the Honourable Nigel Ponsonby-Smallpiece.

Er, from Wales was little Evan from Llantyllellyn.

England... Ireland was Mick the Marmalizer. That's it.

To marmalize is a Liverpool word, a verb. To marmalize anybody

means to give them what for. "I'll marmalize you!"

And this little Irishman was always very belligerent

and then of course, I wanted one from Liverpool

so he became, he was Dicky Mint Dicky Mint. Dicky Mint.

Remember, Dicky, ambition, the grass is always greener

the other side of the street? You know who said that?

THROWS VOICE: 'Tom Jones.'

LAUGHTER

But whilst his Diddymen thrived on television,

Ken seemed to find TV a bit restrictive.

There's no question that Ken Dodd was,

in theatre, the world of theatre,

drawing crowds and filling theatres,

was as big as Morecambe Wise, as big as they came.

What he didn't conquer...

..to the extent that Eric and Ernie did, he didn't conquer television.

He's not designed for television.

His performance is too big,

it's between him and the audience, not him and the camera.

# In your smile!

# Dig out a pleasant outlook

# Stick out that noble chin... #

You have to stand on a certain thing, you have to...

Time is very, very important, you have to work to cameras,

and you have to, in effect, forget about the audience.

But that isn't what great comedians are all about.

APPLAUSE

Thank you!

But Ken was most at home on the stage,

using his finely-tuned instincts to work the crowd.

He was in charge, and disciplines that mattered on TV -

like keeping to time - sometimes went out of the window.

We always knew he was bound to overrun.

And one night at the Palladium

he went on so late, and he went on so long...

We used to have to set the finale.

You know, he'd finish his set

and he'd go off and they'd set the finale, there'd be a big finale.

And the stage manager just set the finale

while he was still doing his gags.

Things were dropping in, and he threw the keys on

and said, "You can lock up yourself tonight, Ken,"

and just threw the keys on the stage.

# Oooooooo... #

The first review I ever did, it finished at 20 past 12.

# ..Or an hour... #

All the trains were off, so I had to get a taxi.

And I got paid ?10 for the review. The taxi fare was ?30.

And I got paid ?10 for the review. The taxi fare was ?30.

And...the taxi driver who took me home said, "Ah, that'll teach you,"

and I said, "I didn't know!" and he said, "Oh, we love him."

All the taxi drivers loved him cos that's how people were getting home.

Time matters not one jot. Let's say all that together.

Time matters not one jot. ALL: Time matters not one jot.

I'll ask you again in about six hours.

There's a wonderful story about him and Eric Sykes

and they were doing a charity show, and Eric by then

couldn't hear very well, he couldn't see very well, he was not good.

And they're standing in the wings, waiting to go on,

and Eric turned to Ken and he said, "What a funny combination we are!"

He said, "I don't know when to go on

"and you don't know when to come off!"

This whole business of you famously overrunning your shows.

Oh, that's a load of rubbish. It's a gimmick, a gimmick.

You do it, don't you? It's a gimmick, yes.

You do it, and I was reading stories - you can tell me

if this is true or not.

It wasn't... At the Palladium...

You couldn't do that at the Palladium, no. No? Wow, no, no, no.

If you ran a minute over you'd get told off.

That's not what Michael Grade says.

What happened was, it happened...

Once I'd done the Palladium three times,

four times, five times, six times,

and played many weeks there and recording

and had a double golden disc and a silver and that,

you know, you get quite... Quite confident.

And I was so confident, I started backing my own shows.

So put your own money into getting the show off the ground. That's it.

And that makes you very nervous,

very nervous, I can tell you. Until you hear the tills ringing.

You can hear the sound of empty seats though,

if you're not careful!

But then, it was my show, you see,

and...I was the governor.

Then you could break the rules. Ahhhhh!

DOCTOR WHO THEME

But by the '80s, popular taste in comedy was changing.

Ken still made guest appearances on television, though.

Are we going to have a whole space cruiser to ourselves?

Oh, no. You're going on a scheduled tour with the Navarinos 1950s Club.

But the heyday of variety on television was fading.

Then, in 1989, Ken received unwelcome news.

The comedian Ken Dodd has been accused of hiding

hundreds of thousands of pounds from the taxman.

Ken faced charges of tax evasion and a possible prison sentence.

NEWSREADER: 'Eric Sykes told the court that

'in show business Ken Dodd was King.'

Celebrity friends turned out to provide character references

for the comedian.

When the trial was on and we were all sat up there, we were all

on tenterhooks, and so was Ken, about whether he'd go inside or not.

But if he'd have gone inside, he would have died. He would have died.

He's a very, very

private person,

and this was elements of his whole life being broadcast,

being written about in papers,

and that, I think, was the hardest part for him.

In the end, Ken was acquitted of the charges.

'When your life is at stake, cos that's what was at stake -

'my life...

'I don't really think, if anything had gone terribly wrong,

'I don't think I could have ever appeared in public again.

'So my life was... My life is show business.

'I've only lived for show business, so my life was at stake.'

I've had so many wonderful letters and so many communications

from people who said, "Does this sound like we're praying for you?"

And I have to say, I believe in the power of the prayer.

Yes, I do. Honestly, yes.

A lot of people when they hear Ken talking about the court case

will hear him tell that joke about the self-assessment, you know,

when he says, you know, "They have just introduced this new idea,

"the Inland Revenue self-assessment.

"Actually they got that idea from me," he says,

and he sort of laughs it off.

But those who know Ken and know the spiritual side to him

know that he is also a deeply reflective person.

And I think, like most people, he will have those moments

when, out of the public glare,

he is quiet and reflective and takes things to heart.

Nobody's life runs the smoothest course, nobody's.

We've all had stuff...

Some things that happened quietly and privately,

some things that happened publicly and noisily,

and some things that are very difficult to deal with.

You had a horrible time with a court case.

Everybody in life has trials. You are being tried out.

The secret is really...

It's not a secret, but the answer is how you react to it.

Do you let it get you down, do you let it beat you?

As I say, I have been very blessed, and...

I do have a faith and I do say prayers

and I do ask for help and I know that I've received help.

You never felt that your faith was tested through trials?

Many times, many times. Your faith is tested every day. Yeah.

That something happens and you say, "Well, you know,

"how do I react? Do I just let it go or do I fight it

"or I do start feeling sorry for myself?"

Yeah, and they are all normal human reactions.

Have you ever had days when you felt...

"I just, I can't put one foot after another today,

"I don't want to." No, no, my life has been so,

so blessed that it's been very wonderful.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

By Jove!

Ken celebrated 40 years in show business in the 1990s.

Television hadn't always been his favourite medium,

but he wowed new audiences with a TV special.

Thank you!

I only ever think of Ken Dodd as Ken Dodd.

There's very few entertainers, and I am not being ridiculous

and comparing him to Frank Sinatra,

but there is a comparison where Sinatra

suits some mediums maybe better than others, but what you think of

when you think, is Frank Sinatra the man.

And when you think of Ken Dodd you think of Ken Dodd the man,

you don't think of a TV series,

Or you don't think of a hit record, you just think of Ken Dodd.

I think it would be a good idea... We watched you all coming in, you know.

We peeped through the curtains, saw you staggering along the South Bank,

all using your inhalers... Elastic stockings flapping in the breeze...

He is a throwback in certain ways, he's a throwback in his approach

and his delivery and all that, but he's not a throwback when

it comes to thinking and comes to doing topical jokes and new jokes.

Five o'clock this morning in Knotty Ash,

I flung the bedroom windows open, climbed in...

I'd like to do a scientific experiment

and get a room full of people who really can't stand him,

don't like him or never heard of him,

and say, "Right, you are going to sit and you are going to watch

"Ken Dodd in the theatre, and you mustn't laugh."

And I tell you, three...maximum six gags in, they'll be cracked up.

You know, you just can't help it.

He is still the funniest, funniest, funniest man.

This Is Your Life, the 500th for Thames Television,

and we've got a bumper, extended edition.

Now the Master of Mirth whose name is on this book is at this moment

approaching another London theatre.

This Is Your Life marked its 500th anniversary

with a special edition dedicated to Ken.

It does look nice.

It's also a beautiful day for me to say...Ken Dodd. Oh, no!

This is your life. Oh! Oh! Oh!

How discumnockerating!

APPLAUSE

Fiancee Anne Jones made a rare public appearance at Ken's side.

I used to work nine to five, and now it's nine to five

but I finish at five in the morning!

KEN MOUTHS

It's a hard life!

LAUGHTER

Ken is the most private of celebrities.

He has never written a biography,

and rarely discusses details of his personal life.

He doesn't want people to know how, why he got here or there

or, you know, what food he eats, apart from jam butties.

But...it's that privacy and I think that is why

he's one of the few celebrities who won't let you in.

You're only allowed so far.

Someone else you have in your life who looks after you wonderfully

is Anne. Oh, yes. Anne Jones.

She is an amazing, wonderful, wonderful person.

And...yeah...absolutely. I can't...

I can't say any more than that.

Yes. And how long has she been with you?

You've been together how long? Oh, all day!

May I ask you a little bit about how you met? No. No?

No. See, you are incredibly private.

I think when people are asking you very personal details of your life,

I think it's like somebody going through your laundry.

You know? There are certain things and certain parts of your life

that you want to keep...not private, I've got no secrets, but personal.

None of us like anybody, you know, trying to have a look

and see what we've got hidden away in the cupboard.

I haven't got anything hidden away, honestly.

I haven't got anything hidden away.

I resent people being a nosy parker, you know. Yes. They can ask me

anything they like about Ken Dodd the entertainer, the performer.

Yeah, I'll tell you anything about that.

Tell you all my secrets there. But no...

When it's personal, it's personal.

Fair enough. I wear a vest. Is that what you'd like?

And sometimes I sleep in my socks.

How much more personal do you want it? That's pretty personal!

THEY LAUGH

We say, "Welcome to Liverpool, the greatest city in the world."

Yeah, I was going to ask you about this skyline.

Throughout his career, Ken has been a proud ambassador

of his beloved Merseyside.

When they tunneled all the soil

and the rock and the granite and the stuff out of the Mersey Tunnel,

they brought it here and made this beautiful Otterspool Promenade.

The great thing about Ken is that,

unlike other people who may move up in their career,

he hasn't moved away.

And he's stayed, and he's stayed in Knotty Ash,

and he loves the people of Liverpool, and they love him and...

You can never open the Liverpool Echo without there being

a story about Ken, and if you read those stories,

they're about him encouraging local people, local charities.

You must have enough now.

Thank you.

What's your name? Eileen. Eileen?

Eileen from Skelm. "Eileen" to the left or the right?

'You only have to see him walk down the street,'

you only have to see people at the stage door who just love him,

you know, cos he gives out love and he gets it back in fair measure.

Over the years, Ken has sometimes

gone against the main tide of opinion in Liverpool.

He supported Mrs Thatcher in the run-up to the 1979 General Election.

Liverpool is hardly Thatcher heartland.

Er...I think the Thatcherite supporters

knew they were on with a winner with someone like Ken,

all-wholesome entertainer.

He certainly would make it more light-hearted, wouldn't he?

And more believable. I mean, put Ken Dodd anywhere,

he's going to get people to come to it and...

and listen to him, and I am sure Mrs Thatcher was delighted.

What was she like?

Lovely. Absolutely wonderful, a wonderful lady, yeah.

And a very... A very caring lady, a lady who gave you confidence.

Yeah, she was a lovely lady, yeah. She came to see the show.

She came... The party conference at Blackpool, she came in there

and I happened to mention I was at the Palladium in a few weeks' time.

"Oh," she said, "We must come and see you!"

I said, "Oh, would you like to?" She said, "Yes, we'd love to."

I forgot all about it, and so a fortnight beforehand,

the phone rings. "Mrs Thatcher would like ten seats."

So she came along there and I come on the stage, er...

And she is sitting in the audience and my first spot...

I must have been very cheeky.

I must have been...

I said, "Isn't this wonderful, Mrs Thatcher? This is a first.

"I'm talking and you're listening!"

Politics aside, in 2003,

Liverpudlians voted Ken the greatest Merseysider of all time.

# For Knotty Ash... #

For years he has quietly supported small local charities.

Each year she's just took a staggering 2,000 kids up the canal.

And even brings one or two of them back!

And he was awarded an OBE for his work on behalf of charitable causes

and for services to show business.

Presumably you'll be opening a few bottles this evening?

Oh, I shall go and open a bottle of tickle tonic right away,

immediately, if not before. So, it's a great day, is it?

It is indeed. Great day for Knotty Ash,

and all the Diddymen and Diddy Ladies.

He has helped the choir immensely, financially,

because he's just been so incredibly generous.

As he is. He's known for it,

and he has done so many shows for us

completely gratis just because he wanted to help the choir.

# Last night I had a dream

# I was walking on the sand... #

And for a private man, Ken has never shied away from

being open about his faith.

He has recorded religious songs, including one adapted by Anne

from the Christian poem Footsteps in the Sand.

# ..Your steps were next to mine

# All the time... #

I can remember... I can tell this story because he's given permission

for me to say it.

I was preaching in one of our churches

not too far from where Ken lives,

and I felt constrained in my sermon to say,

"If you've come here tonight to be entertained by the music,

"you know, to listen to an interesting sermon," I said,

"I think you may be very disappointed,

"but if you have come here tonight

"and are looking for God to speak to you, then maybe he will."

And then the service was over and I stood at the door

and shook hands and I was conscious of a figure in the shadows,

just waiting till everybody had gone. And it was Ken.

And he took my hand in both of his and he said, "You know, tonight,

"I came in to the church and I knelt down and I just said to God,

"'Speak to me, speak to me.'"

And he said, "When you stood up in that pulpit

"and said, 'If you have come here tonight to hear God speak to you'",

he said, "If angels had appeared, I would not have been surprised."

MUSIC: "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful"

Ken is a regular member of the congregation

at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral.

He always comes in quietly, unobtrusively.

People look and say,

"Is it? Is it?" and we go, "Yes, but sh."

But then he makes his way straight to sit down

and he is part of the congregation.

There is no laughing or joking then.

To see him worshiping and to see him

listening intently to the music and to the lessons and things,

it really does have a large part to play in his persona, I think.

And he... I would say he is a spiritual man, and to he and Anne,

coming here as their spiritual home on a Sunday

does mean very much to them.

Ken has even hinted that if his life had taken a different turn,

he may have considered a bigger role in the church.

I said, "What would you have done, Ken, if you weren't a comedian?"

He said, "I wouldn't mind being a vicar."

I was taken aback by this.

He said, "Yeah, I would." I thought, what a fantastic vicar Ken would be,

what wonderful services they would be. The sermons would be amazing.

The problem is that if you went into morning service

you'd still be there for Evensong!

But Ken's life is firmly on the stage.

At the age of 86, he is still touring, with no plans to stop.

He doesn't tell rude jokes, he doesn't tell nasty jokes,

he doesn't tell jokes that score points out of people.

He talks to an audience like friends.

I have special place for Ken.

I think he is a really lovely man and a super comedian.

He'll sit in his dressing room, if you see him before the show,

he sits there and he's sort of nodding off, you know,

and you think, "Oh, you know, "Ken, you shouldn't be doing this."

And then you go and sit out front and on comes this man

who is 40 years younger than the one you saw in the dressing room,

and the magic is still there, and he is still bringing happiness.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ken Dodd!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

You never stop being a priest or a bishop.

And as Ken so wonderfully shows, you never stop being a comedian,

because it's not just a job.

It's a way of life, it's an attitude to life.

How do you spend Christmas day?

Try to get up early on Christmas day because I don't want to waste it.

Go to the midnight service here on Christmas Eve

and we just go to bed and get up again the next morning

for the first morning service here. Yeah. Christmas Eucharist.

I can say it. At one time a few years ago

I found Christmas rather depressing.

Why? Well, because not having my family any more, here,

to celebrate Christmas. But I read somewhere

the best way to beat depression is to make someone else happy.

And that's good, yeah.

This time of the year I do a lot of... Quite a lot of...

Here, I am doing two carol concerts,

and I get a chance to go into in the pulpit,

so I can pretend I'm the Archbishop of Canterbury.

To me, the most telling of Christmas symbols

is a baby who represents hope.

Who represents...a better world.

Hope, and, please God, happiness.

Happy Christmas,

and congratulations on your diamond anniversary in show business.

Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure, thank you.

May I present to you, as...the journalist of the year,

the Fern that grows in a beautiful garden,

your very own tickling stick.

Bless you. I shall treasure it.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC: "Happiness" by Ken Dodd

Ken Dodd. An intensely public man,

and yet also an intensely private man.

I wondered at the beginning if he was as mysterious and enigmatic

as I thought. I don't think he is.

I think what you see is what you get.

He shares his gift of laughter with us and we love him for it.

As he would say, Happy Ticklemas!

Next week I meet world champion, Olympic gold medallist,

and Sports Personality Of The Year nominee Christine Ohuruogu

to ask how her faith has helped her to overcome difficulties

and become one of the greatest female athletes ever.

# I thank the Lord that we've been blessed

# With more than our share of happiness... # Everybody!

# Happiness, happiness

# The greatest gift that you possess

# I thank the Lord that we've been blessed

# With more than our share of happiness

# More than our share of happiness! #

Happiness for you!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd