What is the new Ken Dodd statue at the Blackpool Grand Theatre and how can you see it?
Report by Granada Reports correspondent Rob Smith
A bronze statue of Sir Ken Dodd has been unveiled at Blackpool’s Grand Theatre.
The statue was commissioned by the Friends of The Grand trust to commemorate their famous founding member.
It features Sir Ken's famous Tickling Stick along with Dicky Mint, one of his most beloved Diddymen.
It can be seen by visitors to the Grand Theatre's dress circle bar.
The sculptor Graham Ibbeson worked on the project throughout 2020-21 during the national lockdown.
His previous works include celebrations of comedy greats Les Dawson, Morecambe & Wise and Laurel & Hardy.
The statue was unveiled by Sir Ken's widow, Lady Dodd, who said she was honoured that her late husband had been commemorated in this way.
She said: "I felt very privileged to be invited to Graham’s studio, along with members of the Friends Committee, to see this wonderful sculpture evolve throughout the creative process.
"Graham is a brilliant artist and my only input was to ‘tickle up’ Ken’s hair a bit! I am thrilled to bits that Ken will now be back at The Grand – a place I know he loved to be.”
Friends of The Grand Chairman, John Grady, said: "Sir Ken was a very important founding member of The Friends and an invaluable supporter of The Grand Theatre.
"Every year since the theatre re-opened, he performed on our stage spreading joy and laughter and we wanted to officially recognise his incredible contribution to The Grand and the world of theatre as a whole."
The Knotty Ash entertainer, who died in 2018 aged 90, had a long relationship with Blackpool, spanning 63 years.
He performed more than 2,000 shows in the resort, including 10 summer seasons with two shows a day.
He was a founding member of the Friends of the Grand trust that was formed in 1973 to save the theatre from demolition.
His first appearance at Blackpool Grand Theatre was in 1978 when he made a special one-night appearance to raise money for the Friends of The Grand.
Ken continued to regularly appear on The Grand’s famous stage with his inimitable one-man show year on year, until his very last live appearances in October 2017.
He was known for his interaction with fans, meeting and talking to them before and after every show, signing autographs and sharing memories into the early hours of the morning.
In 2011 he launched Blackpool's Comedy Carpet, which includes a section devoted to some of his catchphrases and jokes.
Credit: Blackpool Council
Sir Ken Dodd received a knighthood from Prince William at the age of 89 for his charity work and his outstanding career in entertainment lasting more than six decades.
The investiture came 25 years after he was first awarded an OBE for services to show business and charity.
10 tattyfilarious facts about Sir Ken Dodd
1. His memorable buck teeth came as a result of a dare; his schoolmates challenged him to ride a bicycle with his eyes closed.
2. Ken’s father was a coal merchant in the Liverpool suburb of Knotty Ash and Ken left school at 14 to help his dad with deliveries.
3. Ken performed his first show at the age of ten in an orphanage 'because the poor little beggars couldn’t get away'.
4. He was a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats - the exclusive British entertainment industry fraternity and charitable organisation.
5. As well as having a successful career in comedy, Dodd also had several number ones – his recording of Tears was the highest-selling single in 1965.
6. He earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s longest ever joke-telling session: 1,500 jokes in three-and-a-half hours, undertaken at a Liverpool theatre in the 1960s.
7. He was offered a job as a cub reporter on the Daily Express, but he turned it down to stay in the family business.
8.He had a pet poodle called Rufus.
9.His recipe for the perfect jam butty was to de-crust two slices of bread then dip in in a beaten mixture of egg and milk in a shallow dish, before frying in butter or margarine. Make a sandwich with a tablespoon of jam, then also top with more jam and hand-whipped double cream.
10. Ken Dodd died in the same home that he was born in.
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