In Dodd we trust

DODDY'S recent TV exposure marking his 80th birthday has attracted a broader and younger audience to his shows with both Easter weekend Bournemouth dates totally sold out.

And despite recent surgery for a strangulated hernia, the stage-struck entertainer was on top form and seemed to gain more energy and momentum as the show went on for five side-splitting hours.

Clutching his flask and sandwiches as the clock edged towards midnight he asked incredulously: "Haven't you got yours?"

Old gags, like old friends, we welcomed, laughing heartily, anticipating the punch line. But there was ample new material too, and a surprisingly fresh delivery from the outset.

Frequently self-mocking he said the Pavilion staff had cheered when he arrived in his white van: "They thought we were from Dyno Rod!"

He painted colourful, hilariously comical images of a bygone era in Notty Ash where the kids, the whippets, Granddad and then the bike shared the water in the old tin bath.

The incredible range of facial expressions, the sticky-up hair, sticky-out teeth, the voices, walks, mannerisms, bendy fingers and, of course, the trademark tickling stick, all brought these characters vividly to life.

How we roared with laughter at his famous digs at the Inland Revenue, his teasing about the length of his shows, alongside new material inspired by his hospital experiences.

There was his fear of Mrs A- that's MRSA, and there were jokes about the Beckhams and Heather Mills.

A variety show with ventriloquism and songs, from the heart-felt Absent Friends to his signature tune Happiness - no one leaves an audience happier that Doddy.