Telly Today Extra: Ken Dodd Celebrated on the BBC, ITV and Channel 5
Ones to Watch: BBC, ITV and Channel 5 pay tribute to comedian Ken Dodd.
With the sad news today that Merseyside legend Ken Dodd has passed away, aged 90, the BBC, ITV and Channel 5 have announced changes to their schedules to pay tribute to the funnyman.
BBC One tonight is to screen two programmes featuring Doddy. Firstly, Arena, which was first aired a decade ago as Ken marked his 80th birthday. It sees him on his 2007 tour taking in theatres across the country. The programme mixes conversation of the time with Dodd along with archive clips and comedy routine moments. The show is followed by Ken Dodd Talking Comedy, which brings together moments from BBC chat shows featuring Ken and his talents. We see the diddyman on shows such as Parkinson and Wogan – leaving Michael Parkinson and Terry Wogan in hysterics.
Arena: Ken Dodd, BBC One, 10.45pm. Ken Dodd: Talking Comedy, BBC One, 11.45pm.
ITV tonight step back twenty years to rescreen Another Audience With Ken Dodd. Ken is joined by fellow celebrities at the London Weekend studios for an hour of music, comedy and star questioning.
The programme brings expected moments such as Doddy singing Happiness, his sixties trademark hit, jokes such as ‘Isn’t it a lovely day to stick a cucumber through the Vicar’s letterbox and shout ‘the marsians have landed” a trumpeting mayoress, banging his own drum and a moment with a Diddyman of Knotty Ash.
Another Audience With Ken Dodd shows Ken at his very best proving beyond doubt why he was the last true king of comedy from an era of Variety and music hall long gone, but thanks to this production, and the 1994 original An Audience With Ken Dodd, his humour and legacy will certainly not be forgotten.
Another Audience with Ken Dodd, ITV, 10.45pm
Channel 5 is the first to pay their respects to the comedy legend with another chance to see Ken Dodd: In His Own Words. Produced just before his 90th birthday it sees showbiz pals and admirers sharing their memories and celebrating the North West star.
Ken was also lured to talk about his life and work himself in this special, which also includes many archive clips of both classic conversations with Dodd as well as many great gag moments from across his television career, ranging from his ATV, Thames TV and BBC series’.
The programme also sees Ken reflect on humour, what makes people laugh and why he still tours yearly to the joy of his millions of theatre-going fans.
Ken Dodd: In His Own Words, Channel 5, 9pm
