How tickled they were by Ken Dodd

Thursday 3rd June 2010, 11:58AM BST.

Ken Dodd entertains his loyal fans at The Place at Oakengates. Pictures by Peter Shah.

“I dreamed of bright lights, beautiful people and champagne – then I woke up in Oakengates.”

These were the words of legendary comedian Ken Dodd who tickled hundreds of fans during a near five hour performance in Shropshire last night.

The comic, now 82, walked onto the stage at The Place in Oakengates, waving his two tickling sticks, to rapturous applause from the packed out theatre.

Dodd, who has been in show business for more than 50 years, had fans howling with laughter right up until the curtain was finally drawn at 1am.

Not afraid to take on an audience, he said: “Oakengates is not twinned with any other town, but I know it has a suicide pact with Grimsby.”

Born in Liverpool in 1927, he is best known for his buck teeth, frizzy hair, and his creation of the Diddymen.

Crowds also cheered when he referred to the number of roundabouts in Telford.

“I was coming here today and by the time I got around the roundabouts in Telford the wheels had come off my car,” he said.

Known for the amount of time he spends on stage, the comedian put on a performance lasting more than four hours, with two other acts taking 15 minute slots.

The show also saw several vocal performances from Dodd, who was revealed on Monday as one of the biggest recording artists of the 1960s.

A BBC countdown of the top 60 best-selling records during the decade showed that Dodd’s 1965 track, Tears, sold more records than any other artist during that year – even outselling the Beatles.

Tears also became the third biggest-selling single of the decade.

During last night’s performance crowds sang along to one of his most famous hits, Happiness, and the show ended with the song Absent Friends.

View more: Oakengates news, Oakengates Theatre news, Telford news.