Why Doddy was a big fan of the Bard

HE will always be remembered for his epic stand-up shows and his tickling sticks, but Ken Dodd loved a different kind of theatre – Shakespeare.

His passion has been revealed by his widow Lady Anne Dodd.

She said: “Ken just loved Shakespeare because of the words, he was such a wordsmith.

“A lot of people may not recall but way back in 1971 Ken played Malvolio in Twelfth Night.

“Some people thought he might not stick to the script, but he did, he was word perfect from the first day.

“He got wonderful reviews.”

She was speaking after pledging around £700,000 through the late comic’s foundation to build a mini-amphitheatre in Prescot.

The outdoor space will form part of the

Shakespeare North Playhouse project, due to open in 2022, and be used for performance and teaching.

The Merseyside theatre is being built to celebrate Prescot’s links to the playwright and form a “Shakespeare Triangle” with London and Stratford-upon-avon.

The Ken Dodd Charitable Foundation initially put in £250,000 but will now be investing around £700,000 in total to complete a so-called Performance Garden.

Lady Anne said: “Ken’s real love was the theatre and Liverpool and he set up the Ken Dodd Charitable Foundation some years ago and I’m now able to use the money in that foundation – and his legacy – to fund a lot of different and wonderful projects, one of which is this Shakespeare North Playhouse theatre.

“Ken was approached a couple of years before he passed, and he was absolutely delighted to be able to help with this project.”