Comics today aren’t funny and cheat the audience says Ricky
RICKY Tomlinson has revealed he does not think young comedians are as funny nowadays and “audiences are getting cheated”.
The Liverpool-born actor, 80, is best known for his television roles as Jim Royle in The Royle Family and Bobby Grant in Brookside.
He has also built a career as a stand-up comedian and starred in the satirical comedy film Mike Bassett: England Manager in 2001.
He told the Radio Times, he does not think young comedians have the same stamina as the older ones.
Ricky said: “It’s not that I don’t like them.
“I don’t think they’re funny! I think they should be done under the Trade Descriptions Act. The audiences are getting cheated.
Hysterics
“Ken Dodd could do five hours on stage! Some young comics can’t do 15 minutes.”
Ricky has reunited with Ralf Little, who played his on-screen son Antony in The Royle Family.
The pair are taking part in a six-part show on the cable channel Gold.
Ricky and Ralf’s Very Northern Road Trip will see the pair set off driving in a campervan from the Scottish border down to Manchester and the edge of the Midlands.
The pair had not been on TV together since the final Royle Family Christmas special aired in 2012. The reunion comes after Ricky said he “wouldn’t entertain” a new episode of the BBC sitcom, after co-star and creator Caroline Aherne died of cancer in 2016, aged 52.
Ricky told ITV’s Loose Women: “I wouldn’t entertain it. You couldn’t do that. It would be like sailing the ship without the captain.”
Ricky also performs his own stand-up comedy act, Laughter Show, around the country and regularly appears on comedy panel and quiz shows such as Countdown, Would I Lie To You? and Shooting Stars. The actor recently took part in a tribute cover of Ken Dodd’s hit Happiness for the NHS, with stars such as Glenda Jackson, Rick Astley and Jimmy Tarbuck. He appeared in the bathtub for his section of the cover, wearing nothing but a shower cap and sending fans into hysterics. The video cover was organised and shared by The Ken Dodd Charitable Foundation with The Comedy Trust and Liverpool’s Royal Court.
The money raised went to NHS Charities Together.
Speaking about his experience of the NHS, Ricky said that he “owed his life” to frontline workers because he is classed “at risk” of developing Covid-19.
He admitted: “Without the NHS, I’d be dead. I’ve had open-heart surgery, I’ve had asthma all my life. I’ve had both my eyes operated on and cataracts removed. I owe them my life.”
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