Magic eases loneliness, says circus superfan, 80

Tom English said he is addicted to the Blackpool Tower circus

An 80-year-old circus superfan who has gone to every performance at Blackpool Tower since his wife died in 2017 said the "magical place" was "his life".

Tom English, whose mother first brought him to the circus at just two weeks old, said: "I just can't stay away, I'm addicted to it."

Affectionately known by the performers as the circus mascot, he said he never got bored - even when he goes to three shows a day - as every performance was different.

"I don't like being at home on my own, I'd rather be here with friends," said Tom, who is usually first through the doors to his own reserved seat. "This is my home."

Mooky the Clown & Mr Boo said Tom is part of the show

Tom said he was usually the first in and stays until the end of the last show, before mucking in to help staff clean the arena.

He said: "My wife passed away about eight and a half years ago so I don't like being at home on my own.

"I'd rather be here with friends... I don't want to go home, you know, so I want to be here. It is my life.

"This is a magical place, the atmosphere is amazing."

Even when he used to travel away with his late wife Fran's job, the couple always raced back to the resort to see the circus.

"We've always managed to get here so we've always seen the circus at least once a week wherever we've been," he said.

Laci Endresz Jr, who stars as Mooky the Clown, said he always looked for Tom in the audience when he came on.

While his brother Bubu Endresz, who stars as Mr Boo, said: "We don't actually think of him as the audience, we kind of think of him as part of the show."

Tom said he "always puts the circus first" and arranges his appointments accordingly

Tom said he had had his own brush with showbusiness, first performing on stage playing the harmonica at eight and was in a film starring Arthur Lowe called The White Bus in 1967.

He said performing in the circus show was "on my bucket list" and he would "love to get on that stage and do something".

The performances never failed to make him laugh, he said, adding: "You can't get bored here - it's the same show but it's a different show every time because there's always something different.

"Something may happen that shouldn't have; they might trip up or something like that, and they think it's hilarious."