Summary

  • Updates on Thursday 29 March

Live Reporting

  1. Sir Ken Dodd: Comic 'never liked his show to finish on the same day it started'

    Canon Myles Davies has told Liverpool Anglican Cathedral that Sir Ken Dodd "would be so pleased - and humbled too - how people in his home city have poured out their tributes".

    However, he said, Sir Ken would not be pleased with one aspect of his funeral:

    He said he never liked his show to finish on the same day it started but as this one proceeds, and I've got pretty tight control of it, I'm pretty sure you won't be missing the last bus home.

  2. Sir Ken Dodd: 'Complete comedian, greatest entertainer, loyal friend'

    John Fisher completed his tribute to Sir Ken Dodd by telling Liverpool Anglican Cathedral he was "the complete comedian, the greatest entertainer, a loyal friend".

    Sir Ken Dodd's funeralGetty Images

    He said:

    We'll never see the like of Ken Dodd again.

    Thank you Sir Ken, tatty bye.

  3. Sir Ken Dodd: Watch Jimmy Tarbuck pay tribute to his friend

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  4. Sir Ken Dodd: Comedian was 'humblest of men'

    John Fisher has told Sir Ken Dodd's funeral that when he spoke to the comedian "a few weeks ago... he was still buzzing with thoughts and ideas".

    He also said that Sir Ken - like Sir Roger Bannister and Stephen Hawking, who also recently died - had "a singluar interest, that was time".

    He said:

    No performer I've known had more time for his public - [he] never short changed them on stage or off.

    He added that Sir Ken was the "humblest of men" with "no conceit, no concept of his own greatness".

  5. Sir Ken Dodd: Comic was 'the genuine article'

    John Fisher, Sir Ken Dodd's friend and an author who wrote about the comic, has told his funeral that while "we live in a shallow age of instant celebrity and more national treasures than i would care to shake a tickling stick at", the comic was "the genuine article".

    He said he spoke to the comedian about his television work:

    Ken put it in his own words: 'I don't do much television these days, I can't cook'.

    He said Sir Ken "celebrated life in all its absurdity", adding that when he saw him perform for the first time - at the London Palladium in 1965 - he "never knew such laughter was possible".

  6. Sir Ken Dodd: Smiles and tickling sticks

    There are smiles and a far few tickling sticks outside Liverpool Anglican Cathedral as a large crowd watches Sir Ken Dodd's funeral on a big screen.

    Mourners at Sir Ken Dodd's funeralGetty Images
    Tickling sticks at Sir Ken Dodd's funeralGetty Images
    Mourner at Sir Ken Dodd's funeralGetty Images

  7. Sir Ken Dodd: 'One of the most original, innovative and gifted comedians'

    Fellow comedian Jimmy Cricket has been paying tribute to Sir Ken Dodd at his funeral.

    He told a packed Liverpool Anglican Cathedral that Sir Ken was "one of the most original, innovative and gifted comedians we'll ever see".

    Jimmy CricketPA

    He said:

    Comedians like Ken only come once in a lifetime - we thank God today that he came in ours.

    He finished by saying:

    He had time for everybody. He said we were all walking miracles, every one of us and we all had stories to tell.

  8. Sir Ken Dodd: Comic 'sang Happiness because he gave happiness'

    Jimmy Tarbuck has told Sir Ken Dodd's funeral the comic was "the greatest stage comedian I had ever seen" in his life.

    Jimmy TarbuckPA

    He spoke about seeing Sir Ken perform for the first time and said he "fell in love with him" from that moment".

    He sang Happiness because he gave happiness.

    It was an honour to watch him - he set a standard which no-one has remotely approached.

    He signed off his tribute by thanking Sir Ken, adding:

    In the words of Tina Turner, you were simply the best

  9. Sir Ken Dodd: A 'genius' who 'introduced us to universes we could not have imagined'

    Actress Stephanie Cole has told Sir Ken Dodd's funeral that his passing came at the same time as another "genius", Stephen Hawking.

    Stephanie Cole at Sir Ken Dodd's funeralPA

    She said:

    They both introduced us to universes we could not have imagined and had a unique notion of time.

    She also said she "loved to talk to him about the mechanics of comedy" and "learnt so much from him", adding that he had a "lack of ego and genuine interest in all that he met".

  10. Sir Ken Dodd: Comic 'gave us happiness and laughter'

    Sir Ken Dodd's friend Peter Rogan has told his funeral the comic "loved showbusiness and the theatre".

    He said:

    He loved books - he had literally thousands. He couldn't resist the lure of the printed word. His knowledge of the entertainment business is legendary.

    Mr Rogan added that Sir Ken "loved his home city of Liverpool" and was "enthusiastic about every aspect of the city".

    Such was his love for the city that, regardless of his fame and celebrity, he stayed with us.

    He ended by saying that when Sir Ken was once asked by a journalist how he wanted to be remembered, he said he hoped it would be that he "gave us happiness and laughter".

  11. Sir Ken Dodd: Large crowd gathered in biting wind to pay respects

    Paul Burnell
    Reporter, BBC News Online

    Young and old have come to Sir Ken Dodd's funeral to honour one of their own, whose career spanned entertainment’s many changes, from the music hall to podcasts.

    Fans from all over the UK have mixed with people on their lunch breaks outside Liverpool Anglican Cathedral to share anecdotes and shed a few tears among a sea of tickling sticks.

    Sir Ken Dodd's funeralGetty Images
    Mourner at Sir Ken Dodd's funeralReuters
    Sir Ken Dodd's funeralGetty Images

  12. Sir Ken Dodd: Watching him construct a joke was 'an education'

    Sir Ken Dodd's great nephew Alex Otley has read a tribute from his mother Jan at the comedian's funeral.

    Sir Ken Dodd's funeralPA

    She said it was "an education to watch and listen to him construct a joke" and was a "wonderful and enthusiastic mentor".

    She added that he had once told her that "the man who never made a mistake, never made anything".

  13. Sir Ken Dodd: One of Liverpool's 'great sons'

    The Acting Dean of Liverpool Cathedral, Canon Myles Davies has called Sir Ken Dodd "one of the great sons" of the city.

    The funeral of Sir Ken Dodd is under way at the cathedral, where the Dean is leading the prayers.

  14. Sir Ken Dodd: Friends to pay tribute

    The funeral service for Sir Ken Dodd has started at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, with all 2,600 seats taken by friends, family and fans of the comic.

    Sir Ken Dodd's coffin taken into Liverpool Anglican CathedralGetty Images

    Among those due to speak are fellow comedians Jimmy Tarbuck and Jimmy Cricket and actress Stephanie Cole.

  16. Sir Ken Dodd: Comic got 'roars of laughter'

    Comedian Jimmy Tarbuck has said Sir Ken Dodd was "the greatest stage comic I've ever seen".

    Jimmy TarbuckPA

    Speaking as he arrived for the comic's funeral, he said:

    He never got giggle laughter, never little titters, there were roars of laughter like you've never heard.

    I've never seen anybody get laughs like him.

  17. Sir Ken Dodd: 'Serious deep thinker' and 'great man of faith'

    Sir Ken Dodd's local vicar has described him as a "serious deep thinker"

    The comic was a regular worshipper at St John the Evangelist in Knotty Ash.

    Rev Julia Jesson said:

    He was a very serious, deep thinker and a real reflector on life.

    He was a great man of faith and great reader.

    But when you were talking to him, you were always knew that there was a possibility that at any moment, he would make a joke out of something you said.

  18. Sir Ken Dodd: Crowd gathers to watch funeral on big screen

    A crowd is gathering outside Liverpool Anglican Cathedral to watch Sir Ken Dodd's funeral on a big screen.

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  19. Sir Ken Dodd: Comic was 'just a nice man'

    Sir Ken Dodd's neighbours in Knotty Ash have told of their love for the comedy legend.

    Sir Ken Dodd's housePA

    Speaking on BBC Radio Merseyside, one said he was with the comic "just before he went into hospital [and] he was brilliant - you can't stop him cracking jokes".

    "He was just a nice man," he added.

  20. Sir Ken Dodd: Diddy Man floral tribute

    Among the tributes in the hearse carrying Sir Ken Dodd's coffin was a floral depiction of one of his most famous creations, a Diddy Man.

    Sir Ken Dodd floral tributeGetty Images