It’s always odd to hear a familiar voice on a different programme, playing an alternative role. They never sound quite as comfortable behind the mike, as if they are wearing clothes that don’t quite fit. The voice has a different timbre, as it did on Sunday when Garry Richardson, who since 1981 has been keeping Today listeners updated on all the latest sports news, revealed his other passion. Since he was ten, when he was first taken to see the man from Knotty Ash at Blackpool in 1967, he’s been a fan of that extraordinarily tenacious star of the entertainment world, Ken Dodd. In Sir Ken Dodd: What a Beautiful Day! (produced by Peter McHugh), Richardson gave us an insight into why audiences are still paying to see a 90-year-old (Dodd’s significant birthday was on Wednesday) with wild hair, a high-pitched creaky voice and a relentless optimism, firing off a stream of comic gags for three or sometimes four hours, taking hold of his audiences and refusing to let them go home until they’ve laughed themselves weak.
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