Ken had a soft spot for Bradford. He starred in the Alhambra’s 1958/59 production of Jack And The Beanstalk, the theatre’s longest ever panto run, and every year he brought his comedy shows to Bradford, to packed audiences of loyal fans.

His last appearance at the Alhambra, standing on stage for most of the five-hour set, was just a few months before his death in March, 2018.

This spring sees the release of an intimate biography of Ken, written by Bafta-winning comedy scriptwriter Tony Nicholson with Lady Anne Dodd, Ken’s widow. The Squire of Knotty Ash...and his Lady is the first ever in-depth account of the veteran comic’s remarkable story, and unravels the “fascinating, kind and complicated private man” with whom Lady Anne spent her life.

Ken was known as the comedian’s comedian. He was also a talented singer, and topped the charts in the 1960s. His was the only name, apart from The Beatles, to appear in the top five best-selling singles of the decade.

As the biography reveals, Ken was a private person away from the limelight. A quiet, well-read, deeply religious thinker, he consciously separated “the two Ken Dodds”, as he referred to them, and declined to co-operate with biographers.

Tony Nicholson started his showbiz career in the 1970s as a comedy scriptwriter, writing jokes for the Two Ronnies, and became a television producer, making entertainment programmes. His affectionate and candid biography of Ken is written not just as a showbusiness insider, who worked with Ken in the 1980s, but also as a lifelong fan of the comic’s work.

Anne, Lady Dodd, had her own showbusiness career, which started before she met Ken. In the 1960s she was a dancer with the legendary Bluebell Girls on TV in Rome. The troupe later appeared for a Christmas season at The Manchester Opera House, where Ken Dodd was topping the bill. The couple met and started a friendship which lasted 56 years and blossomed into a loving relationship and eventual marriage.

Lady Anne, who still lives in Ken’s childhood home in Knotty Ash, Merseyside, with their poodle, Rufus, says Ken had always intended to write an autobiography, but never got round to it. Now she’s sharing the definitive Ken Dodd story with his many fans, and revealing the human side of the comedy superstar who became her husband.

In 2013, ahead of bringing his Happiness show to St George’s Hall, Ken told the Telegraph & Argus that he never tired of touring. “Each show is different because each audience is different,” he said. “I’ve been working professionally since 1954 and I’ve never done the same show twice. For me, it’s about communication, interaction.”

Looking ahead to celebrating his 60th anniversary in the business, he revealed that he still had nerves before a show: “I’m like a racehorse in the stalls, chomping at the bit. There’s no better feeling than standing in front of an audience, making them laugh.”

Ken helped his father in the family coal business, before becoming a door-to-door salesman while working semi-professionally as a club entertainer. He said: “Going ‘on the knocker’ around housing estates helped me deal with the public, which shaped me as a comic. I served my apprenticeship in the clubs, where you learn to love an audience and look ‘em in the eye.”

l The Squire of Knotty Ash...and his Lady is published by Great Northern Books on April 1, priced £17.99.

The book is available for pre-order with a signed bookplate from gnbooks.co.uk or by calling (01274) 735056.