Funnyman Bobby Ball opened his heart to an audience of hundreds in Bradford to tell them how he gave up a life of hard drinking and womanising - thanks to a chance encounter with a vicar at the Alhambra Theatre.

The comedian and his partner Tommy Cannon, who are both born-again Christians, appeared on Saturday at the Abundant Life Centre in Wapping Road as part of the church's £1 million Enlarge the Place campaign which raised an amazing £600,000 from one fund-raising day a fortnight ago.

About 700 people packed the building to hear the duo go through a routine loved by millions in their TV shows of the Eighties.

But there was a very different mood for the second half of the act when they told how they found God.

Both stars went down a storm with the audience, using a relaxed and conversational style to tell their stories and raising a further £7,000 for the appeal.

Bobby, who was wearing his trade-mark braces, was moved to tears as he explained how their relationship had deteriorated after they hit the big time and both were seduced by the trappings of fame.

He said he himself was drinking up to a bottle-and-a-half of whisky a day and had a string of affairs, even becoming involved in sex orgies.

But all that changed when he was playing in pantomime at the Alhambra Theatre and met the theatre's chaplain, Max Wigley, who set him on a different path following a chance conversation.

He returned several weeks later to visit Mr Wigley at his home in Bradford where they said a prayer together.

"Three lines into the prayer I felt this warmth go through my body," he said.

"I felt God come into me and I started to cry like a baby and I knew God was real."

He said the episode 12 years ago changed his life and seven years later he was delighted when his comedy partner Tommy also turned to God.

The pair, who gave their services free, said they had both thoroughly enjoyed themselves and praised the fantastic atmosphere in the church.

Bobby told the Telegraph & Argus they hugely enjoyed doing the gospel shows.

"We do a bit of Cannon and Ball but we've done the act now for 35 years and this is more off the wall and more from the heart," he said.

"We don't do bible bashing - we just talk about our lives, what we like and don't like and what God has done for us."

Tommy said: "It's just wonderful to be able to go out and talk about the Lord which, for want of a better word, is like being in heaven."

Spokeswoman for the church Charlotte Gambill said the evening had been a great success.

The pair had been very moved by the occasion and hoped to return later this year to perform another show.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.