Review: The Ken Dodd Christmas Happiness Show, Wolverhampton Civic Hall

"I was born Kenneth 'Wednesday' Dodd because at birth my dad said 'let's call it a day'," was one of the 89-year-old's jokes.

Like a true natural of comedy, he smoothly moved from one joke to the next as he delivered his dry humour through quips, one liners and short comical tales.

And some of the audience were unfortunate enough to be drawn into the comedy - as he made innocent members part of his material.

"Is it something I said," he remarked to an audience member who made for one of the venue's side doors during his show.

It was upbeat and lively like a pantomime, which was delivered through a combination of song, dance and magic tricks.

Ken, who has been performing for more than six decades, made sure to reference the local area early on.

"Is anybody here from Wolverhampton?" he asked the Civic Hall crowd on Saturday night.

"How are Wolves getting on?"

He also asked if audience members were from other parts of the country. When one said they were from Yorkshire, he replied in a Yorkshire dialect: "I can speak a bit of Yorkshire, arr much (how much)."

In between his comical bouts, other acts took to the stage which kept the show fresh and varied.

A male and female musical duo, called Dante, performed songs in the style of traditional Irish music. They used a drum, guitar, banjo and recorder as part of their set - before playing Silent Night on a (wait for it) carpenter's saw turned musical instrument. Impressive.

Another act also performed magic tricks and illusions.

Ken changed his costume briefly to keep his act lively, donning an outlandish red gown over his cream suit and tie.

"Did you hear about the dear old lady from Dudley?" he asked as part of one his sketches.

"She decided to throw a party from her family and friends at Christmas, and decided to make a cake in November.

"She decorated it with icing, but couldn't find any of those tiny millions on millions cake toppings. So she decided to use air rifle pellets instead and coat them in icing.

"It was all fine, until she bent down on Boxing day and shot the cat."

The crowd enjoyed Ken's jokes and accompanying acts. It was a warm and lively atmosphere inside the venue.

And like in his trademark style, Ken's show stretched onto the early hours of the next day (to Sunday morning).

He may be almost 90, and has been performing for more than half a century - but Ken's wit, humour and energy felt as fresh as ever, which is a testament to the highly successful professional entertainer.

By Jamie Brassington