Show goes on for Duchess of Dudley

"Duchess of Dudley" Lizzie Wiggins is dusting off her stage clothes after announcing today she is ready to end her enforced exile from the limelight.

The Black Country comedienne, famous for her clashing costumes, feathered turban and garish make-up, was ordered to rest by doctors after suffering a mild stroke. But a delighted Lizzie has revealed she will top the bill at the Leeds City Variety Music Hall on October 17 and 18. Doctors have given the all-clear for her return to the stage.

This is seven months after she was taken ill, leaving her feeling weak and confused.

And the 68-year-old, of Acocks Green, Birmingham, revealed how she feared she would never work again.

"I feel so so different, it's like a cloud has lifted.

"I'm relieved because in the beginning I didn't feel I had the strength to work again, then I didn't feel I had the memory to work again."

"There was a lot of doubt there and now that's all gone I just want to get back out there and do what I enjoy doing most," she said.

But Lizzie added her comeback was still sinking in - and said she could not have hoped for a better venue to relaunch her act.

"I'm going back to work and I can't get over it," she said. "I'm absolutely dumbstruck they want me to be top of the bill – it's such an honour," she added.

Lizzie was speaking after a "marvellous" week-long break with her three grandchildren in Somerset but has promised to line up more appearances across the country for her many fans.

"I don't like to let people down and when I had to cancel those dates, I felt I had done," she said.

Despite her absence from the stage Lizzie has still been putting a smile on punters' faces. Just weeks after her stroke the comic discovered a racehorse had been named after her.