BBC to broadcast documentary on Dodd as he turns 80

Published Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 14:50 by Matthew Hemley

BBC2 has secured rare access to Ken Dodd for a special programme looking at the entertainer’s career, as he celebrates his 80th birthday.

The broadcaster has spent the last few months following Dodd for the documentary, which will be transmitted over Christmas and is part of the Arena strand.

It will look back on his career, which has spanned five decades, and is expected to feature clips from his early performances in the sixties and seventies. The one hour programme will also include recent footage of the performer’s current stage routine as part of his Happiness Tour.

BBC Arena director Ashtar Alkhirsan, who has been filming with Dodd for several months, said Dodd was arguably variety’s “last significant exponent” and added: “Arena has been given a rare opportunity to spend time with Ken Dodd, to explore and talk in detail about his career and his craft, which he’s spent the last 55 years perfecting.”

A date for the programme, called Arena: Ken Dodd, has yet to be announced. Dodd celebrates his 80th birthday today (November 8).

Earlier this month, he was featured in an episode of the BBC’s Songs of Praise, during which he showed viewers around his birthplace Liverpool. The programme also included a gospel choir singing his theme tune, Happiness.