I went to see Ken Dodd with an open mind, I really did. I tried to like his act, but I failed. He was simply dreadful.

He is notorious for his long sets but little did I suspect how interminable he could be. The interval came after almost three torturous hours filled with lame, unsophisticated humour, random snippets of songs and other silliness that might have amused me when I was a child.

While I expected a scatter-shot approach, his delivery was all over the place.

He certainly had no shortage of material, although I could date some of it to being at least 80 years old since I've seen Laurel and Hardy use it.

To be fair most of the audience were amused by his antics and had genuine affection for the man but I just wished he'd go back to Notty Ash.