TICKLING stick at the ready, laughter legend Ken Dodd returns to Malvern Theatres next month.

Usually, the man from Knotty Ash plays just a one night stand, but this time his show will be on two consecutive nights - Tuesday and Wednesday, April 6 and 7 - due, as they say, to overwhelming demand.

Born in 1927, "Doddy" first set his heart on a career in showbiz when, aged seven, he replied to a feature in a comic book advertising ventriloquism lessons. It was another 20 years before he got his first big break, however; a date at the Nottingham Playhouse.

He went from strength to strength and since then has enjoyed the longest run of anything ever at the London Palladium and also a Guinness Book of Records entry for the world's longest joke-telling session - some 1,500 jokes in three hours.

That was about the same time that he embarked upon a singing career, which saw the release of his first single Happiness, in 1964, and his biggest hit, Tears, which sold over two million copies a year later.

Television beckoned and the next 20 years saw The Ken Dodd Show and Beyond our Ken among the most popular shows ever screened.

His schedule today is no less energetic and sees him giving an average of three or four shows a week across the UK.

And as regulars at Malvern know, they tend to be marathon shows. His last appearance at the theatre ended well after midnight.

So don't forget your sleeping bag and possibly a light breakfast.

Tickets for the Ken Dodd Laughter Show at Malvern Theatres on Tuesday, April 6, or Wednesday, April 7, are £17. Box office 01684 892277.