Stan Boardman was a keen footballer in his youth; an apprentice at Liverpool and signed to Tranmere Rovers. But he went into comedy after winning a Butlin's holiday camp talent contest in 1976.

He later appeared on TV's Opportunity Knocks, which led to further TV work hosting children's quiz show Runaround and on the classic stand-up show The Comedians.

Boardman -whose elder brother Tommy was killed in a wartime bombing raid on Liverpool - became known for his anti-German jokes. It led him to controversy when he appeared on Des O'Connor's chat show in the mid-Nineties and made great play of the word 'Fokker'. However, he was also accused of out-and-out racism, being berated by Leeds FC for telling 'inappropriate and unacceptable' jokes at their Player of the Year Award dinner in 2002, just months after two Leeds players had been arrested for assaulting an Asian student.

More recently, he has turned to reality TV, being a contestant in Trust Me - I'm A Beauty Therapist on Channel 5, Celebrity Wife Swap and a celebrity version of Coach Trip.