Promising the real story of the notoriously secretive comedian

Ken Dodd’s widow is to write an intimate biography of her late husband.

Lady Anne Dodd has teamed up with biographer and TV producer Tony Nicholson to pen The Squire Of Knotty Ash… And His Lady. 

Publishers Great Northern Books say: ‘There have been other books about Ken Dodd’s career, but, being a very private person offstage, he always declined to cooperate with biographers, so they had to rely on the extremely limited and, at times, inaccurate information available in the public domain.

Louis Barfe wrote a comprehensive, and well-received biography of the comedian, which was released in paperback this summer, the latest of several books about Dodd.

Lady Anne said: ‘Ken had always intended to write his autobiography, but he never got round to it.  He was too busy making people laugh.  

‘Tony did a great job on the sensitively produced BBC Two documentary tribute to Ken in 2018, so when he suggested collaborating on a book together I thought this was the perfect opportunity to tell the real story of Ken’s astonishing life and career. 

‘It has been a labour of love and I hope people will enjoy finding out about the human side of my fascinating husband, just as much as they used to love his joyously funny shows.’

Previously, the most fans got to know about Dodd’s private life came from his notorious 1989 tax evasion case, where hundreds of thousands of pounds were found stashed in suitcases in his attic and even his own barrister, George Caman QC, described him ‘as a fantasist stamped with lifelong eccentricities’. Dodd was acquitted.

Nicholson said: ‘This book will change everything you thought you knew about Sir Ken.  He shied away from publicity and never talked about his private life, so the press often fed the public with exaggerations and misleading assumptions.  This revealing book changes all of that.

‘Sir Ken was one of Britain’s favourite entertainers and the last of the truly great variety stars of the 20th century.  If you liked Ken Dodd, and who didn’t, then you will love this book.’

The Squire of Knotty Ash… and his Lady will be published by Great Northern Books in April and can be preordered from bookshop.org, which benefits independent bookstores, here, or from Amazon here.

Published: 7 Dec 2020