Lady Anne Dodd pens biography of late husband Ken Dodd

Great Northern Books will publish The Squire of Knotty Ash… and his Lady, an "intimate" biography of the late Sir Ken Dodd, by Lady Anne Dodd and biographer and TV producer Tony Nicholson.

Worldwide rights were acquired through Laurie Mansfield Associates acting on behalf of Tony Nicholson and Lady Dodd. The book will be published in spring 2021. 

Despite his fame and his "crazy, larger-than-life stage persona" as a comedian, Dodd was a very private person, says the publisher. Prior to his death in 2018, he consciously separated "the two Ken Dodds", as he referred to them, and always declined to co-operate with biographers, in order to keep his private life private.

Co-authored by his wife, this book will give fans the first ever in-depth account of his story, and will unravel the "fascinating, kind and complicated private man" behind the spotlight, says Great Northern. 

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.”

Lady Anne Dodd commented: "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."