How tickled we are… construction of the £15m Sir Ken Dodd Happiness Centre is set to begin in Liverpool in 2025 as the project secures planning approval. Tony McDonough reports
A £15m centre celebrating the life of legendary Liverpool comic Sir Ken Dodd will be built in the city centre after the project secured planning consent.
Considered to be one of Britain’s finest-ever comedians, Sir Ken Dodd died in March 2018 at the home in Knotty Ash in Liverpool he had lived in all his life. Mourners packed out Liverpool Cathedral for the funeral of the man affectionately known as ‘Doddy’.
Now there will be a permanent celebration of his life and career in the city centre in the shape of the Sir Ken Dodd Happiness Centre. And the public is to be asked what they would like to see featured at the attraction.
Liverpool’s Royal Court, working with The Comedy Trust and The Sir Ken Dodd Charitable Foundation, submitted plans last autumn for the brand new building.
This four-storey building, which will house Sir Ken’s archive, will be located on land adjacent to the Royal Court, on the site currently occupied by Courtyard Bar & Kitchen. Once completed, the centre will house a new 100-seat restaurant.
Building work could begin in 2025 with the doors set to open in 2027 to mark what would have been Sir Ken Dodd’s 100th birthday. Also included in the plans are the world’s biggest tickling stick.
It will become a permanent home to The Sir Ken Dodd archive and Happiness exhibition currently showing at National Museum Liverpool, and will celebrate the life and career of Sir Ken Dodd.
There will also be spaces for comedy-based workshops, talks and performances. The centre will be operated by Liverpool’s Royal Court as an extension of the Royal Court Theatre.
The Happiness Centre will celebrate all forms of comedy and humour and provide opportunities for all to take part in a wide range of programmes, workshops and sessions with comedy, humour, health and wellbeing at their heart.
Lady Anne Dodd, Sir Ken’s partner of 40 years whom he married just days before he died, said: “I am thrilled that my dream of creating a legacy to celebrate Ken’s life has reached such a landmark stage.
“I think the building looks fantastic and I know Ken would be delighted at its location, just a stone’s throw from his favourite building in the city, St George’s Hall.
“I am very much looking forward to getting on with the next stage which will include planning a programme of events and activities to inform the design of the inside and outside the Sir Ken Dodd Happiness Centre.
“Ken spent many happy hours entertaining thousands in the Royal Court Theatre and I know he would be delighted that his legacy building links to the theatre he helped to save back in 1979.”
Through the lens of ‘Doddy’, Liverpool’s most famous entertainer, The Sir Ken Dodd Happiness Centre will highlight and explore Liverpool humour and the role the city played in becoming a cradle of entertainment for countless comedians.
The centre will also explore how comedy and humour defines Liverpudlians, why the city is known world-wide for its wit and humour and how we can use laughter and humour to make us feel better and improve wellbeing.
It will be designed by Stirling Prize-winning architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), who were also behind the extensive refurbishment of Liverpool’s Royal Court.
Funding for the project is coming from a number of sources, primarily the Sir Ken Dodd Charitable Trust. The public is being asked what they would like to see as part of the museum and archive, as its plans move on to the next stage.
Gillian Miller, chief executive of the Royal Court, added: “We have been working with Lady Anne Dodd from the beginning of the design process to ensure that the building reflects Ken’s mantra that ‘Happiness is the greatest gift that we possess’.
READ MORE: Liverpool councillors approve 81-bed hotel plan
“There is no better city than Liverpool to create a centre for happiness and wellbeing in, and we are looking forward to delivering a unique building for the city that epitomises happiness.
“Our plans for the world’s biggest tickling stick will become a landmark for the city attracting tourists and visitors from near and far, putting a smile on everyone’s face. This is a wonderfully positive project for the city and much needed in these uncertain times.”
There will be two events celebrating Sir Ken this autumn:
- Variety Film Club – the Real Ken Dodd – The Man I Loved (2023, October 24. Click here.
- Annual Happiness Show, October 27. Click here.