Ken Dodd’s Happiness Show rolls into Bradford every year, to the delight of devoted audiences.

But when it comes to getting an interview, he has proved elusive.

So in Doddy’s words: By Jove, how tickled I was to be offered a rare interview with the veteran comic, prior to his show here next week. The buck-teethed clown with electric-shock hair has been working his magic with his legendary tickle stick for six decades.

Now 83, he’s not slowing down. “Retirement is for people who stop doing what they don’t want to do, and do what they want to do,” he says. “I’m doing what I love. I regard it as a hobby, not work.”

Ken has had a soft spot for Bradford since starring in Alhambra panto Jack And The Beanstalk in 1959. “As far as I know I still hold the record for attendances,” he says. “We ran until spring and gave out Easter eggs on stage! It was a very happy time.

“The Alhambra is a wonderful theatre. I used to stay at the Alexandra Hotel, I’d roll out of bed and straight into a matinee. One day I was wandering around the hotel and discovered the remains of a theatre where I was told Charlie Chaplin once appeared.”

Ken enjoyed a long friendship with the late T&A theatre critic Peter Holdsworth. “He was a lovely man. He was upbeat, not a cynic,” says Ken in his soft Scouse lilt. “We spent a lot of time in my dressing-room, sharing a drink or two into the small hours.

“I’m very fond of Bradford. After 56 years, I only return to places where audiences make me welcome. They’re my regulars – it’s like a window cleaning round.

“Yorkshire audiences are wonderful, they have a big streak of common sense and look at life a different way.”

Ken’s clown-like physical humour is rooted in music hall. “Music hall was made respectable, thanks to ‘Bingley-crowd’ types, and it became variety.

“There’s still a lot of variety but the tycoons running television are more interested in putting six people into a house full of cameras,” he sighs.

Having first performed aged nine – “I did a ventriloquist act in an orphanage on Christmas Day. Once I heard that applause I was hooked” – he served his apprenticeship in clubs, after a spell working for his father’s coal merchant business.

“After the clubs, I moved on to the Rotary crowd, then theatre. It’s like training to be a plumber, you learn your trade,” he says. “I learned early on to build a bridge with the audience in 30 seconds. You play your audience like an instrument, you interact, build up a banter and become a team.”

So is comedy a serious craft? “You can’t take it too seriously,” he says. “I grew up inspired by comics like Arthur Askey, a dynamic little man with the ‘eyes-and-teeth’ sparkle that was drummed into the Alhambra Sunbeams. Comics should be upbeat and optimistic – our job is to make the audience feel good.

“There are some great comics around today – like Ross Noble and Joe Pasquale – but a lot of them are pessimistic and sneering. I don’t think an audience should feel uncomfortable with a comic picking at the world’s sores.

“I try to see joy in the world. ‘What a beautiful day for jumping off Blackpool Tower in your mother’s corset’!”

Suddenly I’m back in a 1970s childhood, watching him and his Diddymen on telly. As a child, I thought Knotty Ash was an imaginary place and was surprised to later discover it’s a real Liverpool suburb.

“When I was starting out I was told Knotty Ash sounded funny. I’ve lived there all my life so to me it’s not as funny as Heckmondwike or Shelf,” smiles Ken. Chatting to him is a delight. He peppers the conversation with jokes but also speaks thoughtfully. It’s clear that his performances and his audiences mean the world to him.

His show combines quickfire gags with songs showcasing the light baritone voice that sold more than 100 million records worldwide and made Ken a chart rival to the Beatles. His 1965 hit Tears remains one of the UK’s biggest-selling singles.

He has also shone in drama – notably Shakespeare, playing Malvolio in Twelfth Night and appearing in Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 film of Hamlet – but his heart lies in comedy. “It’s a calling,” he says.

Anyone who’s had their ribs tickled at a Doddy concert will know the clock can strike midnight before the curtain falls.

“When I started out there were 12 or so acts in a variety show. Now I bring other acts with me, it’s a kaleidoscope,” he says, adding: “I hope to still be coming to Bradford when I’m 103.”

Something tells me he’ll do just that.

l Ken Dodd’s Happiness Show is at St George’s Hall on Friday at 7pm. For tickets, ring (01274) 432000.