MIKE Goddard has made people laugh the world over.

Now the comedian – who has worked with Ken Dodd, Tony Hancock and Tommy Cooper – is hoping to bring his well-honed humour to the people of Knutsford.

For although he has ‘retired’ to Winstanley House the 70-year-old is still hoping to tickle a few funny bones at after dinner speeches and maybe even at Knutsford Little Theatre.

“I’d love to do some after dinner speaking for charity,” he said.

“I’m also hoping that I might be able to get involved with Knutsford Little Theatre, maybe as a director.”

In recent years Mike has suffered a heart attack and two different illnesses that have left him in a coma, bringing an end to the hectic lifestyle of a touring artist.

He certainly crammed in a lot during his long career performing in 124 countries, going on tour with The Beatles and working with Hollywood legend Robin Williams.

Viewers will have seen him in more than 100 television shows and his name credited with producing a further 200 programmes.

Many will know him best as one of The Comedians, but he has also performed at the London Palladium five times with the likes of Johnnie Mathis, Cliff Richard and Elton John.

Over his long and varied career he’s picked up countless awards and collected numerous famous friends.

Ken Dodd, or ‘Doddy’ as Mike refers to him, is among those with whom he enjoys regular contact.

Their careers crossed when Dodd called Mike to ask for help with a joke that wasn’t quite connecting with his pantomime audience.

On arrival, however, Mike realised the Liverpudlian performer had something else in mind for him.

“He asked me to put on a dress and a wig and then told me I was going to be the dame in the panto that night,” said Mike.

On a more serious note, Mike received two awards in 1988 for Best Actor in LS Lowry in the Northern Arts Festival in Manchester and The Financial Times named him Best Director for the Tempest.

He also directed Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Steven Berkoff’s Decadence in Vancouver, Canada.

His more recent love is attending bullfights in Spain, so much so that he has become an expert and is planning to write a book on the subject.

Having taken his stand-up routine onto the ocean wave with performances on cruise ships, he’s now settled down in Knutsford.

And, it seems, the town has everything he is looking for.

“I can go to Oxfam and Waterstones for my books and there’s a betting shop, so that’s all I need in a town,” he said.

To contact Mike, call 01565 631319 or email cruisematador@hotmail.com.