Richard BatsonBy Jove, missus. Cromer pier has been swamped by a tidal wave of showgoers wanting to see veteran comic Ken Dodd.A show by the 81-year-old wild-haired gagster, famous for his machine-gun quick-fire delivery of one-liners, sparked a stampede for tickets and a 500-seater sellout on March 30.Richard Batson

By Jove, missus. Cromer pier has been swamped by a tidal wave of showgoers wanting to see veteran comic Ken Dodd.

A show by the 81-year-old wild-haired gagster, famous for his machine-gun quick-fire delivery of one-liners, sparked a stampede for tickets and a 500-seater sellout on March 30.

With 400 people on a waiting list, pier bosses were this week trying to secure a second show to mop up the other Doddy fans - but it too was likely to be a sellout from the overspill.

Pavilion theatre spokesman Bruce Stratton said: 'We have never known a response like it. The tickets sold within a couple of days of the brochure being launched.'

Pier operators Openwide were delighted such a great star was coming to north Norfolk, he added - and said a pair of gold-dust Ken Dodd tickets would be given away in a competition in the EDP's sister paper the North Norfolk News soon.

Liverpudlian Doddy, inventor of the Diddy Men and famed for his feather-duster Tickling Stick, is still busy touring with his Happiness show after 50 years in showbusiness.

His long list of awards include being the first ever Living Legend accolade from the British Comedy Society, a lifetime achievement at the British Comedy Awards, and being voted the greatest Merseysider of all time in his home city.

Dodd is also an accomplished singer with many hits to his name, including topping the charts with Tears in September 1965.

On the two nights leading up to his Cromer debut, he is doing performances at Lowestoft's Marina Theatre and Potter's Holiday Centre at Hopton, where he has regularly done sellout shows in the past - though there are still a few tickets left at both venues.