The world of entertainment is paying tribute to British comedy legend Sir Ken Dodd, who has died at the age of 90.

The much-loved star, famous his unruly appearance and epic stand-up shows whose style harked right back to the days of music hall, passed away at his home in the Liverpool suburb of Knotty Ash on Sunday (March 11th).

Dodd had recently left hospital on February 27th, following a six-week stay battling a chest infection. He had worked almost right up until his death, performing his final show at The Auditorium in Liverpool’s Echo Arena on December 28th last year.

His death came just two days after he married his long-term partner of 40 years, Anne Jones, at their home – the same one that Dodd had been born in. An announcement of the marriage had been planned for later this week.

Sir Ken DoddSir Ken Dodd pictured in 2017

The star’s publicist, Robert Holmes, told the press in a statement on Monday morning (March 12th): “To my mind, he was one of the last music hall greats. There is no-one else that comes close.

“He passed away in the home that he was born in over 90 years ago. He's never lived anywhere else. It's absolutely amazing. With Ken gone, the lights have been turned out in the world of variety. He was a comedy legend and a genius.”

Holmes said of his marriage: “He asked Anne if she wanted to marry. They got the registrar and were married in the house on Friday. He died two days later on Mother's Day. Anne is obviously very upset. They had been together for 40 years. It's a love story to beat them all.”

Dodd was renowned for his live shows, which frequently lasted for around four hours, with props such as his tickling sticks being a regular part of his performances. In the 1960s, he entered the Guinness Book of Records for telling 1,500 jokes in three and a half hours.

After making his name in the music halls, Dodd’s career in television and radio took off. ‘The Ken Dodd Show’, ‘Beyond Our Ken’ and ‘Ken Dodd's Laughter Show’ were among his television programmes, and in 1965 he enjoyed the longest-ever run at the London Palladium, with 42 weeks.

He was also a chart-topping singer, with his song ‘Tears’ being the third biggest-selling single of the 1960s in Britain, behind two Beatles singles.

More: Ken Dodd dubs ‘Punch and Judy’ modernisation as “awful” [archive]