If I am looking years younger this week I put it down to Kenneth Arthur Dodd, comic extraordinaire.

Doddy's Happiness Show, which rolled into Brighton over the holiday weekend, sure smoothed out any worry or frown lines I might have had.

Five hours of fit-to-bust laughter will chill anyone out, as it certainly seemed to chill out a jam-packed Dome.

Doddy is an institution. The squire of Knotty Ash is soon to celebrate 50 years in the business and he is nothing short of a genius.

Waving his tickling sticks and with his sticky-up hair and buck teeth, he comes at you like an express train and roars at you for a staggering length of time. You cannot prepare yourself for it.

He is a veritable whirlwind of gags, hilarious observations, puns, back-chat and merry-making and within minutes you are on your knees weak with laughter.

You don't want to laugh for fear you might miss the next quip but if you didn't laugh, you would surely explode.

The wisecracking began as soon as the curtain went up at 7pm and you don't get out until after midnight - and with just one interval, this is not a show for those with weak bladders.

His comic targets are everyone and everything. He has great fun with dentists, saying his own dentist thinks his teeth are fine, his gums will have to come out.

He asks us if we have imagination and says we shall need it because the giraffe hasn't turned up.

Doddy is a fool in the great long line of fools that date back to before Shakespeare. He is pure musical and 100 per cent variety.

He personalises his jokes to wherever he is performing and he has obviously taken time to learn about the area.

According to Doddy, if you live in Hove you are a bit snooty, live in Whitehawk and there's probably a Cortina in your front garden.

He can do political satire - Curries are not welcome at John Major's house - and it looks as though Tony Blair is the new Teflon Man.

He delves deeply into his working-class roots and even does a short but brilliantly conceived ventriloquist routine, the act that began his career while he was selling door-to-door around the Liverpool he still obviously loves.

And he doesn't neglect his singing, duetting with one of his guests, trumpeter John Hind and reminding us of just how fine a baritone voice he has.

Seeing Doddy live is a breath-taking experience and, unusually for comedians today, contains no smut - but he does have a lip-smacking line in double entendres.

He is undoubtedly the King of the Comedians, his standing ovation was richly deserved, not least for his stamina.

Come back soon and tickle me again.