RENOWNED British comedian Tommy Cannon is preparing for his first stage show without long-term comedy partner Bobby Ball - who died after catching Covid-19 in 2020.
Tommy, who lives near York, said he will be "constantly looking" for Bobby during his first official return to the stage - set to be held at the Junction in Goole on Friday (October 21).
As reported by the BBC, Tommy, 84, said: "I know he's looking down and saying, 'come on Tommy lad, you can do it'.
"There's an emptiness that will never go away, I go on stage now and I'm constantly looking for him, waiting for him to shout 'rock on Tommy'.
"It's weird to think about doing it, never mind actually going out and doing it."
Cannon met Ball while working in an Oldham factory as a welder in the early 1960s.
The double act, whose real names are Thomas Derbyshire and Robert Harper, began their journey together on the cabaret circuit in the north of England.
The pair started performing as singers working the pubs and clubs of Greater Manchester and switched to comedy after being told comics earned an extra £3 a night.
Their first TV appearance was as contestants on the talent show Opportunity Knocks. In 1974 they appeared in variety series The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club before, in 1978, landing slots on Bruce Forsyth's Big Night. In 1979, LWT offered them their own series, The Cannon and Ball Show, which premiered on ITV in July 1979. Further series followed each year through to 1988, along with Christmas and Easter specials.
In the later years of their career, they continued to find success as a comic duo in both theatre and pantomime, along with numerous cameo appearances on TV. In late 2005, they appeared in the British reality TV series I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here.
The duo starred in pantomimes at the Theatre Royal, Lincoln including Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Cinderella and in 2014 appeared in Jack and the Beanstalk.
They continued to work as a comic duo until Bobby sadly died of complications with Covid-19 at Blackpool Victoria Hospital in October 2020.
Speaking at the time of Bobby's death, Tommy said: “Rock on, my good friend, I can’t believe this, I’m devastated.”
Ball is remembered in a statue in the Lancashire town of Lytham where he lived for more than 20 years.
His wife, Yvonne, said: "I will always miss him, he was so joyful, full of fun and mischievous."
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