Blackpool road will Avenue name...

Blackpool has renamed one of its streets after Ken Dodd.

Adelaide Street West is now Sir Ken Dodd Avenue, with the comedian’s widow, Anne,  unveiling the new name on Monday.

The change came after the town’s council agreed to a request from entertainment museum Showtown, which sits on the street.

Lady Dodd said: ’I was so delighted and thrilled when I first heard that there would be a street called Sir Ken Dodd Avenue after my wonderful husband. I know he would say he was immensely discomknockerated at this tattyfilarious and plumpshus honour!

’He always said Blackpool was the "showtown" of Britain – so it is especially appropriate that the street on which it stands should be renamed after him. And of course, it’s just around the corner from his particularly beloved theatres, The Opera House and The Grand. This is all a very thoughtful act of "happiness" to me. Thank you so much!’

Lady Dodd at Showtown

Dodd played to audiences in Blackpool’s theatres for more than six decades. He switched on the Blackpool Illuminations in 1966, helped save Blackpool Grand Theatre in the 1970s and opened the Comedy Carpet in 2011.

Blackpool Council leader Lynn Williams said: ’Ken Dodd brought so much happiness to Blackpool and to generations of our visitors, so it feels right that his name should now be part of the town itself. Sir Ken Dodd Avenue is a wonderful tribute to a true Blackpool legend and a lasting reminder of the incredible story behind the man who made millions laugh.’

The renaming follows the opening in June of Happiness! The Ken Dodd Exhibition at Showtown, which runs until January 3.

Published: 21 Sep 2026