Come 'ere: Launch event at Blackpool's Showtown

A book of jokes Jimmy Cricket was working on when he died in August is to be released in time for Christmas.

The comedian’s wife of 52 years, May Mulgrew, will aunch the title at an event in Blackpool in Decembercelebrating his life and career.

200 Monday Morning Jokes is a compilation of gags he put together during and after the Covid pandemic, saying they were intended to ‘cheer those on their first day back at work after the weekend break’.

May said: ‘Before Jimmy passed, he had completed his third joke book, his first since 1988. It brings together 200 of his best jokes, alongside letters from his Mammy, poetry and his funny philosophical thoughts.’

She will be launching the book at an event called  My Life With Jimmy Cricket at the Showtown museum of entertainment history on December 5.

May said the venue was her first choice as it is ‘now home to a number of Jimmy’s treasured stage items, including his famous wellies, bow tie, hat, glove, prop suitcase and performance props'.

The couple’s links to Blackpool stretch back more than 50 years. In 1973, when Jimmy was still a young comedian trying to establish himself on the Northern club circuit, he and May were both booked for a week at Blackpool’s Norbreck Hotel. 

May, then Jimmy’s girlfriend, performed alongside her sister Margaret as the singing duo The Tweedie Sisters. While the sisters proved a hit with audiences and completed their week, Jimmy later recalled that he was fired after just one night. 

He returned to perform numerous shows over the years at venues including the Grand Theatre, South Pier, Winter Gardens Opera House and Lyndene Hotel.

Cricket – real name James Mulgrew – was 80 when he died. Mourners at his funeral in Salford Cathedral included fellow comics Roy Walker,  Stu Francis, Freddie "Parrot face" Davies and Syd Little.

Showtown says audience members at book launch ‘can expect an afternoon filled with laughter, memories and stories, with an opportunity to hear first-hand about one of Britain’s most distinctive and much-loved entertainers’.  Every £12 ticket (available here) includes a copy of Jimmy’s new book

My Life With Jimmy Cricket follows An Afternoon with Lady Dodd on November 15, celebrating the legacy of Sir Ken Dodd.

Jill Carruthers, head of heritage at Showtown, said: ‘We feel so privileged that May chose Showtown to celebrate Jimmy and launch his last joke book. He had such a long and happy relationship with Blackpool, so it feels very fitting to bring everyone together here to remember him. 

‘Capturing and sharing performers’ stories is such an important part of what we do at Showtown. Jimmy gave so much to Blackpool’s entertainment scene over the years, and we’re delighted to celebrate the part he played in its history.

The book is not yet available on online bookstores.

Published: 21 Oct 2026