Comedy legend Tommy Cannon of Cannon and Ball fame makes surprise visit to Hartlepool

Tommy Cannon, part of the hugely successful comedy duo Cannon and Ball, was in the North East promoting his first solo theatre tour – when he will take to stage at the age of 86.

Tommy sadly lost long-time stage partner Bobby Ball almost four years ago when Bobby died in October 2020 after contracting coronavirus.

The pair had dominated Saturday evening TV for a decade with The Cannon and Ball Show attracting 20 million viewers each week on ITV.

Tommy was brought to town by Hartlepool media man Paul “Goffy” Gough, who runs Goffy Media and who has been working with the legend to get him back in the spotlight.

Goffy said: “Tommy had seen some depressing images of Hartlepool during the recent riots and I just wanted to show him that the town had lots of good things to offer and that the people in it are mostly decent.

“He said that through his 56 years working with Bobby as Cannon and Ball it was one of the few places that he couldn’t remember playing in his career.”

Tommy said: “It was great to drop by Goffy’s home town and I really enjoyed my time in Hartlepool.

“It clearly has some lovely parts and very friendly people.

“The Cannon and Ball fans we met were very warm and were keen to recall the memories of seeing us on the telly, in the theatre or at the various seaside summer shows at the likes of Scarborough and Blackpool.”

Goffy added: “It was great to bring Tommy to town and to drive him around to show him the many positive aspects of Hartlepool.

"Since quitting my role at BBC Tees last year, it has been a joy to work with people like Tommy.

“This past week I have been negotiating with ITV regarding his return appearance on ‘This Morning with Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley and we spent a day in Leeds with his old TV friend Jimmy Tarbuck.”

Tommy will be back in the area at Middlesbrough Theatre on Friday, November 1, as part of his Rock On Tommy Tour.

For further details, go to www.middlesbroughtheatre.co.uk/ .

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