COMEBACK TIME FOR CANNON AND BALL SHOWS

Back in their heyday in the 1980s, comics Cannon and Ball were a double act as big as Ant and Dec are now, their shows watched by 20 million viewers who loved to parrot their “Rock on, Tommy” catchphrase.

- BY MARC BAKER

Now those shows are back on ITVX after fans, including a younger generation who discovered them on YouTube, condemned ITV for omitting them from 70th birthday celebrations last month.

Tommy Cannon, 87, is delighted, saying: “ITV have finally listened. The Best of Cannon and Ball is now on ITVX. It means the world to see me and Bobby back where we belong - making people laugh. Rock on, Tommy.”

The news coincides with the publication of Tommy’s autobiography, This Is Me, on Friday, which features a tribute from lifelong fan Robbie Williams.

Tommy admits he is still struggling to cope with Bobby Ball's death, aged 76, in October 2020. Bobby had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and then contracted Covid.

His death meant Tommy lost his best pal, his career and his identity.

Tommy says: “For a while, Bobby took Tommy Cannon with him, my right arm had been chopped off. Alongside the immense grief, having been a double act for 59 years and it being all I knew, my world crashed down around me, my everything was shattered.”

At Bobby's funeral, where mourners were restricted to 30 due to the pandemic, Tommy says: “For the first time, it really hit me, and I thought, ‘Oh no, he's never coming back.’ That was when my heart broke. I burst into tears.”

Tommy had seldom seen evidence of Bobby's COPD. He recalls a show in Blackpool the month Bobby died, saying: “He came on wearing a face mask. He'd never worn one before. Trying to make light of the situation, I said, ‘What are you doing? Robbing a bank? I should have seen the signs.’ Sadly, this was to be their last performance together.