A comedy centre honouring Ken Dodd could be coming to Liverpool.

Architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris have submitted plans for a £15 million, four-storey building designed to house the late comic's archive of material and an exhibition celebrating his work.

If approved, The Sir Ken Dodd Happiness Centre would be connected to the city's Royal Court Theatre, providing new dressing rooms and offices for the theatre, as well as spaces for live performances, talks and comedy workshops.

Images shared by AHMM also show a likeness of Dodd etched on the top floor of the building, with one of his jokes displayed on a large screen on its façade and an external sculpture shaped like his famous tickling stick.

Subject to planning approval, building work could begin in 2025 with the doors opening in 2026. Winner of the Stirling Prize in 2015, AHMM has had a long relationship with the Royal Court and in 2016 its £2.9 million project of the 1930s Art Deco theatre was named the AJ Retrofit of the Year.

Royal Court chief executive Gillian Miller said: "Liverpool is renowned all around the world for the wit and humour of its people. It is about time that the city had a building dedicated to celebrating that fact.

"Sir Ken was Liverpool's best-loved entertainer and one of the UK's greatest-ever comedians. He was a chart-topping singer, talented actor and accomplished ventriloquist, but his true passion was his natural gift for making us all laugh."

Dodd's widow, Anne, added: "I couldn't be happier to support the building of a Sir Ken Dodd Happiness Centre. It was his lifelong dream to build a place where comedy is taken seriously, and he would be delighted to know that he was part of a building in the centre of Liverpool that leaves every visitor with a smile on their face."

The comic, who died in 2018, aged 90, is currently being celebrated with the Happiness! exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool until 3rd March, featuring memorabilia from his career.