Les Dawson: a comedian who, more than any other, spoke for the phlegmatic, resigned, sarcastic, glorious British way of life. This is his story.

A northern lad who climbed out of the slums thanks to an uncommonly brilliant mind, Les Dawson was always the underdog, but his bark was funnier and more incisive than many comics who claimed to bite.

Married twice in real life, he had a third wife in his comic world - a fictional ogre built from spare parts left by fleeing Nazis at the end of World War II - and an equally frightening mother-in-law. He was down to earth, yet given to eloquent, absurd flights of fancy. He was endlessly generous with his time, but slow to buy a round of drinks. He was a mass of contradictions. In short, he was human, he was genuine, and that's why audiences loved him.

First published: Wednesday 1st February 2012