Sculptor Ben relishing opportunity to create statue tribute to Bobby Ball

“It’s a real honour,” said Ben Twiston-Davies, a 49-year-old from Hertfordshire who has fond memories of watching Bobby and his long-time comedy partner Tommy Cannon on TV in Cannon and Ball’s heyday.

“I’ve been described as the artist commissioned to produce the statue but it was Bobby who was the artist and it is up to me to relay that in the statue.

“The thing about Bobby was that he wasn’t just a deliverer of funny lines - he was a funny man through and through, a genuinely comedic figure who could instantly bring smiles to faces. If that isn’t crying out for a statue, I don’t know what is.”

Fund-raising for the statue, to be placed in Lowther Gardens, Lytham, and with a target of £100,000, is still ongoing but a spokesman for Fylde Council, which is jointly co-ordinating the statue appeal with the Lowther Trust, said there is a clause in place which allows work to start immediately on the initial stage production of a small replica statue which will act as the quality benchmark for the full statue production.

The stage one figure will be reviewed and approved by the Ball family and other stakeholders before the project moves to stage two.

Bobby’s family have given a very specific brief of how the statue should look – life size, based on Bobby’s 40th birthday appearance with a ‘twinkle in his eye’, one leg slightly forward and slightly pulling on his right brace with his right thumb – and Ben very much welcomes the detail.

“I much prefer it that way - far better than a vague idea or no specifics, as has been the case with some previous commissions,” said the sculptor.

“The braces are of course a vital ingredient – and I have some ideas for those.”

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