VETERAN comedian Bobby Knoxall was stuck for a one-liner when he collected his MBE from the Queen at Buckinham Palace.

The comic, 71, was honoured for services to entertainment and to charity.

He said: "I was presented the award by the Queen and she talked to me. She said it must be a great thing having made people laugh for more than 50 years.

"I was gobsmacked. All I said was 'yes, ma'am'."

Bobby, real name Robert McKenna, added: "She asked me if I worked in London and I told her I had in the past. She was just so nice. She's a real diamond."

Bobby, of Farringdon, Sunderland, nearly died about three years ago when he developed a massive blood clot in his stomach.

Surgeons at Sunderland Royal Hospital successfully operated and Bobby took to the stage again, to help raise £20,000 for Grace House Appeal, a planned children's hospice in Sunderland.

Bobby started his comedy career when a barrow boy in Sunderland's East End.

During his time in showbusiness he estimates he has raised more than £1m for charity.