I WAS interested to read that Lenny Henry had been given Knighthood it reminded me of the time I met Lenny.

In the mid-70s I was on a young comedian of the year competition in a well known London night club, (I was young then). One of the other competitors was Lenny Henry. Lenny was about 14 or 15 at the time and his immense talent blew the rest of us away but there was an incident which if it was not for Lenny might have lead to an unpleasant end to the evening.

Lenny had been on and was sitting in the audience when a contestant from the Midlands came on and started his act which even in those non-PC days was exceptionally racist. The audience, being London was very mixed racially and I was feeling very uncomfortable as were most of the other members of the audience. I thought there could be trouble as this unfunny chap continued to aim most of his jokes at the black community. Some members of the audience were getting visible angry. Lenny seeing the situation deteriorate jumped back on stage and using this guy as a stand in stooge completely changed the atmosphere until every one was laughing again.

From that night I have watched Lenny’s amazing career take in all facets of the entertainment genre, theatre, comedy, music, Shakespeare, he has mastered it all and has raised many millions for charity.

His recent knighthood was well deserved. I think Lenny taught everyone who saw him that night a lesson that humour can defuse the most difficult situations and I am glad he has been recognised for his immense talent and great humanitarian work.

PADDY MAXWELL Southampton