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Have you heard the one about Bernard Manning and Madonna?

28/12/2001

IT GOES something like: "The King of Comedy had the Queen of Pop rolling about in her seat..."

An encounter between the two heavyweights of showbiz may seem an unlikely alliance but it occurred last week at a celebrity birthday party.

Some time ago Bernard, of Mainway, Alkrington, received a call out of the blue from the relatives of his good friend and fan Marco Pierre White.

They were planning a surprise 40th bash for the firebrand chef at his exclusive Mirabelle restaurant in the centre of London and wanted the Alkrington funnyman to provide the entertainment.

A cloak and dagger operation followed to make sure Marco, with his trained nose, didn't get a whiff of what was going and this was proved a success by the look of shock on his face when he opened the door to Bernard.

As Middleton's favourite comic made his way onto the stage he was taken aback to see one of the world's biggest stars sitting in the invited audience of 40 with her film director husband Guy Ritchie. Michael Winner, producer of the Death Wish movies was also among the assembled guests.

Bernard said: "From what I saw, Madonna was having a good time and laugh along with the rest of the guests.

"To be chosen to perform at the party is one of the highlights of my career. People may have a go and slag you off but things like this show you are appreciated."