Fat comic character listening to deceitful servants (8)

I believe the answer is:

falstaff

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'fat comic character' is the definition.
'Falstaff' can be an answer for 'character' (Falstaff is an example). I'm unsure of the 'fat comic' bit.

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for falstaff that I've seen before include "The Bard's fat knight" , "The Bard's fat character" , "Shakespeare's fat 20 ac" , "Shakespeare's fat alcoholic knight" , "Large Shakespearean character" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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