STEWART Francis packs in as many one-liners as possible during his show, but there are of course times when he repeats some of his jokes- the record being five times in one night. He talks to Rebecca Cain about the pleasure of having his own tour.

I spoke to Stewart just before he was returning to his home country of Canada where he said he goes for a about a week once a year.

The Canadian has been embraced by Britain on the comedy circuit and has been based in Scotland for the last five years.

He started his country-wide tour yesterday in Peterborough.

Stewart said: "I love the fact I am doing my own tour. I can just hit the ground running. My fans know what they can expect.

"It is the pinnacle of one's career when you can do that- put some bums on seats and preach to the converted as it were."

The comedian was the support act on Ricky Gervais' Science tour and it was down to TV appearances on shows such as Mock The Week and 8 Out of 10 Cats which really raised his profile.

He said TV shows are challenging and added: "What you see is the edited version. It is a half hour show but there is a two and a half hour filming that can be quite tedious.

"It is two and a half hours of you being on edge- of getting your words in."

But he said if it wasn't for the panel shows he wouldn't be able to go on tour.

And how does he come up with his jokes?

He said: "I just do a lot of talking to myself- having conversations with myself. You have one liners you might hear which you think you can do something with. I am always pretending I am on stage."

He talked about jokes about his wife and kids, but when I asked how many children he had he said he doesn't have any. He said a lot of it is made up so it isn't too close to the grain. And how does he remember all those one-liners? He said: "The brain can only process so many jokes. I try to memorise it like a script. If you forget one of two you can throw them in later."

He once repeated his deja vu joke which worked well but added: "My record was five in one night."

Stewart Francis is at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre on April 17 at 7.30pm. Tickets are £17.50 from www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury or call 08448717607. He is at the Wycombe Swan on May 2 at 7.30pm. Tickets range from £18.50 to £22.50. Call 01494512000 or go to www.wycombeswan.co.uk.