Funnyman Dave gave up 30 years as Chief Biomedical Scientist in Haematology at the Royal Bolton Hospital to take up comedy professionally, and has gone on to be a panelist on Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats, present a new series of Bullseye, and star alongside fellow North West comedian Peter Kay in Phoenix Nights.

Here Dave chats to News Guardian Entertainment reporter Tegan Chapman about his new tour, his love hate relationship with TV, and the cast of Phoenix Nights being kidnapped dressed as nativity characters...

"My Dad always used to drum into us kids 'laughter is the best medicine' which is why when I was six I nearly died from diphtheria," he said.

"'Dad, can I have some antibiotics?'

"'Knock knock,'

"'Dad just give me some penicillin, I want some drugs, give me some drugs.'

"But if I didn't laugh then Mum would spit on a hanky or kiss it better - 'Come here, I'll kiss it better,' 'It's broken Mum, take me to the hospital -it shouldn't be facing that way' - a lot of that went on in my childhood, that's why the tour is called The Best Medicine."

Dave may have left the NHS behind for comedy, but is looking forward to going back to doing stand-up after several years on the small screen.

"I do love doing TV, but it's a discipline sort of thing.

"For stand-up I just think what makes me laugh, but when you're writing sitcoms and scripts it's a different discipline altogether because you create a character and then you have to write as that character.

"I've got a bit of a love-hate relationship with TV really, because I do love it, but when we were filming 8 Out of 10 Cats it occupied my life.

"Every week I'd be looking at news headlines and I knew I'd have to make comedy out of the news and I'm not the sort of person who's really that quick witted, so I'd really have to be second guessing all the stories that were going to be happening about President Bush or Wayne Rooney getting caught up to no good.

"It took over my life for a while - I lost all of my summer just sitting in my room trying to write funnies for 8 Out Of 10 Cats.

"I think in the end I just wanted something fresh to do.

"It would be easy just to sit on panel shows forever, but I wanted a new challenge and I wanted to go on tour again."

Dave claims the new tour is his contribution to improving the health of the nation - as laughter burns off 200 calories an hour.

"Everyone can come along and have a laugh - it's not all about the NHS, there will be tales of stunned guinea pigs, sexual awakenings, cannibals and laxative chocolate, and other things far too rude to mention."

While touring, Dave will also be busy working on two scripts - but sadly no third series of Phoenix Nights.

"I was sad when the show ended, but I'd love to do a Christmas special and see Brian Potter in a wheelchair as Father Christmas," he said.

"I had this idea that they would be trying to do a nativity play and they would get kidnapped by Den Perry from the Banana Grove and he puts them in an old disused air field and it would be like The Great Escape with Brian Potter trying to jump the barbed wire in his wheelchair.

"I think it would be great."

Watch this space...

Dave Spikey - The Best Medicine tour will be calling at the Sunderland Empire on Sunday, February 24, and the Journal Tyne Theatre in Newcastle on Thursday, March 13.

Visit www.davespikey.co.uk for more information.