Ferry has an easy, conversational style that stands him in good stead as a compere, even if he tends towards the chatty dialogues rather that the killer punchlines.

But when it comes to material, he definitely steps up a gear. Spitting with mock-indignant rage, he rails against life's trivial inconveniences, although his real strength lies in stories from the home front, recounting how he shamelessly engages in petty one-upmanship with his ten-year-old son or reminiscing about pranks from his own childhood.

There's a something of cruel streak behind his cuddly exterior, too, with barbed comments about minor celebrities of the calibre of Terry Nutkins, Tim Henman and Jeremy Beadle peppering the set.

Such targets are modest, as borne out by his signature routine about the pointlessness of Take A Break magazine, but he makes them work, performing with a style and conviction that convinces the audience that they share his concerns, memories and obsessions. Plus he gives their collective funny bone a good kick every now and again for good measure.