Billy to tour New Zealand for TV

Billy Connolly is to make his next World Tour Of series in New Zealand.

The shows, which combine travelogue with extracts from his stand-up routines, have previously covered Australia, Scotland, and England and Wales.

Connolly, 61 next week, will embark on a 14-venue live tour of New Zealand in February to provide the performance footage.

And he will be playing some secret, intimate gigs along the way, too.

A spokesman for Connolly's New Zealand agent Pacific Entertainment said: "There will be little pub shows as an interesting diversion.

"It's a very big event. Even bigger than Australia.

"It will cover dozens of locations from Stewart Island to North Cape, over thousands of kilometres, and will take eight weeks to complete.

"We're hoping to get 10 to 13 episodes from the filming.

Published: 19 Nov 2003