Can you really laugh women into bed?

Stand-up Marc Blake is to teach men how to laugh women into bed.

The workshop is based on the age-old theory that women always cite 'good sense of humour' as more important than looks when seeking a partner.

As agony aunt Virignia Ironside once said: "I've been laughed into bed by more hideous men than I care to think about - and when in the morning, I've looked at their horrible little heads on the pillow and wondered what on earth I'd been thinking, they've only got to crack another joke and I've suddenly remembered.

Blake, who has been lecturing on comedy at London's City University for more than a decade, believes this can be taught ­ and lovesick men obviously agree, as the session is already oversubscribed.

He said: "There is only one skill that really counts: being funny.

"Not second-hand chat-up lines or Alan Partridge impressions but genuine, seductive wit - the kind that's not only going to get you through the front door but up the stairs and into the bedroom."

The workshop, to be held in London tomorrow (Wednesday) will offer tips in approaching strangers in everyday situations anf how to make the first move.

Blake added:" This course will give you the confidence to realise that the opposite sex are just as vulnerable, confused and desperate as all of us - except for the really pretty ones."

Matt Tombs, of sponsors UKTV G2 says, "There are more single men in the UK than at any other time in history - three times that of 30 years ago - yet how many of these men have the skills to find true love?"

Published: 16 Mar 2004