WHEN it comes to family comedy, Joe Pasquale is King. Having risen to fame some 22 years ago on talent TV series, The Face, Joe has gone on to enjoy countless sell-out stand-up tours; five Royal Variety Performances, and even musical and film roles.
Not bad for a boy from Grays with a squeaky voice.
Indeed, in 2004, the father-of-three was officially named a county treasure when he was crowned King of the Jungle on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.
The show propelled Joe into a whole new level of fame and he’s been touring the width and breadth of the country ever since.
Now though he’s coming back to one of his favourite theatres, The Cliffs Pavilion, to showcase his new summer show, and it’s going to be more ludicrous than ever!
“As I’ve got older, I’ve become more stupid,” the 48-year-old laughs. “I seem to have regressed into a second childhood.”
However, it’s all for a good cause Joe assures me - to pull people out of the credit crunch depression.
“We’ve never needed a good laugh more than now,” he confirms. “I can’t promise a solution to the global meltdown, but I can offer two hours of escapism. The show is going to be ridiculous.
“I’m including a personal tribute to Nostradamus, who it turns out is related to me through a second cousin [for the purposes of entertainment], and I’ll be making a few predictions of my own!”
Indeed, Joe’s summer tour has already gone down a storm in theatres across the country, but it’s in Southend that he really wants to have some fun.
“To be honest, I’ve always thought that the material gives way to the people there.
“If you’ve got a good crowd then you’re going to have a good show – and the people in Southend are always a good bunch,” he says.
And having been in the business, and touring the UK for more than 20 years, Joe should know.
“Travelling is always the worst bit,” he confides. “We travel at night now, so that we miss all the traffic, but that means I have a few hours kip and then I have to get up again!
“I always look forward to coming to Southend though because I remember it as a kid. I used to go to places like Southend beach and Clacton for days out, and my mum would always take me to Pitsea market as well,” he laughs.
Indeed, before Joe hit the big-time he had a string of mundane jobs including working at Fords in Dagenham, and as a “particularly bad plasterer”.
Now though he’s enjoying life on the stage and looking forward to another tour in the autumn and a panto stint in Birmingham.
However, the project he’s really excited about starting it Auntie and Me – a dark comedy that is set to come to The Palace Theatre in Westcliff this spring.
“It’s quite a tragic show really. It’s all about me looking after my dying aunt,” Joe tells me.
“But there’s a huge twist at the end. And it’s very, very funny.” Which probably goes without saying.
Joe Pasquale Summer 09 Tour comes to the Cliffs Pavilion on 15 August. Call 01702 351135 for details or tickets.