HE looks hard as nails and tells jokes about French symbolist poetry - Morecambe born Greg Cook could be the next big thing.

In a matter of months, Greg's gone from being a taxi driver to law student to one of the hottest prospects on the national comedy circuit.

And he's back on home turf for a benefit gig on Valentines night.

The meteoric rise has seen him come from nowhere to runner up at the acclaimed North West Comedian of the Year and the phone has been red hot with bookings ever since.

It's a world away from writing dissertations on legal precedent or ferrying partygoers around town.

"I've got a short attention span," he explains," and while I was sat there bored, staring at the computer screen, I decided to write a few jokes to amuse myself.

"I saw an advert for an open mike comedy competition and five days later I was playing to an audience in the West End. I brought the house down and won the heat.

"Since then I've not looked back and I've taken a year out from my law degree to see how it goes."

Looking like a striking miner on a picket line, and with the attitude to match, Greg's considered to be one of a new wave of political comedians who are not afraid to pull punches.

"It's been very unfashionable to do political stuff for a few years now," he explains, "everyone gave the new Government a chance but now the gloves are off. Audiences are appreciative and, if it gets a laugh, it goes into the routine."

Unlike most comedians who perform a perfectly scripted act, Greg flicks through the tabloids for gags and surreal story lines. In one routine the gruff northerner is involved in a clandestine relationship with Margaret Thatcher.

"I'm not gratuitously offensive but I reserve the right to say what I think. I have about three hours of material in my head, which I pick and choose from on the night. You have to read an audience, weigh them up, what age are they, how are they dressed? It helps you direct your material and so far, fingers crossed, I've not died on stage. I've not even had any decent hecklers!"

He reflects and grins. "The fact that I'm a well built lad with tattoos might have something to do with it."

Greg Cook is compere at the 'Hearts on Fire' Valentines Ball at Ashton Hall on February 14.