WHEN last year’s comedy festival winner took to the stage at King George’s Hall there was an air of expectation in the audience — and Jason Manford didn’t let us down.

Two-and-a-half hours in and he was still going strong.

Likening himself to an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet Manford admitted: “You might not like all of it, but you’ll definitely feel like you’ve got your money’s worth.”

He did himself a disservice – there were no crispy seaweed in this set.

If I was being picky I’d say Manford seemed a bit uncomfortable during the first half of the show. Perhaps he was slightly bored of the material he’s been touring since September.

But in the second half he stepped up a gear, and an impromptu question-and-answer session after the encore left people with tears in their eyes.

I loved his stuff about being a new dad, his narcoleptic father, and passing his driving test.

A hugely likeable comedian.