COMEDIAN Dave Spikey is bringing his Best Medicine – Repeat Prescription tour back to Lancashire. He told us about his love of the Red Rose County, where he gets his material, and his friendship with Peter Kay.

You’ve written a book: “I gave him my kidney then he broke my heart” which is a compilation of all the local newspaper stories you discovered on tour. Do you get a lot of your material from local newspapers?

Yes I always try to do material based on stories from the local papers during the first 10 minutes on stage and then I do a collection of my favourites from around the country. I get loads of ideas from real life which is highlighted in the newspapers and on television as well as eavesdropping on conversations. I’ve got some sort of selective radar that locks on to strange and unusual conversations. Even in busy noisy places I pick up the one weird exchange.

Tell us some of your favourite headlines

I’ve got a story about a craft fair and a photo of some old people working there with the headline “Pensioners make lovely rugs”.

I mean, you know what they mean but just imagine someone coming round to your house and going “That’s a nice rug” and you saying “That’s my grandad”.

The Oxford Mail had “Brothel closure brings relief” and when a llama got loose in Preston (A llama! That’s global warming for you!) and got into a school playground and created havoc the Lancashire Evening Post came up with “Llama drama ding dong” and the title of the book “I gave him my kidney then he broke my heart” concerns a story about a wife who donated her kidney to her sick husband and when he got better he ran away with her best friend.

Which is odd because it’s usually the organ they reject...not the donor.

You recently took part in the “Round the Island Yacht Race” on the Isle of Wight. How did that come about?

I learnt to sail on a flotilla holiday in Greece years ago and we’ve been going back with the family every year for the past five years.

I was asked to crew a yacht for Prostate UK and I wanted to raise the profile of the charity because men are hopeless at going to the doctors aren’t they?

I read recently that experts reckon that it’s because they’re too macho but it’s not, it’s because we’re too lazy.

We’ve got a lazy gene. It’s like when you drop a towel on the bathroom floor you can’t pick it up. Just impossible. Lazy gene.

And it’s so important to go to the docs if you’ve got symptoms or for a well man screen if you’re of a certain age because the only way of beating cancer in most cases is to catch it early.

Once it’s got hold of you it’s the most horrible, most cruel, heartbreaking disease, which you’ll know if you’ve cared for a loved one suffering with cancer.

No matter how courageous or strong or positive you are, it will kill you. So get yourself checked out fellas.

You’ve also recorded a DVD for Christmas – how did that go?

It was brilliant. You often wonder if you’ve picked the right night, right venue, right audience but I filmed it at Mansfield Palace Theatre and it could not have gone any better and I ended up doing about two-and-a-half hours on the night which we’ve had to cut down to 100 minutes.

Are you looking forward to bringing your show home? Do you always get a good reception in Lancashire?

I can’t wait. Plus I must mention that I’m doing a special charity performance at Chorley Little Theatre on Sunday, August 30, with all proceeds going to Hannah’s Fund.

Hannah is a beautiful little girl from Chorley who has a very rare genetic disease and needs special equipment.

I always get a great reaction. I’m Lancashire born and bred and love the place to death.

I’ve been strongly advised over the years to move down to London where I’d get more high profile work but why would I want to do that?

I love where I live, it’s a lovely village, I’ve got good friends and family close by.

Do you have any plans to make a return to TV?

I get offered quite a lot of stuff varying from presenting to panel shows, to sitcoms, to well-known soaps but I decided I wanted to get my stand-up tour show right and I believe that you can’t get it 100 per cent if you are distracted with other projects.

I’ve been very busy writing and have a sitcom and comedy/drama with production companies at the moment plus a couple of other interesting offers in theatre so I’ll get stuck into them after the tour finishes.

Are you still mates with Peter Kay? Do you think you two will work together in the future?

I’ve not seen Peter for a couple of years maybe but that’s only because our paths don’t cross; I’m sure if I bumped into him tomorrow we’d have a good laugh.

I’d love to work with him again if the right project came along.

See Dave Spikey at Blackpool North Pier on Friday, August 28 (0844 8561111); at Chorley Little Theatre on Sunday, August 30 (01257 264362); at Lancaster Grand Theatre on Saturday, September 5 (01524 64695); and at Colne Muni on Thursday, November 12 (01282 661234)