PHOENIX Nights star Archie Kelly will provide a treat for comedy fans later this month when he comes to Florence Arts Centre.

Kelly, who played serial liar Kenny “Dalglish” Senior in the hit show, is taking part in a comedy night on Saturday, October 10, hosted by local comedian John Lebbon. Fellow comedians Mark Kennedy, who was a Nandos comedian of the year finalist 2014, and Andy Clark, a finalist in the prestigious ‘So You Think You’re Funny?’ competition at the Edinburgh Fringe, will also perform.

Speaking to The Whitehaven News this week, Kelly describes his show as “cheeky, inoffensive humour, it’s quite gentle, I hardly ever swear”.

And it is not the first time he has brought his stand up to the area.

He said: “I’ve performed quite a few times in Barrow and funnily enough when I was in Cumbria doing a health and safety acting job for the nuclear industry I ended up doing a show at Moor Row.

“A lot of the people I had been working with were in the audience.”

Initially a singer, Kelly has often combined songs with his comedy, including dressing as Britney Spears in Phoenix Nights .

He said: “I was a singer longer than I have been a comedian.

“I’ve always done some comedy though even when I was a singer, but it was about 1999 when I was doing my character – Jackie ‘Mr Goodtime’ Valencio – that the comedy took off.”

Recently Kelly was reunited with the Phoenix Nights team, led by Peter Kay, as they turned the sitcom into a live stage show.

His character Kenny Senior was famous for his tall tales, which included apparently playing swingball with Robert De Niro in Pwllheli and appearing on the centre court at Wimbledon despite being unseeded.

He said: “It was fantastic, it was something like 11 or 12 years since we had been together but it felt like yesterday. It was all for charity and we probably could have done a full month but I wouldn’t say I was overwhelmed.”

The show’s popularity was already apparent to Kelly and he would relish the chance to do it again.

Kelly said: “It’s not up to me but if the opportunity was there I think we all would.”

He added: “It was good fun, there were 14 stand up comedians working on that show. The first series came and went but it was the second series that took legs due to word of mouth.”

His Egremont gig will start at 7.30pm and tickets cost £8 online or £10 on the door.