Jason Manford brings his new tour to Scarborough and Bridlington - here's what to expect

Can he make out those responses, from under the bright spotlights? “Yeah, I see that and I feed off it” he said.

“That’s how I develop stuff, how I end up finding material that on paper might not not feel like much, but suddenly you see the audience respond in a certain way and you think, ‘Oh, hang on, I’ve got something here’.

“After funny, relatable is the next most important thing for me,” said Manford, who is celebrating 25 years in comedy, and on tour with his new show, A Manford All Seasons.

“I love it when people say, ‘It was like listening to one of my mates down the pub,’ or ‘It’s like you had a camera in our house.’ I love that because it means I’ve put the work in and got it right.”

Coming up with funny stories from real life seems like a natural progression, given how he started in the business.

As a 17-year-old, he was working at Manchester’s now-closed Buzz Club, collecting and washing glasses, when one of the comedy acts couldn’t make it. The boss, noticing that Jason had the kind of wit and likeability that would work well on stage, asked him to come on as a substitute. He did as he was asked and, despite being completely unprepared, ended up playing a blinder with his observations about real life.

He soon got a taste for it. It, of course, helped that Peter Kay – some might say the king of putting into words experiences most of us are familiar with – became a mentor to him, encouraging him to spend the equivalent of a full-week’s working hours on comedy to perfect his craft.

Manford talks about it – and other illuminating stories from his childhood – in his memoir Brung Up Proper, which covers everything from the foibles and history of his family to the reason he took a break from comedy.

In 1999, having done six gigs before, Manford won the City Life North West Comedian of the Year Award, and the following year was named Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year.

Six years into his career, he was shortlisted for the Edinburgh Comedy Award (then called the Perrier) for his show, Urban Legends, and has won bundles of other accolades since then, including for his Sunday Absolute Radio show.

His latest tour, A Manford All Seasons, is packed full of the winning comedy he’s become known for, much of it reflecting the fact that he now has six children, three of them teenagers.

“I want audiences to forget about the stresses of the day and to leave feeling positive,” he said.

“A lot of the show is about where I am in my life, with things changing very quickly. My little darling children are turning into young women, so I talk about dealing with that, with stories of my life and my own childhood. Comparing my childhood to my children’s is a rich source of comedy, but it’s all upbeat.”

Jason blends humour with heart, cementing his status as an all-rounder entertainer. His ability to approach it gently from all angles means he regularly sees people bringing their own teenagers to the show, and he often gets three generations of the same family in.

“I love that,” he said. “I’m like a gateway comedian to the harder stuff. I really like that, and I find myself very comfortable in that space of someone you feel you can sort of bring anyone to the show.”

He’s got one of the most diverse CVs in British entertainment – starring in countless TV panel shows, including hosting th New Year special of Have I Got Sport For You, a spin-off of the long-running satirical show Have I Got News for You, which he also hosted in last year.

He’s led hit quiz shows like Unbeatable, ITV1’s What Would Your Kid Do?, and BBC One’s The Answer Run, which opened with 1.1 million viewers – the channel’s biggest Daytime quiz launch in a decade.

Jason was a judge on ITV’s Starstruck, showcased his acting as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium, and lead the cast in Manchester’s Opera House pantos.

His TV acting roles have included BBC One’s Ordinary Lies and the headteacher in the latest series of Waterloo Road.

Then there’s the singing. Not only did he make jaws drop as the hedgehog in the first series of ITV’s The Masked Singer but he’s been Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Wizard of Oz, Sweeney Todd and The Producers.

Jason Manford – A Manford for All Season is at Bridlington Spa on Wednesday January 29.

He is at Scarborough Spa on Wednesday May 7.