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WILL the real John Bishop please stand up? Britain's hottest comedian man has been playing it straight.
Well, as straight as he can with that cheeky, toothy, lop-sided grin.
If he's not helping raise a fortune – £3.4 million – for Sport Relief, he's popping up in the acclaimed drama series, Accused, on BBC1.
Now it's back to the day job. His two Plymouth Pavilions gigs on Tuesday and Wednesday lead him straight into a big city tour.
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The fact that most of the large-stadium, multi-night Rollercoaster Tour is sold out, despite so much telly exposure, is testimony to his growing reputation as Britain's funniest man.
Bishop's USP is himself: he's not like most of the current comedians. So many either came through from middle class backgrounds or trained as actors or both.
The 45-year-old Scouser did neither of the above. The accent is as strong as you'll have heard from a comedian since Stan Boardman used to rip into the Geeeeermans.
And although he has shown he can act – in Jimmy McGovern's Accused, in teen drama Skins and Ken Loach's film, Route Irish – he had a proper job before he hit the comedy stage.
Bishop gave up a well-paid career as a pharmaceutical rep to have a crack at comedy, after a successful go at an open mic night led to some gigs.
His wife, Melanie, backed him, but his three sons had their doubts. "They said, 'but you're not funny'," he recalls.
Bishop later had doubts of his own and came close to quitting but Melanie urged him to keep going.
Within a year of that crisis he got a breakthrough guest slot on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow.
Telly panel show appearances were next and inside two years he had his own series, John Bishop's Britain.
Much of the appeal is to do with his simple style and quiet, still confidence. He doesn't come off stage bathed in sweat.
That's mainly because he doesn't charge around in front of the audience. He's certainly got the energy and the stamina if required.
The Sport Aid stint involved a 185-mile cycle from Paris to Calais, rowing across the Channel and then the equivalent of running more than a marathon a day to cover the 90 miles to London.
He's delighted to be back on the road: "It's not every day you get the opportunity to do an arena tour
"I'm trying out new material," he says of the warm-up gigs, including the Plymouth shows.
"Fingers crossed it's funny!"
There are very few tickets available from the Plymouth Pavilions box office on 0845 146 1460.
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