FOR over 40 years Roy Chubby Brown has been the comedy world's own version of Marmite.

To his fans, a night out with Chubby is one of the funniest things you're likely to see. To the unconverted he's rude, shockingly politically incorrect and to many downright offensive.

But as the man himself says on every poster for his show - "if easily offended, stay away".

Tomorrow Roy will be back in Blackburn as part of a seemingly endless tour, Don't Get Fit, Get Fat.

"I always enjoy coming to Blackburn," he said, "it's a working class area and that's basically my audience.

"I don't do comedy for barristers or doctors, they're the Monty Python crowd. My audience is road sweepers, van drivers and housewives who just want to enjoy a good night out."

Roy has been entertaining audiences around the country for 46 years.

"I suppose I started with 'blue' routines in the early Seventies," he said. "At that time no-one else was doing anything like it. I remember working with Bernard Manning and he was amazed at the act.

"For any comedy to work you can't be false and I see comedians now who swear a lot and have supposedly 'risky' material, but they are far too sickly to me, they're not convincing and not very funny.

"When I do my act I'm basically the character Roy Chubby Brown and I can get away with murder. But what a lot of people don't get is that it is a character, it's not me.

"I was in Marks and Spencer the other day and a woman saw me in the aisle and came over and started swearing at me like the audience does at a show. But I had to tell her stop swearing as there were families around us and that I didn't want her doing it. I was off stage and not the character she thought I was.

"I wouldn't let my mother see my act, I've got great respect for my parents and it just wouldn't be right for them."

Those not familiar with a typical audience might be surprised that a large percentage is made up of women.

"From the moment I started putting the warning on the poster about being offended, more and more women started to come along," said Roy. "Often they can certainly be the most raucous.

"Although I've been doing them for so long I still have the foundations for a show in my head when I go out on stage. I've got hours of material but I also like to put things in to keep it topical. I always working at the act, keeping on top of the news.

"Some of the stuff is just daft but it makes people laugh. Other stuff some people may not like or be offended by, but comedy has always been challenging.

"As long as I'm talking about things the audience can relate to, they'll find it funny."

Roy Chubby Brown, King George's Hall, Blackburn, Friday, June 12. Details from the box office on 0844 847 1664.