IT'S somewhat disconcerting to think that you could be the person who nearly got Jimmy Osmond arrested.

Transatlantic interviews can often have the odd hiccup along the way but the sound of police sirens whooping in the background and and hurried "I'm going to have to go" on the mobile are definitely not the norm.

A minute later Jimmy Osmond, for it is he, is back on the line apologising for cutting off our conversation in mid flow.

"I've just been warned by a policeman for using my cell in the car," he said. "I promised him I wouldn't do it again and he let me off. I've pulled over now so we're OK to speak."

Jimmy's brush with the law appears to have done little to shake his endearing cheeriness as we talk about the pre-Christmas trip he is making to the UK when he is bringing an American institution to theatre audiences around the country.

Tonight it is Burnley Mechanics turns to host the Andy Williams Christmas Show, the only date in the North West, and one which sold out within days of going on sale.

For the show, Jimmy will be joined by brothers Jay and Merrill plus the Moon River Singers and Dancers.

The Osmonds have a lifelong connection with Andy Williams. The brothers were regulars on the singer's weekly TV series in America in the Sixties and Jimmy himself made his TV debut on the show aged just three.

Rather like Morecambe and Wise for British TV audiences, the Andy Williams Christmas Show became an essential part of the festive season in America - and it is this tradition which Jimmy is bringing to the UK this Christmas for the first time.

"To be honest I wasn't sure how the show would be received," he said, "but the take-up has been amazing. But then I shouldn't have been surprised as I know people in the UK love Christmas.

"I have done pantomime in England for a number of years which I just love. It's not something that audiences in America really get. I once did a panto in Nevada and we had to tell the audience the rules of how it all worked.

"But the Andy Williams Christmas Show is a proper variety show filled with seasonal songs. We will also have some archive footage of Andy Williams Christmas TV shows.

"It is part of our heritage and it is something I'm immensely proud to be involved with."

Jimmy, Jay and Merrill will also be performing some of the Osmonds worldwide hits including Crazy Horses and Love Me For A Reason.

The sell-out tour will end in time for Jimmy to head back to the States to spend the day itself with his family - wife Michele and their four children.

"I'm usually performing panto in the UK so this will be my first Christmas with my family for years," he said.

In spite of their global success - the Osmonds have sold over 100 million records worldwide in a career spanning over 40 years - you can sense immediately that the connection to Andy Williams is something very special. The Osmonds continued to appear alongside Andy at his own theatre in Branson, Missouri, right up to his death aged 84 three years ago.

Jimmy now owns and runs the theatre.

"We play to sold out houses every time," he said. "The theatre houses around 500 shows a year - on average there are 12 shows a week with fans coming from all over the world. The theatre is very much Andy's legacy and we are determined to honour him with every show.

"He played an important role in our success and he will always be part of our history."

Jimmy, now 52, will for many British fans be 'Little' Jimmy Osmond who topped the charts with Long Haired Lover From Liverpool when he was just nine.

To a more modern generation he will be the I'm A Celebrity contestant - he came fourth in the celebrity jungle trial in 2005 when the series was won by Carol Thatcher.

"Fans in the UK have always been so supportive," he said. "That's why I'm so pleased to be bringing the Andy Williams show to them for the first time."