COMEDIAN John Bishop has launched a new ‘Say Hello’ campaign in advance of his visit to Blackburn.

The Liverpool star is bringing his ‘Right Here Right Now’ show to King George’s Hall in the town on Thursday November 25 at 8pm.

The father of three want his Blackburn audience to take part in his campaign to get people talking to each other again.

The 54-year-old funnyman said: “I’m very much looking forward to being back on stage and coming to Blackburn soon, but I wanted to reach out about an initiative that I have been working on for the past few months.

“Throughout the tour, I hope to shine a spotlight on a new initiative called ‘Say Hello’.

“This has been set up to remind us of all of a time when people spoke to each other on the street, on a train, sitting at a bus stop or waiting in the supermarket checkout line.

“When eye contact and a smile was an opening, not a reason to look down or away.

“And with your support I would like to encourage people coming to the shows to be part of this ­— so how about we all give it a go and ‘Say Hello’?

“During lockdown, I was struck by the large numbers of people who were watching online comedy gigs on their own, and as life begins to open up once more, I wish to encourage and support people to go to live gigs on their own too.

“So, by using the tour to support ‘Say Hello’, I hope audiences will join in and chat to each other before the show and during the interval.

“The plan is that at each show audiences will all be offered a ‘Say Hello’ badge when they arrive at the venue to wear.

“When they see someone else wearing one too, I hope they’ll put down their phones and give them a nod, a smile and maybe even have a chat.

“Those few words could be part of a communication revolution, even if it is just a few minutes at a time.

“Let’s all ‘Say Hello’.”

People can follow the campaign on social media with the hashtag #SayHello and by visiting the say-hello website ­— say-hello.co.uk.

A few tickets for the show on Thursday November 25 are still available.

Visit bwdvenues.com for more information.