NEW BBC comedy series, Ideal, hit the airwaves this week starring Johnny Vegas as a small-time hash dealer called Moz. The character and the series were the brainchild of Blackburn-born scriptwriter Graham Duff, who has also written for Steve Coogan and various successful radio series. CAROLINE INNES spoke to the comic about writing and performing and how his roots in East Lancashire and Northern humour still provide endless inspiration for his work. . .

GRAHAM Duff gets his writing inspiration from everywhere and anywhere. Just the other week he visited a self-storage centre and enjoyed the trip so much he decided he must write a series set in one.

He said: "It was really weird because I was really not looking forward to going but once I got there I thought wow -- this is fantastic! I am always getting ideas from people when I am out and about so carry a notepad with me all the time. I know I must annoy the hell out of my friends when they say something funny and I grab my pad and ask them if its all right to copy it down."

The 40-year-old admits that even as a child he was always scribbling ideas down on to pages of his school books at Norden High School, Rishton, but claims that now, with more than 20 years' experience under his belt, writing has become "much easier."

"I started off on the comedy circuit doing stand-up and comparing but always thought about writing a novel. After a few false starts I found script writing was more suited to me -- and it also gives me the opportunity to write in a part for myself too! I do insist that I get fully involved but that can be risky because if people think it is rubbish then it is all down to me, I'm afraid."

In Ideal, Graham, plays Brian -- the very camp friend of Johnny Vegas's character Moz. He described Brian as a "total bitch," who turns up at Moz's flat each episode with a different boyfriend in tow.

He said: "It is really nice to play a really bitchy character and I think if you ask most actors what characters they enjoy playing most it is always the nasty ones. What does worry me is that I play the baddy well but then I think most people find it easier to be nasty -- its part of the human condition."

And watching people and situations unfold are the things that truly inspire Graham, who is always on the look out for new material and ideas from the most common of scenarios.

"Sometimes it is hard to switch off because you find yourself always thinking whether this would be a good setting for a new series. You are constantly watching things and that doesn't go away so it can be quite frustrating.

"And like a lot of people who write and perform I can't seem to let go of the things I was brought up with. My work now is just an extension of what I was like as a kid. I would fill up whole books with stories and I used to write gory horrors to scare the teachers."

And Ideal does include some very dark humour, depicting a world of sex, drugs and life on the dole, which is far removed from Graham's life in Brighton with his wife and two children, aged 15 and three. The family loves their life by the sea and Brighton has plenty of culture to keep Graham's stimulated.

He added: "At 40 I have still got all these passions and interests, and as you age I think it is important not to lose your cultural influences. I just think that there is nothing more exciting and rewarding than seeing good work and Brighton is good for that as it has so many cinemas and theatres.

"But then when we filmed Ideal in Manchester I thought that I could really see myself living up North again. I still go to Blackburn regularly as my parents and a lot of my friends still live up there. And after being born and raised in Brownhill and Great Harwood it is nice to get back to your roots.

"I think Ideal is quite Northern in humour and you are always influenced by where you grow up. If I had chosen to set Ideal in the Midlands for example I don't think it would have worked or it would have certainly been much harder.

"There is a certain sort of Northern humour that I really like, and that works really well but as an artist you should always be trying to push yourself and try new things.

"We shot Ideal in the summer and I have written a few other things since then so it will be interesting to see how it is received. One of the characters is influenced by a bloke I used to see in Accrington so I hope the people of East Lancashire enjoy watching it."

Ideal can be seen on BBC3, every Tuesday at 10.30pm until February 22. It will also be repeated on BBC2 in the spring. You can also catch Graham in his Radio4 series Nebulous, every Thursday at 11pm.