NIGHT after night Roy "Chubby" Brown, who is coming to Blackburn on October 4, has left the stage dressed in his outrageously loud suit and flying helmet with hundreds of fans cheering his name.

For them it's been another enjoyable night out with one of their heroes.

But behind the laughter, the controversial comedian has been living under a cloud for the past three years.

After complaining of a persistent sore throat, it was discovered that he had throat cancer and required surgery.

For weeks afterwards a man who has made his living by entertaining was reduced to communicating by writing notes on a piece of paper.

"For the past three and a half years I have been living with uncertainty," said Roy.

"Every 12 weeks since my operation I have had a camera down my throat to check how things are going.

"A couple of days before I go in I start to get worried.

"You can't eat anything the day before and at that point you are at your lowest.

"You can't help but think what if they find something tomorrow?'."

On Monday Roy went to see his specialist for his regular appointment.

"He turned to me and said Roy, I think we can safely say you've beaten it'.

"You can't describe what a good feeling it was to hear him say that.

"That night I went out with the lads, bought five bottles of champagne and got absolutely bladdered," he said.

Roy will be coming to Blackburn on Thursday night to play at King George's Hall.

"I've been coming to Blackburn for over 20 years," he said.

"I always seem to go down well there. It's a good crowd."

With his unique brand of ribald humour, Roy is not everyone's cup of tea.

His act is too "adult" for him to appear on TV and yet his shows sell out all over the country.

Roy has no apologies about the nature of his act but he has always been totally honest about his shows.

The message "if easily offended, stay away" is as much a fixture on the posters as the date and venue "I think I'm a man's man," he said. "What I do is really cabin talk.

"I talk about booze, debt and women like the lads do down the club.

"There's never been any pretence about me."

This summer Roy wrote his autobiography Common As Muck, which reveals the many highs and lows of his life.

"I was asked to write a book and at first I refused because I didn't think anyone would want to read it.

"But then the publishers pointed out that Jordan has already had two books and she's only 23, so I changed my mind."

In typically blunt Chubby Brown fashion, Roy has refused to gloss over anything about his life.

He's very frank about his childhood - which saw his mum walk out when he was just nine - his constant thieving, his fights and the time he spent in both Borstal and prison.

"Oh I've lived a life, there's no doubt about that," he said.

"And it's been a topsy turvy one at that. Of course I've got regrets, who hasn't?

"My main regret is that my mum and dad never saw me make anything of myself. I was just a waste of time when they were alive."

Roy is proud of the fact that the words in his autobiography are his.

"I wrote it and put it on to tape," he said. "Of course I had to have someone to check all the spelling for me. Spelling's not my barrow.

"The difficult bit was what to leave out. I've had such a life that it could have been like War And Peace so we had to cut stuff out.

"Yes, I've been a bit of a lad in my time but we all have a history, don't we?"

Since his cancer scare Roy has come to appreciate every day even more.

"I am one of the lucky ones," he said. "I remember talking to a girl at the clinic when I was waiting for my check-up.

"I remember her because she had a red headscarf on.

"I told a few one-liners while we were waiting and we had a laugh.

"At the next appointment the nurse said that we'd lost Pauline.

"I asked her who Pauline was and it was the girl with the headscarf.

"I was choked. I drove home in floods of tears.

"Now I do as much as I can for charity. My son is taking part in the Great North Run tomorrow for cancer charities - though no doubt he'll be wanting the money off me. It's going to cost me a fortune."

Roy Chubby Brown plays King George's Hall, Blackburn, on Thursday. Details from the box office on 01254 582582. Common As Muck is available now in hardback, priced £16.99.