Fun worship to beat the blues.

Byline: SARAH BATLEY

DAPPER comedian Stephen K Amos is making his first trip to North Wales this month, but don't expect him to take time out from his schedule to shimmy up Snowdon, kayak down the Dee or sail the Menai Strait.

He's not a fan of adventure sports nor thrill-seeking and is much happier safe in the city.

"I've been on the back of a motorbike and it scared me. I can just about manage a space hopper, though," he chuckles from his home in London, between dates on his latest tour, which lands at Rhyl Pavilion on November 30.

"I want to entice people to leave their houses and come to the show for some escapism. I want them to forget their troubles and have a good laugh.

"People are watching Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor on TV because they want to escape their troubles," he added.

He considers his wry humour as observational, a reflection of what's going on around him.

"I like talking to people and hearing what they say - I am a very positive person and I think that comes over in the show," he said.

His child-like joy and exuberance means he can find the funny in some of the most unexpected places.

He's perhaps best known as a comedian, performing as stand-up at London's Comedy Store, and for panel shows such as Have I Got News and Mock The Week. He's collected a pile of gongs from around the world, such as the Richard Pryor, Time Out Stand-Up and Chortle Awards plus the International Comic at the New Zealand Comedy Awards.

However, he's also an actor and has notched up some serious roles on stage and screen, such as One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Absolute Beginners.

His debut DVD Find The Funny - Live, is out this month, and expect to see more of him on TV soon.

"I'm now in talks about my next project with the BBC," he revealed. "There's already been a pilot show, which went down very well.

"It's a sitcom written by Simon Nye - who wrote Men Behaving Badly - and it's called In My Country.

"It's two males living in a flat - I can't say yet who the other man will be, it's still under wraps. But it is a well-known face. We live in a flat but it's not two womanising louts, this is set in contemporary London."

He's also in talks about a comedy sketch series of his own, provisionally titled The Stephen K Amos Show.

"I may change that," he mused, "though it does tell the viewer who's in it."

COMPETITION WE'VE got five copies of Stephen's new DVD Find The Funny - Live up for grabs. For your chance to win just answer: Where and when does Stephen appear in North Wales? Answers on a postcard please with your name, address and day-time phone number by November 27 to Sarah Batley, Stephen K Amos competition, Daily Post, Vale Road, Llandudno Junction, Conwy, LL31 9ZD.

. Stephen K Amos Rhyl Pavilion November 30, tickets from pounds 16.50 from 01745 330000 orrhylpavilion.co.uk.

CAPTION(S):

Comedian Stephen K Amos who is appearing at Rhyl Pavilion