The Grand Theatre, on Sunday, December 7, will be host to the wit and wisdom of this friend of Peter Kay, who has gone on to make his own name as a stand-up comedian to be reckoned with.

His last tour, The Dark Side, was the fastest-selling of 2006, taking in 115 sold-out dates and selling more than 160,000 tickets and he's looking set for similar success on a new set of dates.

For his Leeds show, he will be joined by The Lancashire Hotpots and tickets, priced £18.50, are available online from www.leedsgrandtheatre.com or by ringing 0870 121 4901.

It's not that long since Paddy actually gave up his 'day job' after finding fame, originally in Channel 4's The Comedy Lab where he appeared as Terry, a work-shy employee in The Services. Soon after, he became Paddy the doorman in That Peter Kay Thing, which led to massive spin-off series Phoenix Nights.

Not taking acting or comedy too seriously, he returned to his job as a fitness instructor after the first series. It was only when his life-long friend Kay persuaded him to give showbiz a go that Paddy left the fitness industry behind.

He did use his experience to good effect, however, on Max and Paddy's Power of Two, which became the fastest-selling fitness video ever after coming on the back of another successful sitcom, Max and Paddy's The Road To Nowhere.