HE has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, appeared in West End shows alongside Hollywood A-listers and landed a string of TV roles.

But award winning comedian Felix Dexter says that it is his latest stand-up tour, Multiple Personalities In Order, that shows off his acting skills at their best.

The 50-year old from North London is bringing the show, which features the three main characters from his hit BBC2 programme Bellamy’s People, to Burnley.

He said: “It’s a character stand-up show using the main characters from Bellamy’s People which were all well received.

“There is Early D, the self-styled Lion of Harlesden, and entrepreneur Aubrey Dubuisson, the terminally English, public school, Cotswold living architect, plus Julius Olufemwe, hotel management student and admirer of all things English.

"Then I am myself acting as a compere for the evening,” said the former Time Out Comedian of the Year winner.

“The show is very engaging and in my opinion is the best I’ve done by far.

“All the characters are combinations of the people I’ve encountered who have made me laugh.

“You know, the kind of people who are very opinionated and think that only their opinion is right and who like the sound of their own voice.”

Felix established an acting career alongside his stand-up comedy, which has seen him work with Hollywood greats Helen Mirren in Mourning Becomes Electra and Christian Slater in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, both in the West End.

He has also had a season playing Autolycus in The Winter’s Tale for The Royal Shakespeare Company and landed TV roles in The Bill, Casualty and Absolutely Fabulous.

His other acting credentials include The Fast Show, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge, Have I Got News For You, The Lenny Henry Show and Grumpy Old Men.

And Felix says the skills he has honed in acting have helped his stand-up performances.

“I think that acting and comedy go hand-in-hand.

“I definitely lean more towards creating character personas with my comedy than just clever wordplay and jokes.

“ I think it makes me a better comedian being able to use different voices to create personas.

“Some of my best acting has been while I have been performing this show.”

Although Felix seems at home on stage and in front of the camera, it is not the career you might expect from a law graduate.

But Felix says that his legal background has also been useful his stand-up comedy career, enabling him to stun hecklers into silence with shouts of “objection!”

* See Felix in Multiple Personalities In Order at Burnley Mechanics on Thursday, February 17. To book call 01282 664400.