THE thought of having to come up with witty one-liners at the drop of a hat in front of the TV cameras and some of the sharpest minds in the business would fill most of us with dread.

But for Linda Smith, her appearance as a panellist on Have I Got News For You? last week was hugely enjoyable experience.

"Actually," she confides, "it 's one of the least stressful shows I've done. It's the third time I've done it and everyone is very friendly."

An appearance on the nation's favourite topical TV show quiz may help raise the profile of a comedian who as devotees of Radio Four will testify, is one of those people who can spot the absurdities in life and make them funny.

Linda will be appearing at Burnley Mechanics next Satuday as part of a national tour.

"It's a one-woman show because there's just me and I'm a woman," she said. "There will be two halves of around 45 minutes with a break in the middle. I suppose you could see it like a football match -- but with more laughs.

"I hope there will be some topical stuff in there and I like to get some local references in there too. If I get the time I like to get to the area I'm playing early and get a vlavour of the town and get some of that into the show."

She may have been born in south east London and have an accent to match, but Linda reveals she's a bit of a northern lass at heart.

"I went to Sheffield University and like many students stayed in the city after I finished there. I was living in the north when I first started doing comedy and a lot of people in the south thought I was a northern comedian with this bizarre southern accent at first."

As a regular on radio shows such as The News Quiz, Just A Minute and Sorry I Haven't A Clue, which are all recorded in front of an audience, Linda is constantly working 'live'.

But a theatre gig is different.

"You are really exposed out on stage," she said. "It's you a microphone and the audience. But when it goes well, that's why we do it."

Linda has honed her skills at some of the country's leading comedy clubs as well as playing the Edinburgh festival.

"That is a very intense experience," she said. "You get people who go from venue to venue almost in a frenzy, they become entertainment junkies in a way.These days Edinburgh seems to go on for months, it is like nowhere else."

As well as being a regular paneliist on numerous programmes, Linda has also written her own radio series A Brief History of Time Wasting.

"I have really enjoyed inventing characters and although I wouldn't rule out writing scripts for TV, even writing for radio I am very aware about the casting. It has to sound like it did in my head.

"One thing I am very interested in is animation and I think that is something I would like to follow up. I think my radio show is too of the wall for TV, but animation who knows?"

Although highly topical and apprently spontaneous, not all of Linda's show is improvised.

"Anyone who tried to improvise an entire show would drive themselves mad," she said. "You have got to have some kind of framework to work with.

"It may well be at the start of a tour you just have half an idea or a couple of lines which gets and laugh and that can develop as you go along.

"Sdaly I can't just sit down first thing in the morning and write until tea-time. I do rely a lot on things I see and things that strike me, but it is important to keep things fresh.

"That's why I like performing live. To get feedback off an audience, to hear and watch them react is why you get up on stage in the first place."

Linda Smith appears at Burnley Mechanics on Saturday, June 15. Further information from the box office on 01282 664400.