JACK DEE has come a long way since quitting his job as a waiter -- and now he's on his way to Preston.

It was in 1988 that the dour comedian decided to switch from frying pans to deadpan.

Three years later the crusty comic notched up the first of many accolades - the British Comedy Award for Best Stage Newcomer.

In the same year, which saw him complete several guest television appearances, he was nominated for the Perrier Award.

His highly successful Channel 4 series, the Jack Dee Show, was followed with a one-hour Christmas special.

By now Dee, who was educated at a comprehensive school in Winchester, was well and truly on the map with his characteristic brand of melancholic humour.

"I come from a long line of performers and actors - it's called the dole queue," is a typical Dee-ism.

Sell-out tours of the UK and Australia followed, and with even more television credits to his name, Dee picked up two coveted awards at the 1995 British Comedy Awards. When Marcus Plantin, head of ITV Network Centre, saw him live, he had no hesitation in offering Dee his own series.

Jack Dee's Saturday Night was recorded at the Wimbledon Theatre in front of a live audience and broadcast over Christmas and the New Year 1995/6.

His first taste of television acting, in the Grimleys, was followed by an impressive performance in Yasmina Reza's award-winning play Art. Other television acting credits include an appearance in Silent Witness with Amanda Burton.

Dee won many new admirers when his appearance in Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year revealed an aaah-inspiring vulnerability, and is now on the road on his UK tour which brings him to Preston's Guild Hall on Thursday, February 28.

Tickets for the 8pm show are £19 and £20 on 258858.