Lord of Whimsy Bill Bailey has always worked well in theatres, with his combination of music and stand-up connecting well with a small audience.

It was always going to be interesting to see how his unique style translated to the sort of arenas usually filled by the likes of Billy Connolly and Peter Kay.

When he first strode manfully onto the stage dressed in a spangly white suit there was a sense he might have gone all rock star- with giant television screens reflecting his image and a face mic in evidence.

But as soon as he opened his mouth we were back into his shambolic world, where doorbell melodies can be used to scare Jehovah's witnesses and plants are purchased to give you something to stand next to.

Bill could never be described as slick. He ambled from one comedy idea to another, mixing one-liners, about Genesis' appearance on Live Earth causing a significant drop in carbon emissions as everyone turned off their televisions, with extended pieces about his internal moral struggle when asked to front an ASDA campaign.

His whimsical take on the British approach to life compared to the rest of the world was also a recurring theme. While Jennifer Aniston gets her head together by going to her house in Malibu and screaming at the sea, in Bill's world the closest the English get to that stress-busting secret is drinking Malibu and shouting at pigeons in the park.

The beloved songs, which seemed less in number than usual, included a take-off of James Blunt and his own brand of emo music.

His close connection with the audience was still there, despite the bigger size of venue, as he stopped a routine about the hatefulness of Friends to allow someone in the front row to take a toilet break.

And the larger setting meant he could use new props, such as a "flick" Alpine horn and a motorised Corby trouser press that he used to travel around the audience.

The huge queues to pick up a souvenir instant CD recording of the performance showed how much fans still love him.