A Sussex-based comedian has reached the live televised final of a national hunt for Britain's newest comedy star.

Eric Page, of Saltdean Vale, Brighton, who talks frankly about men and sex, received the most viewers' phone votes out of more than 20 other comedians when he appeared on Meridian television's Stand Up Britain.

Now he is representing the South in an ITV television final, hosted by comic Ed Byrne in Manchester, tonight.

Eric, 35, whose biggest target in his gags is himself as a non-stereotypical gay man, said: "I've only got three minutes to get in as much material as I can."

Much of Eric's material is based on his job as a sexual health outreach worker for the Terence Higgins Trust.

He said: "I am used to talking to people about very intimate, delicate subjects. I talk about this in a blunt way and often use humour as a way of lightning the burden.

"I would never dream of talking about people at work because it is confidential. But much of my comedy material is about men and sex.

"Men's bodies and the way they think about them is still a big mystery and we need to be educated about them."

He said his audiences often got embarrassed by his blunt material but this was a good way of making people laugh about intimate subjects.

Eric said: "I joke about being a rotten homosexual. I can't accessorise and can't dance."

Eric decided to get up on stage as a comedian when he was working in a hostel for the homeless. He had advised a homeless person to follow his dreams. The man asked Eric if he followed his own advice.

Eric said: "No one had ever asked me that before. So I decided to go for it and become a comedian."

Eric puts some of his comedy success down to taking part in Brighton and Hove City Council's Ninelives campaign, which helped nine people lead greener lifestyles.

Eric said: "I was trained to be more rigorous in my performances and not just see them as a hobby. I now look at all my overheads, rather than just the performance itself.

"I was taught to de-stress by doing yoga and by doing nothing."

The live show is screened 11.20pm.