The comedy career of Paddy McGuinness has been built around being Peter Kay's ladyloving sidekick.

As bungling doormen Max and Paddy in Phoenix Nights, the duo won the nation over.

But now Paddy is ready to give his best pal a big bear-hug goodbye and amble out into his own spotlight.

"I want to step out of Peter's shadow," Paddy says. "People think I'm going to go on stage as doorman Paddy, talking about life at the club doors, going 'ding dang doo'. But my show has got nothing to do with that."

After dipping his toe in the water late last year, it looks like Paddy's solo mission will be successful. The entire first leg of the tour sold out, as has most of the second leg - about 80 dates in all.

"After the first leg, my agent took it upon himself to book a load more. He actually wanted me to do even more than that. 'Come on, you'll be rolling in it', he said. 'I'll be rolling in my grave, more like', I said."

With his thick Bolton accent and his own version of the English language ("I had a bicky-bocky belting time"), Paddy is certainly lovable and his enthusiasm for his show is endearing. "We've got big screens, music - it's all going on," he says.

"It's not just me banging on with a mic. I like shows where people can let their hair down, not stroke their chin thinking, 'I'm not laughing, but this is interesting'."

There is also room for a spot of improvisation, where audience members get to ask Paddy questions.

"I pick about 20 and get stuck in. It makes the show a little bit fresher. Some of the questions are mad - barking things like, 'Can you sleep with my wife?' Full of swingers, my audience.

"I've also had one saying, 'You look really nice tonight'. I thought it was from a woman but when I read it, it was from Geoff."

A fan of life's simple things, it's no surprise to discover that Paddy's journey to fame was unplanned. Having left school with hopes (later dashed) to become a lab technician, he had stints as a silver service waiter ("the chef had a nervous affliction that made me feel slightly uncomfortable"), warehouseman, labourer, lifeguard, holiday rep, receptionist and fitness instructor.

When his schoolfriend Peter asked him to appear in That Peter Kay Thing and Phoenix Nights, Paddy was still working at Horwich Leisure Centre.

"I did it for a laugh at first, but when the second series of Phoenix Nights was commissioned Peter told me to leave my job and give it a whirl.

"Now I'm playing some really big places. I look through the curtain and can't believe these people paid to see me."

He's enjoying some of the perks, too: "When you ring a restaurant and they say they're fully booked, if you tell them your name, they say they've a table that's just come up - how convenient," he observes.

"My mates pretend they're not impressed until they want tickets to see a football match.

"But the main thing for me is it's nice to treat my dad. He's in his 80s and we're getting him a new car today - then I'm off to have a break with Robbie Williams in LA."

Starts at 8pm. Tickets cost £14.50, call 01273 709709.