ITALKED to my fairy godmother the other day and she told me I had a choice, I could either have a long memory or a long willy....I forgot what I asked for.

So begins a frenetic interview with squeaky-voiced comedy legend Joe Pasquale on the eve of his new nationwide tour.

The comedian reels off gags by the second as he gets ready for his new Kak Raider 2002 tour.

But in an interview with Leisuretime he revealed a serious amount of work goes into the laughs.

He said: "We've been changing the script this morning and it will change right up until we go onstage for the first night in Harlow, just so we can get exactly the right blend."

He also revealed he has an unorthodox way of testing new material. He said: "I wait for the kids to come back from school and tell them my jokes only the best ones go through though. The problem is they are quite grumpy sometimes and simply tell me my jokes are not funny."

Pasquale got his first break when he came second in the 1987 New Faces final but he continued his day job entertaining in a Warner's holiday camp.

More and more gigs came up and now the funnyman is readying himself to play to packed houses across the country, including the Broadway Theatre, in Catford.

The old Lewisham Theatre holds special memories for Pasquale.

He said: "Lewisham and Southend are, without doubt, the best places to do my act in. I can't put my finger on what happens when I go on stage, maybe it's the room, maybe it's the audience, but the roof comes off every time I tell a joke."

Pasquale has also proved he has talents outside comedy. Last year, he embarked on a marathon theatre tour in the critically-acclaimed play The Nerd.

He said: "It was a great experience but it was difficult. As comedians we tend to ad-lib quite a bit but suddenly I was learning to stick to the script and concentrate on other actors' lines for my cue."

The comic from Grays, in Essex, also broke the mould when he appeared in the 25th birthday show of children's favourite, The Muppets. He was involved in sketches with John Voight and Brooke Shields.

He said: "It was a brilliant experience and the best thing is we are going to do it all again later this year in New York. It was great to work with the likes of John Voight who is a legend, I learned a lot from them and I think they liked my act!"

But the future is a mystery for Pasquale. He said: "I can't afford to pack it all in yet so I will definitely be doing more touring!

"There may also be a film in the pipeline, but I really don't know much more than that."

- Joe Pasquale appears in the Kak Raider Tour 2002 at the Orchard Theatre, Home Gardens, on March 7. The tour also comes to the Broadway Theatre in Catford on March 16. For more details, call The Orchard box office on 01322 220000 or the Broadway box office on 020 8690 0002.