Camp comic Julian Clary today said he was looking forward to his first visit to Shrewsbury – because he loved getting to grips with the shires.

Clary, who found fame on Sticky Moments and who in more recent times has starred on Strictly Come Dancing, Come and Have A Go for the National Lottery and Have I Got News for You, will play Theatre Severn, in Shrewsbury, on March 12.

The star said: “I’ve never been to Shropshire. Where is it? I am looking forward to coming for the first time. I toured this show last year and now I’m carrying on, going to a lot of the places that I’ve never before visited. I quite like that.”

“I love the countryside, I moved there myself. I’ve got quite a few chickens, though the fox has had three of them.”

Mr Clary is bringing his Lord of the Mince tour to Theatre Severn. He said: “I’m 50. The shame of it. This will be an intimate evening – a celebration, no less, of my 25 years in the camp spotlight: how I got there and why I refuse to leave.

“It’s very much a one-man show. It’s me talking about the fact that I’m 50 and it’s an excuse to look back over my life. I talk about the highlights and the lowlights, things like moving to the countryside and having a boyfriend.

“In the second half, I give a pyschic demonstration. I found I had a previously undiscovered talent for being a psychic, so I’ll be showing people that.”

Tickets for Julian Clary’s Lord Of The Mince are available from the venue, priced £20, by calling (01743) 281281 or by logging onto www.theatresevern.co.uk