EVER since his first performance as a relative unknown on BBC comedy show Mock the Week I have been a huge fan of Stewart Francis.

The deadpan Canadian is a master of the one-liner and his delivery of imaginatively crafted jokes is perfectly polished.

His sort of humour is right up my street and for sheer number of jokes per minute there are few who can match him – with the possible exception of another of my favourites, Tim Vine.

A problem with having so many gags in your repertoire is that some may be hits and some may be misses, but there was no wayward shooting from Francis, and judging by the regular eruptions of laughter and applause, the rest of the room agreed with me that he was hitting the target.

His jokes tend to lead into a string of others and along with his facial expressions and frequent musical snippets, it was sometimes hard to draw breath.

He may not be a household name as yet but I think it is only a matter of time before he is among the leading lights of the comedy scene. I was a big fan before and after seeing him live for the first time my impression of him has improved still further. He is currently on tour. For more information on where to catch him, visit stewartfrancis.com.

It will be well worth the trip.