Boothby Graffoe turns 51 later this month. He is a comedian and a very good one as he proved at The Ropetackle – “Shoreham is a secret you should keep to yourselves, Shoreham.”

He is also a fine musician, although tonight his guitar playing was hampered by a rogue little finger (seriously) and he apologised for the shortage of songs in his two-hour performance.

Hartlepool (where they hung the little monkey), a song about the French Revolution, was prime Boothby. His surreal monologues and improvisations were up there with Eddie Izzard. His scripted material – how faces determine regional accents – was beautifully observed and perfectly executed.

His humour was not scatological, nor did he rely on gratuitous swearing. He was charming, intelligent, and his audience interaction showed his pedigree of many years in clubs and at festivals.

So if he’s so good, why, at his age, isn’t he making jack-the-lad funnies on all of those hilarious comedy panel shows so beloved by the nation? Mr Graffoe is an English eccentric, to be treasured, as we did Spike Milligan. Don’t fence him in or categorise him, but do tell your friends about the man whose stage name was borrowed from a Lincolnshire village. He is a secret you shouldn’t keep to yourselves.

  • Boothby Graffoe is teaming up with Andrew O'Neill for a stand-up show at Ritz Studio, Union Place, Worthing, on Friday, October 25 at 8pm. For more details, visit www.worthingtheatres.co.uk