Dave Spikey

In addition to appearing in The Royal Variety Show and on Parkinson, he wrote and appeared in the sitcom Dead Man Weds, with Johnny Vegas. He has been team captain on panel show Eight Out Of Ten Cats and he achieved the highest score ever during an appearance on Celebrity Mastermind.

Before making the leap into comedy, Spikey was chief biomedical scientist in haematology at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

He brings his latest stand-up show to the Theatre Royal Brighton tomorrow (Sunday, November 27). For tickets, call 08448 606650.

Which actor/musician/artist/writer/other figure do you admire?

I guess Billy Connolly would qualify. My all-time favourite stand-up comedian is a special performer.

Whether presenting a documentary, acting or simply being interviewed, he has that almost unique gift of making you laugh no matter what he says. It’s his voice, his accent, his timing and the emphasis he puts on certain words and phrases.

Which TV programme couldn’t you live without?

Casualty, because I worked in the NHS for 30 years and it takes me back there. I enjoy shouting at the television at the medical inconsistencies but mostly I love trying to guess what accident is going to befall people. There’s always a bloke with a long scarf trying to mend a combine harvester isn’t there? Or my favourite, the teenager with attention deficit disorder using a chainsaw – beautiful. Sometimes it’s far more difficult to guess what’s going to happen, like the episode with an old lady sponging down her couch at tea-time. Where’s that going? Sponge-related accidents are rare. Oh, hang on, is that a snake down there?

Do you remember the first record you bought?

It was Elvis Presley’s All Shook Up. I bought it from Javelin Records in Bolton. All the lads round our way were “greasers”

and although I was far too young, I used to tag along with them to the pictures to watch all the early rock ’n’ roll films. My favourite was Elvis in King Creole and so he was my first choice when I’d saved enough cash up from my pocket money to buy my first 45rpm.

Tell us about any guilty pleasures lurking in your CD or film collections...

I really like James Morrison. I have everything he’s ever done. My favourite is the Motown-influenced Nothing Ever Hurt Like You, which has a driving beat that takes me back to my clubbing days. To be fair though, he is prone to exaggeration and that leads to the odd dodgy lyric; “It hit me like a steel freight train when you left me”, for instance. I’d imagine a steel freight train probably causes more damage than one of those wooden ones.

Do you have a favourite film?

M.A.S.H. After all these years, it’s still funny, poignant and moving. I would love to have been Hawkeye Pierce. He was a heroic figure; a no-nonsense, brilliant surgeon who saved the lives of wounded soldiers on a daily basis and was also very funny, attractive to women and a man’s man who mixed martinis after a traumatic day in the operating theatre.

What about a favourite book?

I am fascinated by the events of the First World War, I think because both my grandfathers survived it yet were reluctant to ever talk about it. The courage shown by all those men was unbelievable and should never be forgotten. For those reasons I would nominate Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks and All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich M Remarque as my all-time favourites.

Is there a song or individual piece of music you always come back to?

You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon.

When we have friends round for a meal and the food’s all gone, we start an iPod jukebox where we mix iPods up and pass them round and take turns selecting tunes to accompany the conversation. This is always one of my choices because it’s an upbeat, happy, singalong tune with wonderful lyrics. It always conjures up the images from the great video that accompanied it featuring Chevy Chase and always makes me laugh

What are you reading at the moment?

Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant which is a riveting and thought-provoking read.

It’s got everything and yet I didn’t think I’d enjoy it! In 16th-century Italy, a young girl is sent to a convent against her will. Can she escape? To be honest, I thought I couldn’t give a monkey’s, but now I do!

Tell us about a live music/ theatre/cinema experience that sticks in your memory...

The first time I saw Les Miserables left me speechless. I’ve just seen it for the fourth time and it was as stunning as the first. I have the DVD and CD, which I play a lot anyway because the music throughout is so incredibly powerful and moving, but to see it performed live is something else. It grips you and takes you on an incredible rollercoaster ride of emotions.

If you get a spare 30 minutes how are you most likely to spend it?

Watching Comedy Central. I love the American sitcoms on there. With only one or two exceptions they are far superior to anything we have to offer.