LOVABLE comedian Patrick Monahan shot to fame on TV comedy talent programme Show Me The Funny in 2011.

But the 37-year-old had been cutting his teeth on the comedy circuit for 10 years before taking part in the ITV show.

Now the funnyman, known for his rib-tickling anecdotes and hyperactive charm, is bringing his comedy expertise to The Octagon, Bolton, on Friday, November 8.

Patrick will appear as part of a comedy double bill, along with Boothby Graffoe, winner of the Time Out Comedy Award and a Perrier Award nominee, at a cost of just £10 a ticket.

Patrick, who was brought up in Middlesbrough by his Iranian mother and Irish dad, said: “Boothby is an amazing comic.

“It’s a really good deal. Normally you get one or two up-and-coming acts with a more experienced act at the end.

“This is great, he is pretty solid. He could do a show on his own.”

Show Me The Funny, presented by comic Jason Manford, saw 10 comedians of varying experience visit 10 cities around the UK, garnering local knowledge to work into a new routine to showcase in front of a live audience.

Patrick impressed judges on the show, which included Alan Davies, Bob Mortimer, Jo Brand and Johnny Vegas, before being crowned winner and landing a nationwide tour and DVD released in the run-up to Christmas.

He said: “That show was great fun. I’d done a bit of tele but not that much.

“It was great, an ITV, more of a prime-time sort of thing.

“For me, it was a bit of a laugh.

“In terms of stand-up, I’ve been doing it for years and years.

“When you look at the stand-up circuit, it’s the same when you see people like Micky Flanagan, Michael McIntyre and John Bishop.

“I remember when I first started, you saw these guys. They are new in terms of TV.

“It’s the same for me. I’m still like a boy in terms of TV but in terms of stand-up, that’s my bread and butter.

“The great thing about our circuit is you’ve got so many styles of comedy from dry one-liners to comedians who are quite observational.

“I like to get involved and chat. My style is quite conversational but also story-telling as well.

“Touring, live stuff. I think that’s why a lot of comics just try and do theatres.

“No-one is controlling what they say or do.

“Every night you might retell some of the same stories but every night is going to be different because of the different audience and banter.

“I think you lose a lot of that with TV.”

Although he prefers live comedy, Patrick says he would like to try his hand at television work again — favouring a gameshow over the current trend for comedy panel shows.

He said: “I would like to do a gameshow, something a bit more fun. Like The Generation Game, that’s the sort of thing I would love.

“Instead of sitting them behind a panel. And why not get real people? Real people on tele are amazing.

“There’s less inhibition, you see them just go for it, it’s more natural.

“That’s why people love Ant and Dec. They’re so good at doing stuff like that because they work with real people.”

Patrick says he always wanted a job involving people and talking and fell into comedy after taking part in a successful open mic night in 2000.

His gig in Bolton next month is not his first visit to the town as he took part in the Celebrity Soccer Six football tournament at the Reebok Stadium in May, with a team from Channel 4 teen soap Hollyoaks.

He said: “It was hilarious.

“I recognised their faces but I had never really watched Hollyoaks.

“People were looking at me saying, he’s not from Hollyoaks!

“It was such fun.”

Patrick Monahan and Boothby Graffoe will be at The Octagon at 7.30pm on November 8. Tickets cost £10, call 01204 520661.