Serious fun ahead at festival

Arthur Smith: festival date

COMEDIAN Arthur Smith has promised Saddleworth Festivalgoers jokes, songs... and maybe a naked woman.

Arthur plays the June 6-14 festival at Uppermill Civic Hall on June 9 and is excited about coming to the area.

“I’m looking forward to it. I might go out rambling the next day because I’m a keen walker. I’ve only been in the area before when I did the Pennine Way walk, which is beautiful.

“I don’t think too much about my shows until the day before, but I’ll be playing on my own sorrows... and I have a wealth of material. There’ll be poetry, some songs and gags and there may be a naked woman.”

Though he admits the last of those isn’t definite: “I’d like to offer £15 to anyone who will get up on stage naked.”

Arthur’s near-death from pancreatitis has made him tee-total: “If I’m at a function at pubs I tend to wander off because people become more distant and hard-going. But it does mean I’m not flying to Buenos Aires on a whim any more... and I haven’t had a hangover in 14 years.”

Visit www.saddleworthfestival.org.uk for more information.