A bit of a charismatic black hole, Cairns's set is too slow-paced to command your attention, and with too few gags to be worthy of it.

He spends a long time aimlessly talking around his subjects, rather than homing in on any punchlines. And when a gag does pop up amid the flabby meanderings, chances are it'll be a generic observation of the type you've heard countless times before.

The tedious thread of 'I'm from Liverpool. We all nick stuff' which sometimes features in his act is tired and lazy, and he has nothing to add. So why bother?

When he does occasionally venture into his own territory, it is with with unimpressive results. And he has a tendency towards the unnecessarily cruel and sick, without the redemption of hilarity, with gags about Christopher Reeve's paralysis, for example.