Gavin Webster is a blunt-talking, motormouth Geordie who calls a shovel a shovel, which is exactly the sort of no-nonsense attitude that instantly establishes his authority over the audience.

He hits them with a quick succession of gags, too that reinforces his status - but what a mixed bag they are. Some are weather-beaten old favourites, some are surrealist-tinged leaps of imagination, others yet are as sharp and funny as they are hard hitting.

He’s something of a comedy streetfighter, using anything at hand to land a blow. Some of his tactics may be dubious, such as parroting any number of stock, pedestrian lines in his audience banter, but he’s also got some smart moves of his own. The combination of the two ensures he almost always wins out.

He boasts an especially strong line in unreconstructed misogyny. A thin veil of irony may keep it just this side of acceptable for the liberal types in he audience, but it’s essentially just old-fashioned sexism – tempered by a dollop of charm - and you can’t deny it’s effective.

An imaginatively derisive routine about the plight of the pandas is another stand-out segment, demonstrating the range and depth of his best material.

Yet he resorts to the easy laugh rather too often to be a truly great comedian, with well-worn laughs and overfamiliar topics diluting his stronger, more original gags.

But Webster is certainly an assured performed with some genuinely funny lines in his varied mix – which sometimes stretches to ukulele playing, too - making him a reliable fixture on any bill.