HE is perhaps best known for being one half of the famous duo Hale and Pace, but there is more to Norman Pace than comedy. Gayle McBain reports.

NORMAN Pace is a funny chap - meant in the nicest possible sense of the word, you understand.

He is affable and pleasant and, although not continually cracking jokes, has a sense of fun that is impossible to ignore.

But not everything Norman does is altogether comic and his latest venture is a real mix.

Satin 'n' Steel, in which he stars with Sara Poyzer at Bolton's Octagon Theatre, is an emotional roller-coaster. "It's a comedy, it's a love story, people laugh, people cry and you need to make sure you bring your tissues to this one," said Norman.

It sounds a far cry from the comic sketches he is well know for in which he, and fellow comedian Gareth Hale, play a range of spoof characters to perfection. Who could ever forget the pair as "The Management" and children's TV presenting personas Billy and Johnny . . .

Norman still enjoys his work with Gareth - the two met while at teacher training college in Eltham, south London - and recently returned from a tour of Australia with his pal.

Although well known for his comic routines, Norman is also an acclaimed actor and has appeared in several Shakespeare productions, including the role of Fabian in Twelfth Night and Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing. He has also played Amos Hart in the West End musical run of Chicago. His latest offering, as Vince Steel in Satin 'n' Steel, sees Norman continue a very successful run, moving on from the Nottingham Playhouse to Bolton on April 6.

He will arrive in the town for a three week run at the Octagon Theatre and he is looking forward to visiting Bolton.

"I have been to Bolton before, but it was only a short visit. I was doing a summer season in Blackpool and came to Bolton with a friend," he said.

This time he will have the opportunity to see more of the town and he is eager to make the most of the opportunity. "Bolton has a lot to offer and I particularly admire Peter Kay. Peter Kay and Ricky Gervais are the best things to have come out of comedy in Britain for the last eight or nine years."

In Satin 'n' Steel Norman plays a seasoned club singer who teams up with 20-something wannabe Teena and together they make a dynamic act. Under the spotlight all is well and off-stage love blossoms, but a guilty secret jeopardises their plans for super-stardom.

Off-stage Norman's love-life is far less complicated. He is married to 48-year-old travel agent Beverley and the couple have three children, Liam, aged 25, Holly, aged 17 and Charlie who is 16.

Liam works for a television production company and dad recently did some work for the company - filming a golfing programme on the Costa Del Sol.

"It was terrible really. Can you imagine having to play golf in the sun? Fancy getting paid to play golf," quipped Norman who got to combine one of his favourite hobbies with that spell in the sunshine.

It is the variety of Norman's career that he enjoys the most. "I love doing so many different things," he said.

Norman said he was looking forward to bringing the production to the "intimacy of the Octagon stage".

He said: "It will be different doing the production in the round, but I think it will lend itself really well to the intimacy of the Octagon Theatre."

Satin 'n' Steel is at the Octagon Theatre from April 6 to April 30. For tickets ring Bolton 520661 or visit www.octagon bolton.co.uk