BOLTON comedian Dave Spikey is performing a one-off stand-up concert at the town's Albert Halls to help out the hospital where he worked for 30 years.

The Phoenix Nights star made it in showbusiness after spending years plucking up the courage to leave his job as Chief Medical Scientist in the haemotology department at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

An Audience with Dave Spikey will raise money for the hospital's Coronary Care Unit which opened in December and needs continual funding.

Dave said: "I got collared at a function by Jenny Walsh and Brett Warburton, who are both involved in fund-raising for the heart unit, so had to do it really!

"I've been saying for some time that I would do this but I have been so busy, I've not been able to fit it in my schedule.

"I have done charity events before but, because I worked at the hospital for 30 years, it is a bit special. It's always nice to be in your home town and, at the same time, doing something good for it."

Norman Prince will be the compere for the evening, which will take place at the Albert Halls on Thursday, November 4. The audience will be invited to submit questions to Dave before the show and the second half will be a question and answer session. The first half will be stand-up.

Dave is currently carrying out auditions in London for his new six-part TV comedy Dead Man Weds and says: "I can't believe I'm actually carrying out auditions for my own show!"

The comedy is set in a small northern town and is based around its newspaper office - the Fogburrow Advertiser and News (FAN).

Johnny Vegas plays a lazy journalist and Dave will take the part of the new editor who arrives at the newspaper to shake things up.

Filming will start on September 20, but the venue is not yet decided.

Dave said: "When I wrote the script about this, I didn't actually think the place should exist! I have set it in a place with a canal, a mill and tea shops but we have yet to find that place!

"I'd love to do the filming around here because this is where I'm from and where I know, but we'll see. It would also mean I'd get more of a lie in!"

The series will be shown on ITV in January.

Half of the money raised from the evening will also go to Bolton charity Pet Rehome.

Vegetarian Dave has been an animal rights campaigner for more than 20 years and is the patron of Pet Rehome. He helps out by fostering animals until new homes can be found.