WHEN comedian Ross Noble says he enjoys being on the road, he really means it.

He is due to appear at the Bolton Octagon on Friday, March 1, in the last of his series of stand up shows across the country -- but do not be fooled.

Once this tour is finished, he is due to embark on another in Australia, Singapore and New Zealand.

When he returns he will begin a series of warm up gigs for Edinburgh. Then comes the live shows at the Edinburgh Festival.

Once finished, he will begin a series of spots in the West End leading him neatly into next year -- and another tour of the country!

But does he not find it exhausting?

Ross smiles: "No, not really. I have nothing to do other than a couple of hours a night. I always arrange the tours so that one date neatly runs into another.

"I have the best job in the world.

"It suits me down to the ground. I kind of move around the place, kicking my heels during the day, before going out on stage at night. My show is heavily improvised and I do not work off a script, so I never get bored."

In fact, Ross's shows are so heavily improvised that he does not even decide what he is going to say until the afternoon before he goes on. He said: "I spend the day filling my head with anything that might be relevant for that night's show.

"I am never worried about drying up. It is like if you are talking to someone at a party, you always find something to say. There are a million subjects out there and one thing sparks off another. If anything it is hard trying to finish what I want to talk about."

Ross began comedy when he was at school. He said: "I decided initially that I wanted to join a circus because I was rubbish at writing things down. But when I won tickets to a comedy show I went along and found my life suddenly made sense."

Ross began with an open mic spot which went so well that he was invited to appear in a nearby club. His career has grown from there. He became the sell-out event at last year's Edinburgh Festival, attracting more than 7,500 people to his show.

His future seems assured, with successful radio shows already under his belt. But Ross is most definite about the aspect of the job he most enjoys: "I love doing what I am doing now."