COMEDIAN Omid Djalili is back on tour with a spring date at the Tivoli Theatre in Wimborne on April 28.

The five-time comedy award winner (including the EMMA Award and Time Out Award – for Best Stand Up) is best known for his endless energy, his acute wit and his skilful cultural representations of society, making him a fresh and original character that fits modern Britain.

Omid told the Daily Echo: “I've done lots of different things and enjoyed them but stand-up, when it goes well – it often doesn’t – is definitely a love. There’s something deeply satisfying about a good gig.”

Londoner Omid has Iranian parentage and appeared in numerous films including Gladiator, The Mummy, The World Is Not Enough, Notting Hill and Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End. The 48-year-old also won Best Actor for his lead performance in David Baddiel’s The Infidel at the Turin Film Festival, an award previously won by Bill Murray.

“I’m not often happy with myself as an actor. I get upset when I see myself acting on screen, mostly because of the way I look. But as a stand-up it’s always a bonus if you look heavy or awkward or damaged… in my case it helps in fact.”

A firm favourite on the live circuit, Omid is back on tour following a four-week West End residency and a sold-out season at the Edinburgh Festival. His new show is less overtly political than previous years and touches on more domestic themes and his unlikely appearance on ITV’s Splash.

“Growing older. We all struggle with it. As Dave Allen once said: ‘I enjoy getting older. I have to because there’s no choice’.

“When you hit your forties you understand life better, but at the same time your body is more prone to fail.

“So you have to find a way of joining your received wisdom with physical prowess. A lot of men who hit 40 try to do things that make them feel more alive because they want to prove themselves.

“That’s why I did Splash! I wanted to do something out of the box, stretch my courage and prove I was still a young man at heart even though my bits were dropping off.”

With such a wide-reaching audience, Omid looks set for a busy year.

“I think in life you have to count your blessings otherwise you’ll never be happy.”