THIS comedian is the very meaning of a stand-up comic.

Ross Noble turned every heckle into a joke during his gig at the Pavilion in Bournemouth, including the two separate occasions when somebody got out of their seats mid-show.

It takes a confident performer to be able to turn the show around from somebody shouting out something to instantly making everyone laugh.

Ross started the show by mentioning the fact that he always dines in the nearest restaurant to a venue and how members of the public act when they recognise him. He said that one person will stand bolt up right, cover their mouth and whisper where he is, while the person next to them will look up at the ceiling before gradually looking down at Ross, who has found a very silly way of dealing with the awkward situation.

Personally I am lucky to see many TV comedians perform in Bournemouth, with some living up to my expectations, while others fall slightly short.

Let me start by saying that not only have I never seen Ross perform live before, I have never seen him on DVD. I have only ever seen him on the panel of BBC's QI and found him very funny.

It meant that it came as a bit of a shock when I just didn't quite get his random, off-the-cuff humour. Personally, I didn't find most of what he said funny, which may make me sound like a spoilsport but it's a matter of opinion.

Plus without a support act, it meant that there was an awful lot of what felt like filling time to me. I can't possibly mention the crude subjects he featured during the show but he seemed to get carried away with each idea for a long period of time.

I have no doubt that this is part of the charm for fans, but for me it just didn't give me the belly laughs I was looking for.

However the hundreds of people sat in the theatre seemingly laughing at his every move would probably say otherwise.