Madcap comic Joe Pasquale is a true one-off. He arrived on the showbiz scene 20-odd years ago, a knockabout clown with a slightly deranged stand-up act and a collection of props that defied logic.

Geeky and squeaky, he could have sunk without trace but there was something about this bespectacled boy from Essex with the funny voice that captured the public’s imagination.

Since then he’s starred in the West End, been crowned King of the Jungle after winning I’m A Celebrity get Me Out of Here, qualified as a pilot and taken up skydiving and marathon running.

Oh yes, and his act has just grown and grown. As he brought his Pull My Finger tour to the Pavilion last night he delivered the kind of crazy capers that are guaranteed to have any audience in fits.

His performance a mixture of surreal ideas, comedy conjuring and classic slapstick reveals the influence of great comedians like Tommy Cooper and Spike Milligan but basically what you get is just Joe being Joe.

He’s become a stalwart at theatre’s like the Pavilion - a guaranteed banker for holiday bookings. As he rattles around the stage with a skeleton, a broken guillotine, balloons, cuddly toys, spring-loaded seats, a toilet (complete with prosthetic bottom) and even a straight-jacket you know that summer season as arrived.