A COMEDIAN celebrated for his daring pranks and personas is set to be bringing his newest show to Clacton.

In this exclusive interview, the Gazette finds out more about his upcoming tour, Screwed Up, which will be coming to the Princes Theatre next month.

Simon, who is known for his alter-ego Lee Nelson, said: "I'm looking to change Clacton not having many celebrity visitors, the long term aim is New York, Paris, Clacton. 

"Clacton is great, I have always had a link with that neck of the wood from my Lee Nelson days.

"Although he is a South London lad, he has always had a bit of an Essex link in his character, with the whole cheeky chappy look, the lack of paying any taxes and the care free attitude towards speeding on the roads.

"There's nothing bad about Clacton, but maybe when they start throwing bottles at me during the show I will change my mind."

As Screwed Up is a stand-up show where Simon plays himself, he talks about how different it is to be his natural self on stage and not any of his popular characters. 

He said: "There is an awesome connection that you have with people when you are being completely yourself.

"Slagging off your real kids and not my fake kids is like a bit of extra bonding with the audience, characters can't take the mick out of themselves as they're all fiction."

As we were chatting as Simon was on his way to the barbers and had been recognised by a fan, to which Simon spoke to for a minute.

He joked: "Whenever I have an interview I always set someone up to come and pretend to like me."

Being a comedian who touches on real life news, he talks about how sometimes his show has to adapt to changing news and issues. 

He said: "There was this whole tongue and cheek bit comparing myself to Zelensky, and I was saying we are both the same, both comedians, same height, same religion, similar family.

"He used to be on TV a lot more than he used to be, not that I'm jealous, so that joke would now have less impact than it did."

As he is focusing on his shows, his famous pranks are now on hold. 

He said: "The show has been taking my attention, it would be terrible to miss Clacton due to being in a prison cell."

You can catch Simon and his stand-up show on November 19 at the Princes Theatre.

For more information and to book tickets head to: princestheatre.ticketsolve.com.