It’s been a topsy turvy couple of years for Jason Manford, who plays Birmingham’s LG Arena this week. The funnyman has risen and fallen quicker than a roller coaster.

First, in 2010, he was asked to present The One Show to an audience of millions, then he resigned following allegations about his private life.

He starred on the ITV1 game show Odd One In, with Bradley Walsh and Peter Andre, though his summertime ITV1 programme, Show Me The Funny, failed to wow viewers.

Through the many ups and downs, however, Manford has remained as popular as ever in the live arena. He returns to Birmingham on Wednesday, October 26, 2011, to play the LG Arena.

Manford enjoyed lining up with Walsh and Andre: “Andre is the only one with an entourage. You know, four or five, sometimes. Saying entourage makes it sound very showbiz, but basically it’s his brother and his mum, but I like to call it an entourage. We’ve got kids, so that’s generally the topic of conversation between me and Pete.

“I did a gig recently in Magaluf, me and a couple of comics, it was alright, we got away with it. As I was leaving, they were pulling down my poster and putting up Peter Andre’s. He was there the week after.”

Manford says he’s learned lessons from Show Me The Funny. “I hope that if it does come back they take on board what people think and what people have said about it, and just learn from it and improve it. I think even Simon Cowell would watch that show and think Kate Copstick is a bit harsh but, you know, she’s good value.”

Manford will soon appear on Celebrity Mastermind, where his specialist subject will be the classic American TV series Quantum Leap. Happily, however, he still finds time to relax away from his TV and stand-up commitments.

“I like a good boxset, what I like about American telly is that there’s more of it. They give you a good 20-odd episodes, you can get your teeth into it. I’m on tour a lot, on the train, so I whip out the iPad and watch.”

Tickets are available from www.lgarena.co.uk