IN AN age where stand-up comedy is dominating popular entertainment, Stephen K Amos is doing well.

The 40-something Londoner, pictured right, is currently touring the UK with his new critically acclaimed show, The Feelgood Factor! And tomorrow he lands in the Potteries.

"I've never been to Stoke before, but a good friend of mine is from here and is a mad Stoke City fan.

"Just listening to what he says, I'm expecting people to turn out in force and just have a laugh."

So what exactly is The Feelgood Factor?

"I've got no agenda with this show, there's no axe to grind," he says.

"It just so happens I've written a show about us all feeling good and I expect people to come and see it and leave their baggage at the door.

"We need to forget about the financial crisis, the recession and even the bad weather and just laugh."

Appearing on shows such as Live At The Apollo and Mock The Week, as well as starring in his own Bafta-nominated documentary, Batty Man, which looked at homophobia in the British black communities and Jamaica, Stephen – who is openly gay – is fast becoming a household name.

He says: "When you start out on the comedy circuit trying to build a following in small pub gigs or the Edinburgh Fringe there's no guarantee you're going to be famous or people are even going to know who you are.

"It just so happens that the UK is the most thriving place in the world for comedy at the moment and if you've got a different pattern and there's something about you that makes you different then the chances are you'll be noticed.

"If someone had told me eight years ago I'd be doing this full-time I would have laughed, but I guess it's like any other job; you start off, make sure you do the best you can and get promoted, but you don't necessarily see it happening."

Tomorrow Stephen will be offering the same dose of comedy that's making him as popular as comics such as Russell Howard, Frankie Boyle and Michael McIntyre. And if he's true to form, the audience will be right on side.

"I'm very much a people person and I like to engage the audience," says Stephen, who was on course to become a lawyer until a friend advised him to explore his comic side.

"Talking to the audience is great and I try to make every show as fresh and as different as I can.

"I do observational stuff and some semi-autobiographical, but I never overstep the mark with people if I single them out," he adds.

"When I talk to the audience it's not a about making them feel silly or uncomfortable or humiliated.

"It's about making them feel part of the show if they seem willing and happy to participate. I'd feel awful if I thought I'd put someone off comedy."

Of course, comics have to take the rough with the smooth, and if Stephen is prepared to dish it out can he take it in return?

"I expect to be heckled but sometimes people don't know how to do it and this means it can be overdone and the audience doesn't always like it," he concludes. "If I was to be put off by a bad gig then I'd never work again, but that's what separates the men from the boys."

Stephen K Amos can be seen at The Victoria Hall, Hanley, tomorrow, at 7.30pm. Call 0844 871 7649.