Jim Davidson. Just say the name and you’ll be likely to split the room – is he a crude, sexist and defiantly un-PC throwback or just an old-fashioned funnyman giving his public what they want?

Whatever your views about his material, his very public problems and his apparent delight in getting laughs out of decidedly old-fashioned attitudes, enough punters vote with their feet to make a Davidson tour a route march across the country.

He started touring his new Charlton Nil tour at the Edinburgh Festival in August, and since then he’s been everywhere – the programme takes in ‘homeland’ venues like Dartford, Clacton and Southend and more refined outposts like Cheltenham and Tunbridge Wells.

He’s at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage on Saturday night, and the tour continues to criss-cross the counties until it winds up in Swansea later in the month.

The show takes its title from the area of south east London where Jim has his roots, and looks at his early life – but don’t expect his musings to be a family affair.

‘Outrageous, irreverent and honest’ are the words used to describe the set by his people, so bear that in mind.

The man himself makes no apologies for not being to everyone’s taste: “People know what to expect when they come to see me,” he said.

“I love meeting the audience before and after the show.

“I just want to make them happy. When you get audiences standing up and cheering you, what better job can you have?”

The football club at the heart of that London community plays a big part in the show.

“I’m a Charlton supporter because it reminds me of where I’m from,” he says. “I’ll be talking about my life rather than doing joke after joke – although my life is a joke, anyway!

“I’m really enjoying my life right now, and I just want to make people happy. Fans come up to me afterwards, pat me on the back and say: ‘Thank God you’re here, Jim. You’ve made me feel great.’ You couldn’t get anything better than that, could you?”

If that sounds the like sort of tonic you need, call 01438 363200 or visit www.gordon-craig.co.uk for ticket details.