WHATEVER happened to Lee Hurst? It’s a question that some comedy fans might have asked given that the former panellist on They Think It’s All Over hasn’t performed a full tour for a decade.

He dipped his toes into the live waters with a series of shows last year entitled Man Vs Woman and he’s been busy running his own comedy club in London but those who keep an eye on the touring circuit might consider him to have been out of the spotlight.

But now he’s back, with a tour entitled Too Scared To Leave The House which aims to tackle the things that frighten us.

“It could be about literally anything from global disasters to spiders to a fear of dying or relationships – anything you can think of that bothers you,” he explained.

In terms of the new show’s format, he’s reflected back to the structure of Man Vs Woman, in which he knocked around some topical stand-up in the first half before launching into the concept for part two.

Lee Hurst has always done things a little differently. Shunning the usual route of ploughing every last penny into an annual jaunt to Edinburgh in August, he made his breakthrough as the warm-up act for Have I Got News For You.

That led to appearances on that show which in turn led to displaying his sharp wit on BBC sports quiz They Think It’s All Over, sparring with the likes of Gary Lineker and David Gower. Hurst’s main project in recent times has been running his own venue, The Backyard Comedy Club, in Bethnal Green.

While the format for the current comedy scene seems to be inherently set up for the skinny-jeaned, skinny-haired young male comedian, Hurst is gratified to see some of the old-school ’90s comedians back on the touring circuit. Alan Davies has just emerged from a successful Edinburgh and plunged into a nationwide tour while Jack Dee and Harry Hill are both back doing live work.

Lee Hurst appears at the Lighthouse, Poole, on March 16.