It’s been too long since Sean Lock last visited Poole, but he promises to make audiences “laugh like a drunken horse” when he brings his new show to the Lighthouse.

The British Comedy Award winner is hitting the road with his new stand-up show, Purple Van Man.

“I haven’t toured for three years,” he says.

“I like to have a break to generate a bank of new ideas.”

Sean is best known as team captain for the last 14 series of Channel 4’s popular 8 out of 10 Cats, and is a regular on shows such as Live at the Apollo, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and QI. But stand-up remains his first love.

“You want to hear people hooting in the audience, that’s quite a thrill,” he says.

So what’s Purple Van Man all about?

“People are always asking the opinion of ‘white van man’. I was listening to the radio in a white van the other day, and they were talking about what white van man believes.

“I was thinking, ‘I don’t subscribe to those opinions. Maybe I should get a different-coloured van’.”

“Being a Purple Van Man means I have my own perspective on things. It’s a slightly different style of comedy; it’s not just meat and two veg, although I hasten to add that I do provide a full menu with a happy finish!”

Sean pledges to tackle a range of subjects, from China to drinking.

“I have worked out that I am virtually Chinese because everything I own is from China,” he says.

“I will also be discussing my new-found belief in God. I’m not an altruistic Christian – I’m only doing it in case there is in fact a heaven.

“I will also talk about my relationship with alcohol. I’m quite comfortable with it, although some people may think I like it a bit too much.”

The success of 8 out of 10 Cats has made him a household name, and he’s thankful for the platform it’s given him. “It helps enormously because people are now used to the style of comedy I do.

“They come to see me knowing what I do. That way, you build up an audience,” he says.

“8 out of 10 Cats is still going after all these years because we work at it. There’s hardly any format to the show – we only get asked four questions an episode.

“We have to generate our own material, so we sit down and write stuff beforehand.

“You couldn’t be spontaneous without having the confidence of having prepared something to talk about.”

While he enjoys touring, Sean says it can be difficult coming down after a live show.

“You get an enormous surge of adrenaline on stage. I use part of my persona, let’s call him Larry, to make the show work.

“I get Larry out of the box to help me on stage. But after the show Larry goes ‘Right, I’m out now. Let’s have fun!’ And you say, ‘We can’t go out in Leicester on a Tuesday night. Where are we going to go? You have to get back in the box’.”

“Sometimes I’ve had to wrestle Larry to the floor as he has tried to open the door. I’ve had to punch him a few times.

“It made the next night hard, as he didn’t want come out of his box!”