Joe Pasquale is back on tour with more squeaky clean comedy (From News Shopper)

Joe Pasquale brings Pull My Finger tour to The Orchard in Dartford

10:36am Friday 21st October 2011 in Comedy By Matthew Jenkin

Matthew Jenkin chats to Joe Pasquale about his new tour, studying again and making an ass of himself on TV.

JOE Pasquale will do anything to get a laugh. Even if that does mean being crapped on by a donkey.

“I used to go on Des O’Connor Tonight a lot,” explains the pint-sized funny man when questioned about his embarrassing TV moment.

He said: “Whenever they had an animal on, they’d ask me to go on because I’m happy to do anything and to work without a script.”

But his plan to dress up as Old Father Time and ad-lib with a donkey for the series’ New Year’s Eve edition didn’t exactly go to plan.

“The production team said I should just go on whenever I liked with the donkey,” the squeaky-voiced comic says.

“But the donkey wouldn’t move, so I tried to push it across the studio.

“Of course, the worst happens and the donkey s***s everywhere, all over me, and there’s nothing I can do but try and get off fast.

“So, I’m in the Green Room covered in donkey crap and Piers Brosnan, who’s a guest on Des’s show, comes in. I wave at him and he comes over and I introduce myself and say, ‘How you doing?’

“He puts his hands on my shoulders and says in my ear, ‘I’m doing a lot better than you. You smell of donkey s**t!’”

It’s Pasquale’s zany unpredicatability and talent for improvisation which audiences have come to love about his live shows.

And his current Pull My Finger tour, visiting The Orchard in Dartford on November 6, has plenty of surprises in store for fans as well a few familiar routines.

He said: “There’s a new routine called Cheese Corner, where I put on a hat which looks like it’s made of cheese, play the drums and try to do as many jokes about cheese as I can.”

There’s a fine line between genius and insanity but Pasquale isn’t afraid to risk being sectioned for his comedy.

“You’ve got to push yourself and the world needs a bit more stupid.

“It can be awful out there with political and financial problems, so people want a break from their problems.”

But Pasquale is not without his serious side and recently began studying geosciences at the Open University.

“It’s not really been going back to studying for me, as I left school at 16 and got run over in a car accident at 13, so I missed out on a lot of schooling,” he says.

“Despite that though, I’ve got along and you realise the only thing holding you back is your own confidence.

“With the right attitude, you can do anything, and nothing’s a mistake if you learn from it.

“You need to find out what you want to do and build on that."

Joe Pasquale will play The Orchard in Dartford on November 6. To book, call 01322 220000 or visit orchardtheatre.co.uk