TV comic Jon Richardson was full of praise for Morecambe Winter Gardens following his sold-out charity show at the venue.
The stand-up star, who is from Lancaster, spoke to Beyond Radio moments after he came off stage to a huge ovation after a hilarious show in aid of St John's Hospice.
According to early estimates from hospice staff, Jon's gig raised around £15,000 for St John's and money was raised for the Winter Gardens too.
Richardson, who grew up in Scale Hall, said the experience at the Morecambe theatre on Sunday night was "fantastic".
LISTEN to our interview with Jon Richardson
"Having grown up here, there's nothing like seeing the sun setting over the Bay and queues of people on the seafront coming into this theatre," he said.
"It's such a special feeling. It's such a beautiful theatre."
Jon is in the midst of a UK tour and he said the Winter Gardens show was a chance to raise some money for the hospice while also getting back into the swing of touring after a summer break.
"We've been touring now for nearly two years and we've got dates going into next March," he said.
"I did preview (the show) at the Lancaster Grand (in 2022). I think some of the audience tonight will have been there as well. Hopefully they've seen that it's come on (since then).
"One of the reasons I usually do (these shows) with a bill of other comics is I want them to see Morecambe and the Winter Gardens.
"Because I'm on tour at the minute, when the hospice got in touch about the gig, I said it's going to be hard to put a show in on top of the tour, but I can do a tour date just on my own.
"I was a bit nervous as well, because I had the summer off, but it's nice to start back with a nice audience."
Jon said the amount raised for the good causes was "phenomenal".
"It's really important money, and it's the money of the people of Morecambe," he said.
"It's me doing a gig but I'm not under any illusions that they're coming to see me as much as wanting to show their support for the hospice and the venue. The applause should go to the people who spent the money because it's their money from their pocket in a difficult time, to help the hospice."
Jon said he'd hoped the Winter Gardens show could have been recorded for television.
"I'm recording a (TV) show at Hackney Empire. I really wanted to record it here because I wanted people on telly to see this incredible (building). You can't beat (buildings) that were built at that time. They were built properly, acoustically they're amazing, they look stunning, You've got the history of Laurel and Hardy being here, Thora Hird, it is special.
"But for various reasons, I was told I wasn't allowed to."
Below, the packed crowd at Morecambe Winter Gardens before Jon's show on Sunday night.
Jon, 40, who went to Ryelands Primary and Lancaster Royal Grammar School, lives in Yorkshire with his wife and fellow comedian Lucy Beaumont and their six-year-old daughter Elsie Louise, and regularly visits family in our local area.
"My Dad lives in Heysham, so I come back and see my dad and my nan, she's 97. I come back as often as I can, it's a very special part of the world.
"While I'm here I'll see my family, my cousins, usually I'd stay over and we'd go and have a few beers in The Exchange. But as it's the summer holidays (I'll be going back to spend) the morning with my daughter, straight back to it."
Last year the comedian spent his 40th birthday playing a pub quiz at his dad John's local, The Exchange in the West End of Morecambe (pictured below).
Jon is famously competitive as a team captain on the hit TV panel show '8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown', but this was one occasion when he didn't win!
"It was a complete waste of my time and I let everyone down, and I think about it on a daily basis," he joked.
"So thanks for bringing it up!"
Jon also paid tribute to his friend and colleague from 8 Out of 10 Cats, Sean Lock, who died of cancer in 2021 aged 58.
He said Sean was his toughest opponent on the show, where contestants have to solve anagrams and maths questions.
"People come up to me all the time and talk about Sean," he said.
"Towards the end, he played down how good he was. He got very good at the game.
"I have to remind myself it's a comedy show and sometimes try not to win.
"Apparently that's why people watch it, they don't want to see me do addition and subtraction, they actually want a laugh!"
The Winter Gardens show was the latest in a series of comedy nights in the local area where Jon has performed to raise money for the hospice.
Tickets sold out in a matter of hours when they went on sale in July.
On Sunday night, there was a huge queue of fans outside the theatre and around the corner onto Northumberland Street ahead of the doors opening.
The gig itself was a laugh-a-minute, as Jon told stories and jokes about subjects ranging from Ant and Dec, climbing gym ropes at school, bananas, Lord Attenborough, the Crazy Frog, and the comic's relationship with his wife and daughter.
The local area got a few mentions, with the Eric Morecambe Statue, The Bay TV crime drama series, the spectacular Morecambe Bay views and even a seagull taking the spotlight at one point!
After around two hours on stage, including an interval, Jon was clapped and cheered as he exited on, of all things, a scooter!
The Lancaster comedian is also known for his TV mockumentary series 'Meet the Richardsons', in which he stars alongside his wife Lucy (pictured below).
He has also co-hosted The One Show, as well as appeared on Have I Got News For You, Live At The Apollo, Would I Lie To You? and Taskmaster.
Jon can also be heard on his podcast Jon Richardson And The Futurenauts, where he talks through his daily worries, from food to climate change.
His UK tour 'The Knitwit' continues with shows in Hemel Hempstead, Hackney, Grimsby, York, The Lowry in Salford and more.
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