THEY say always leave them wanting more, which is probably why my career in famine relief never worked out.

And it’s certainly the case with comedian Gary Delaney, whose 40-minute set at the Weymouth Pavilion on Sunday night left many aching faces, well-tickled rib cages and hardly a dry seat in the house.

And there were certainly a few gasps and gaping cake-holes as the comic, a familiar face on TV’s Mock The Week, unleashed some of his more, ahem, niche material which could never be broadcast on television and much less reported on in a family newspaper.

Bouncing on stage sporting a giant foam blue pointy hand, he reminded of us when we were children and we got a sticker for being brave at the dentist.

“Well, I’ve just had a prostate exam,” he chortled, allowing a split second for us to catch up with his lightning-quick but dark mind.

For me, as a keen follower of his tweets and social media posts, it was like watching a favourite rock band on a greatest hits tour.

Yep, there's the young couple's sex tape gag, the greengrocer one, the skimmed milk one, the Asian neighbours constantly barking dog. (Muzzle him? Not sure, but he's got a big beard): All expertly delivered from one of the busiest stand-ups on the circuit.

He soon established a rhythm of one deadpan one-liner after the other, perfectly timing the gap between each one as the auditorium was reduced to one collective guffaw and/or groan.

And anytime he did stray over the line, his knowing smirk, like a schoolboy being caught saying a naughty word, brought us back on side immediately. A top performance from a comic at the height of his game, in my view.

Ably hosted by compere Tom Glover (“I may not be the best comedian, but I’m locally-sourced,” he tells us, the evening also featured two rising stars on the circuit: Kent comedian Rich Wilson and Morgan Rees from Wales.

The intimidating Wilson strode on stage like he was going to Tarmac your drive, whether you wanted it or not, but, as he revealed more about the bonuses of his failed marriage - his own room (at his son's flat, admittedly), we warmed to his laddish, gruff humour.

"Ladies, you don't wanna see me naked: Like a doughnut left on a barber's floor..." Look out for him, I think he'll go far.

As for the likeable Rees, some decent material (I particularly liked his line about Welsh rapper LlcoolJ) but his unconfident demeanour and rambling stories which frequently got lost in a sea on non-sequiturs may need some polishing.

Next up on the Pavilion's Sunday Night Comedy calendar is Mark Watson on November 26.

NICK HORTON