Wallsend stand-up Gavin Webster tells Viv Hardwick how he ended up as the voice of animals on BBC1 thanks to Jason Manford

WHEN it comes to giving creatures a voice then Geordie stand-up Gavin Webster is your man… or bison or zebra. The Wallsend funnyman is into his second series of Saturday evening entertainment on BBC1 as one of the creative people behind Walk On The Wild Side which has safari footage turned into “if only they could talk” sketches.

“It was probably down to Jason Manford that I got invited to join the show because I am on the comedy circuit with him. He went around asking other standups if they wanted to get involved,” says Webster.

He quickly moved on to doing voice-overs for the first series to being asked to write scripts for the second series.

“The production company wanted me to take on some writing and they sent me a load of DVDs and suddenly I’m looking at bison on the screen or monitor lizards having a fight, wildebeest moving across the plains of Africa or loads of shots of zebra. I’m not sure that zebra were popular with me because of the black and white of Newcastle or because you always associate them with wildlife programmes,” says Webster.

He always ensures that there is a Tyneside twang to his characters and has found himself “married” to fellow North-East comic Sarah Millican on several occasions.

“When they need a husband and wife sketch they tend to ask us. I’ve found that our accent goes down well as long as you don’t talk too fast. I always try my best to be as Geordie as I can be and I was particularly pleased in the last series to be a bear talking about ‘doon south’ because that’s considered the height of sophistication,”

Webster laughs.

As a scriptwriter he was given a lists of subjects which were taboo but then found that other sketches in the current series are already testing the prewatershed slot.

“We were told that we mustn’t have sexual content or anything to do with things like politics or religion. Then I saw last week that one of the sketches had an elephant who couldn’t remember the name of a women who been out with the night before. Now I know there’s not a lot of danger in saying that elephants can be drunken womanisers but it certainly looks like this series of six is going to be more risque than the last,” Webster says.

There’s no news yet about series three but the show looks popular even though Webster jokes about some of the accents he throws in.

“I tour all over the country so I have a fair idea what a regional accent sounds like but I’m better at things like Edinburgh where my dad comes from. I shudder to think what my idea of Belfast or Birmingham is to the locals but I think the majority seem to like it.

“I think a lot of inspiration for the sketches comes from animals talking about the most ridiculous things like The Simpsons and references to halfforgotten TV shows. I don’t think you’ll find there’s a demand for anything too intellectual.”

Webster remains proud of the fact he still regularly returns to the region to stage performances and, on a more serious note, adds: “I do get a little wound up when people refer to me as a regional comic who just pitches up at the local pubs. I’ve been all over the world and played at places like the French Riviera.”

So is a TV performance worth more than chickenfeed?

“Well, let’s say it’s a bit more than peanuts for monkeys,”

Webster responds.

Over the next few months Webster performs club nights all over the country but is booked for Hartlepool in November and is bringing in the New Year in Middlesbrough.

Then he’s opted to take on a gig as headliner at the Journal Tyne Theatre, Newcastle, on March 4, 2011.

Tickets for the 8pm show are £13. Box Office: 0844-493-9999 or thejournaltynetheatre.co.uk ■ Saturday, November 20: Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre, £8, Gavin Webster with Matt Reed (MC) ■ Friday, December 31: Middlesbrough Thistle Hotel, £22.50. Comics: Chris Ramsey, Gavin Webster, Kai Humphries, Matt Reed (MC) ■ Walk On The Wild Side, BBC1, 6pm