COMEDY legend Ricky Tomlinson, was on Teesside at the weekend and enjoyed a guided tour around the Riverside Stadium ahead of a full-house cabaret evening at Middlesbrough Football Club.

The award winning actor, famous for his roles in Brookside, Cracker and playing Jim Royle in the Royle Family spent the weekend in the area meeting up with his friends from around Teesside.

He said: “We had a brilliant few days and it was great to have a good look around at the facilities at the Boro - they are a club geared for the Premier League.

“With a new manager in Garry Monk plus the backing of a top chairman in Steve Gibson the club are geared up to be back in the top flight next season.

“I was talking to plenty of fans at the Riverside on Saturday and they are already looking forward to getting the new season started.

“Some fans were asking me if I had applied for the Boro job when it was available…. with all my vast experience as Mike Bassett England Manager.

“Having looked at the fabulous facilities at the ground I'm thinking that I could have missed out on not sending my impressive CV over!

“My trusted assistant Bradley Walsh is out of the game at the moment so we were both available on free transfers.

“I'm a bit of a stickler for the old 4-4-2 formation and prone to lose it in the dressing room at half time if things are not going to plan. Boro fans would have loved Mike's touchline passion!’’

He added: “Garry Monk, has plenty of experience and was highly thought of at Leeds United. It's a fresh start for the club.

“He will bring in new ideas and the club and fans will need to rally together to make the stay away from the Premier League a very brief one.

“Middlesbrough is a big town and after spending time with the fans they really demand to be at the top level - it's the only place to be.’’

Tomlinson was headlining a supper cabaret event and was on stage for two hours recalling a vast career which has seen him homeless, spend time in prison, receive the highest accolades and ratings, and donate £1m to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in his home city of Liverpool.

He was questioned by BBC Tees radio presenter Paul 'Goffy' Gough during the event and the crowd were invited to ask him questions.

Gough said: “It was a fantastic night and he was thrilled to see so many people from across our area turning out to join him. I have worked with him on many similar events across the country and his greatest strength is that he is always 100 per cent Ricky Tomlinson - a real people person!

“He is terrific value and spoke on stage for close on two hours, Ricky, has a fascinating story to tell.

"He sat on stage and invited every person to join him individually for a picture after speaking, and he was the last to leave the Riverside.

“Everybody that joined us will have left feeling very happy. The feedback from the events team at the club has been superb -but with Ricky Tomlinson involved I would expect nothing else.’’