CLUB singer John Parkin jokes with the girls watching his set as he tours the North-East and North Yorkshire that he's actually a TV heartthrob.

But it's not until his partner plays the theme tune to top soap Coronation Street and he dons his glasses that the audience notices his likeness to Curly Watts, played by actor Kevin Kennedy.

While his wife, Christine, joked that "it's not exactly a compliment, is it", the 43-year-old, from Darlington, takes it all in good humour.

"It's just harmless fun, - it doesn't bother me," he said, after hearing the "Curly" calls for the past five years.

"When I'm out singing, I leave my glasses off when I start and I have a bit of fun and tell the girls I'm a heartthrob and ask if they can guess who I am."