Michael McIntyre, NIA, Birmingham, Mon Nov 30 SELF-CONFESSED posh bloke Michael McIntyre's rise to fame has been meteoric – with his own TV show and two successful UK tours already under his belt.

It has been just six years since he won the prestigious Perrier Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Festival and since then he has twice performed at the Royal Variety Show, won the Best Headliner Award from Chortle and was nominated for Best Live Stand-Up at last year’s British Comedy Awards.

His first DVD, Live & Laughing, broke the record for a debut stand-up release and he landed an audience of 5 million with his first TV show Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow.

With expectations improbably high it was to McIntyre's credit that he turned on the charm and wowed the Birmingham crowd with a dazzlingly energetic 100-minute set.

Bounding onto the huge stage in front of enormous illuminated letters spelling out his name, the dad-of-two was totally at ease in front of the arena audience.

After a pre-recorded introduction in which he rooted through his now legendary “man drawer” and was then shown running to the Birmingham venue, he rushed headlong into his usual mix of observational stuff and funny stories.

He pondered why people are always suprised by the “sudden” onset of Christmas and why Fairytale of New York – accompanied by an hilariously accurate impression of Shane MacGowan's gravelly vocals – is everyone's favourite Christmas tune. He also bonded with a man on the front row who dresses as Santa for a living.

After the interval the diminutive McIntyre pointed out there hadn't been any applause in the first half so the crowd got their own back en masse by clapping his every comment which he found hilarious.

He shared his marital experiences including his wife's insistence on slathering herself in creams before bed, why he regularly wakes up with “dead arms” – which would leave him defenceless if confronted by a burglar – and how to deal with the curse of “morning breath”.

After a brief departure, McIntyre returned for a short encore which focused on men’s embarrassment in spas – particularly his excruciatingly embarrassing experiences of massage.

With comedian Jasper Carrott in the crowd, it seems Mr McIntyre has gained the approval not only of the great British public but of the grandmasters of the comedy world too.

Michael's second DVD release, Hello Wembley, filmed on his 2009 tour, is out now.