ST HELENS is following up its success as one of the happiest places to live in Britain with a comedy festival.
Researchers from the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester drew up a map of happiness down to district level across the UK, and St Helens came in the top 20 out of 100.
They used data from the British Household Panel Survey, in which people were asked about their level of wellbeing.
After adding in factors such as employment, health and educational qualifications, the team found the areas of Brecknock, Montgomery and Radnor in Powys were the happiest.
Manchester came second, followed by West Lothian, Macclesfield, Nottingham and Falkirk which were all in the top 10. St Helens came in at 14.
“This has come at just the right time to coincide with our annual festival to prove this town is always up for a smile and a bit of a laugh,” said tourism development manager Gary Maddock.
The festival runs from Wednesday to September, 28.
Paddy McGuinness, of Phoenix Nights fame, will open the festival. Other performers will include Jason Manford, star of 8 Out of 10 Cats and the new Channel 4 programme, Tonightly, and Justin Moorhouse from Phoenix Nights and Key 103.
The line-up also boasts Liverpool’s “comic revolutionary” John Bishop, the comic folk music of Lancashire Hotpots plus “born and bred” local comedians, Dave Twentyman, Ray Peacock and friends.
There will also be Bus Stop, Stand Up, which involves a comedy bus travelling from pub to pub and the walkabout pub crawl, Drink Up, Stand Up.
Stand Out will provide a showcase for budding junior comic talent to flourish and businesses will also get the opportunity to share their experiences with the Funny Business training programme.
It will be rounded off with Best of the North West at the Theatre Royal.
The programme runs as follows: Paddy McGuinness, Theatre Royal, September 17th; Born & Bred Comedy, The Citadel 19th; Lancashire Hotpots, Town Hall, 20th; Bus Stop, Stand Up 22nd; Drink Up, Stand Up 24th; Justin Moorhouse, Theatre Royal, Stand Out and Funny Business 25th; John Bishop, Theatre Royal, 26th; Jason Manford, Theatre Royal, 27th; Best of the North West, Theatre Royal, 28th.
