COMEDIAN and safety-lover Mark Watson is coming to Chester's Storyhouse with his new show How You Can Almost Win, following a remarkable run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

So – what happens when you send a man prone to considerable anxiety, with multiple phobias and a history of poor self-esteem on Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls?

Mark found out and is now sharing his findings in a motivational talk (but with many jokes).

Mark has had a long and notable Fringe career since he was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2005 Perrier Awards, before being awarded the 2006 if.comedy Panel Prize for performing one of his marathon stand-up shows.

Away from Edinburgh, he’s taken home the Time Out Critics Choice Award, been nominated for a Barry Award from the Melbourne Comedy Festival, as well as winning Best Show at both Sydney and Adelaide.

Last year, Mark released Mark Watson’s Comedy Marathon about the London Marathon on Audible.

He launched it with the Watson trademark – a 26.2 hour long show; one hour for every mile of endurance running.

In a gruelling feat of a different kind, he lost almost three stone and faced a crippling lifelong phobia during a much talked-about stint on The Island with Bear Grylls (C4), which this show is based upon.

As well as his TV and live work, Mark has been a Radio 4 mainstay for a decade, with his various series Mark Watson Talks A Bit About Life (a new series coming this Autumn), Mark Watson Makes The World Substantially Better and Mark Watson’s Live Address To The Nation.

For the past two years he’s hosted the final of the BBC New Comedy Award – one of the only comedy shows on the network to go out live.

On top of his comedy stardom Mark has seven books under his belt. Since last Edinburgh, his graphic novel Dan and Sam has been optioned as a feature film by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and is now in development.

How You Can Almost Win will be at Storyhouse on Friday, September 18. For details, or to book, visit www.storyhouse.com or call 01244 409113.