THE Pub Landlord is undoubtedly one of our best-loved comedy characters.

He’s become so big, he can sell out arenas up and down the land, including the New Theatre in Oxford on a Sunday night.

But his creator, comedian Al Murray, remains appealingly modest about the immense success he’s had as his buffoonish, loud-mouthed alter ego.

“It never ceases to amaze me,” he almost whistles in astonishment. “When I started doing the Landlord more than a decade ago, I never thought he’d have this kind of legs.

“Sometimes I think, ‘I must have covered everything now.’ “And I know that when I can’t come up with new stuff for him anymore, that will be the time to stop. But so far he’s proved really durable. He strikes a chord because everyone knows an idiot and everyone’s been in pub!”

So are there any drawbacks?

“In the end it’s got to be funny. I’m a stand-up doing a character – there has to be a laugh every 35 seconds.

“You might get a poignant story about his mother rejecting him, but who cares if it’s not funny? The idea is that you can feed any topic into the Landlord’s mincer, crank the lever and it comes out as comic material.”

Of course, the reality is that it takes Al Murray time to come up with the material that makes the Pub Landlord so successful, which is why, after a couple of years locked away in the TV studio and tapping away at his laptop, Al is unleashing his Beautiful British Tour on a well versed public, gagging for the latest material.

For those of you who don’t know – The Pub Landlord is a bald, narrow-minded Little Englander who rails against all things that are “not normal” (especially the French), with his peerless cocktail of chopped logic and off-the-cuff improvisation.

But fans will be equally delighted to learn that Al is as warm and funny off stage as he is on it. Looking relaxed, he begins by explaining why his ranting alter ego has become quite so popular.

So what subjects will the Landlord be pontificating about this time around?

“The show is about ‘broken Britain’,” reveals the comic. “Who broke Britain? And what are we going to do to fix it? At the end, the Landlord applies his Five Golden Rules to mend Britain. What are they? You’ll have to come and see the show.”

The Landlord will also be reflecting people’s anger about the current financial crisis caused by a bunch of greedy bankers. “People are genuinely furious about that,” observes Al.

“They’ve lost our money, and now we’re having to use our money to bail them out!”

Above all, Al adores the opportunity that stand-up affords him to improvise. When it comes to conjuring material out of thin air, he is just about the best in the business.

“Improvisation is the one element stand-up has that no other artform has.

“I love seeing stand-ups who are quick off the mark. It’s the thing that really excites me about live comedy.” Al’s numerous fans would no doubt agree.

As well as touring the country, the comic is also currently starring in a new ITV1 sketch-show, Al Murray’s Multiple Personality Disorder which showcases a range of hilarious new characters – and there isn’t a Landlord in sight!

Al Murray has sold out the New Theatre on Sunday night.