Controversial, risqu, outrageous and seriously non-PC that's Jim Davidson. He makes no apologies for his opinions and he knows that his fans come to hear him rip his way through forbidden topics as well as his hilarious takes on everyday situations.

When we speak, prior to his new UK tour, he is driving through France and it's the day before the Olympic city for 2012 is announced. Paris and London are neck and neck at the bookies, and I ask Jim if he's been following the bid.

"Nah! We don't want it in London all those people coming here," he says and then laughs. "Actually I think Seb Coe and the Prime Minister have been doing a great job and it would be good to win it."

No doubt the result will be a source of some snippets in his stand-up routine. Does he write a script for his stage performances?

"No, it's not scripted, I just walk on stage and start to talk about ideas and express some of my opinions about what's going on in the world. I'm viewed as right wing but I have left wing views too, so I've got a pair of wings!"

After almost 30 years in showbiz Jim Davidson has received many awards for his comedy work and in 2001 he received an OBE for his services to charity. In 1999 he launched and became chairman of the British Forces Foundation charity that aims to promote the well-being of service personnel.

In the tabloids on the day we are chatting he is up for another award in the National Television Awards. This glitzty, annual event, in association with the Sun newspaper, pays tribute to the nation's TV stars. Dubbed the TV Oscars the winners are decided by the general public and Jim Davidson On The Road is listed in the Best Comedy category.

"Well, that's news to me and that's very nice," says Jim, "but to tell the truth I sometimes think these awards are just an excuse for a company to get all the celebrities they can out on the red carpet again. The best reward for me is making people laugh." That may sound clichd, but he says it with sincerity.

Last year Jim left Britain to live in Dubai. He says this move was for business and tax reasons but it's a place he likes very much.

"It's a bit like Croydon really! The shops are fantastic and there's a real mix of cultures. Here a 40 storey hotel only takes about two years to build. My girlfriend Michelle Cotton and I watch them working and they really graft out here, things get done. It's beautiful."

If success and an enduring showbiz career had not happened for Jim after appearing on New Faces in 1976, what other path would the young lad from Blackheath have followed?

"I might have run a brothel! Just think about trying the free samples," he laughs. "I'd probably have joined the forces actually, possibly the navy, I don't know what else I'd have been good at."

But he has dabbled at acting and is now playing alongside John Malkovich in a new film by Brian W Cook, Colour Me Kubrick. This is a comedy/drama based on the true story of a con artist, Alan Conway, who passed himself off as Stanley Kubrick in the London area during the early 1990s. Conway capitalised on the public's obsession with celebrity for his scams while Kubrick was working on his last film, Eyes Wide Shut.

"I play Lee Pratt, an entertainer who is conned by Conway," says Jim, "I enjoyed working on the film. It's been selected for screening at the Canadian Film Festival in September."

Jim is also writing a new book about being on tour.

"I'm keeping a diary of events and hopefully the book will be out for Christmas," he says. It's sure to be a stocking filler for his fans.

- Evening with Jim Davidson Fairfield Concert Hall Wednesday, July 27, at 8pm £18.50 020 8688 9291