IT will be about as far removed from Vicky Pollard as you can get when Little Britain star Matt Lucas heads to Salford's Lowry Theatre next month.

Matt, famed for comedy characters like chav Vicky in the hit BBC show, is to tread the boards here before new play Prick Up Your Ears heads off to the West End.

It's already causing feverish interest at the box office, as it plays just one week in Salford before moving down to the capital.

The play, written by Simon Bent, is a dark comedy based on the life of playwright Joe Orton and his relationship with writer Kenneth Halliwell, played by Matt.

The relationship ended in tragedy when Halliwell bludgeoned Orton to death, before killing himself, in 1967.

But The Diary is assured the play, which debuts at The Lowry from August 31, has plenty of lighter moments along the way too...