Russell Kane mingles with Yeovil comedy fans

Comedy-mad Russell Kane fanatics queued up in Yeovil's Waterstone's yesterday to meet him at his book-signing.

Russell attracted a variety of excitable and emotional fans, many of whom brought him interesting and unusual gifts.

One young girl brought him some Roquefort cheese from the Supermarket after finding out it was his favourite and another woman presented him with a clay portrait.

Jessie Lee, fifteen from Sherborne, said she had begged her mother to let her take the afternoon off school so she could meet him.

She gushed: "I love him so much, I just think he's the best person ever and he is so hot.

"I can't go to his gig tonight because I have too much coursework which is so unfair but I just had to meet him in Yeovil.

"I tweeted him last night asking him what his favourite cheese was so I could bring him some."

When it was Jessie's turn to meet him she burst into tears, presented him with the Roquefort and told him she loved him.

As soon as it was over she sprinted out of the book-store.

Russell said: "I got some cheese and a cheesy statue so all in all it's been a productive day for everyone really…

"It was very nice of the girl to get me some cheese but I'm never sure what to do in those sorts of situations.

"It's so weird to me that someone would be that star-struck by me, it's just silly.

He added: "I'm very flattered obviously but why can't it be beautiful 25 year old women who fall in tears at my feet?"

Uber-fan Cassie Lawrence came up all the way from Cornwall to see the comedian and presented him with a clay Russell Kane statue.

She said: "I make them as cake toppers, it's my business, and I love Russell so much I just had to make one for him."

He told Cassie it would sit pride of place on his mantle-piece.

Russell posed for pictures with all who asked, invited fans to play with his pug Colin and even offered a few lucky enthusiasts tickets to his stand-up show at Octagon Theatre that night.

His book, The Humorist, is a dark comedy about anti-hero Benjamin White, a comedy critic who understands humour as if it were a mathematic formula but does not himself have the ability to laugh.

Russell said he had fears that many would not understand his novel as it is not like his stand up humour at all:

"Most people seem to get it, it's dark, serious and witty but not in your face funny. Some people I think were expecting it to be full of up-beat jokes so were quite surprised."

After the book-signing, Russell was off to the Octagon Theatre to get ready for his sell-out performance.

At the performance late that night he joked about Somerset (Chard in particular), had the audience in hysterics as he raised an imaginary child, Ivan, on stage, poignantly shared his worries with the audience about never becoming a father and received a standing ovation at the end.

He said: "I love performing down South and Somerset is no exception because there are so many jokes you can make at the expense of both the posh and the inbred Southerners."

"I have had such a fantastic reaction from Yeovil fans, I would absolutely perform here again."

Find the picture galleries of Russell in Yeovil here and here and find our full interview, exclusive to Yeovil People, with Russell here.