After performing in front of the Queen, Bermuda will be a piece of cake for British Comedian Hal Cruttenden.

Mr. Cruttenden will be one of the performers in the upcoming fourth annual Just for Laughs Bermuda event in January.

Earlier this month, he appeared on the prestigious 'Royal Variety Performance' at Blackpool's Opera House, sandwiched between acclaimed singers Katherine Jenkins and Bette Midler.

Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, attended by senior members of the Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch.

The event benefits the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund of which the Queen is patron. "It was a fantastic experience," Mr. Cruttenden told The Royal Gazette. "Though it was a bit frightening. I didn't know if the Queen would find me very funny. She is in her mid-80s. I made a few jokes about her being posh."

And he still doesn't know what she found funny, even after the performance.

"She was just visible as a figure from the stage," he said. "You couldn't use any profanity. I had one phrase in a joke which was a bit rude. They made me change 'piss the bed' to 'wet the bed'.

"We do a lineup after the show, and they (the Royals) meet us. The Queen came up and asked me if I was very busy."

He said most British audiences readily accept quite a lot of profanity.

"It is quite nice to be able to do clean stuff," he said. "Sometimes it feels like you are relying on shock value to make people laugh. I try being as clean as possible."

Mr. Cruttenden said he fell into comedy by accident.

"I started as an actor," he said. "I wasn't getting much work, so I went to work for BBC Radio writing traffic reports.

"A guy I was working with was doing a comedy workshop. He suggested I give it a go. It all fitted together."

He said comedy wasn't something he dreamed of since childhood. In fact, he was 27-years-old the first time he went on stage as a comedian.

He admitted the traffic reports at the BBC may have been tempting to mess with for comedic value, but he never did.

"When I worked for BBC Radio, I was quite frightened of ever getting into trouble, so I never used to be too cheeky," he said. "I am quite unusual for a stand-up comic.

"I use to be quite timid, although I am different now."

In 2002, he was nominated for the high-profile Perrier Award given to British comedians.

"I was born to be second place," Mr. Cruttenden said ruefully. "But I am always happy to be nominated for things."

Mr. Cruttenden said a lot of his material centres on family life.

He and his wife, Dawn, have two daughters Martha and Grace, ages seven and nine.

"My daughters are a nice age," he said. "But this age is also a little annoying.

"At seven and nine they get into very tacky things now. They want to see (teen singer) Mylie Cyrus.

"It means you are always listening to music you don't really like. My nine-year-old is always going out dressed out outrageously."

But he said his family don't get annoyed at being included in his act, because he is at the butt of most of his own jokes.

"I am a bit tough on my wife," he said. "I make a lot of jokes about her being from Northern Ireland."

He said managing family life and his comedy career can sometimes be a challenge.

"I did the Just for Laughs comedy tour last year in Canada," he said. "I was away for a month for that. It was incredibly tough being away from my family."

But he said that comics in Britain have it a bit easier because the country is smaller than the United States.

"I am based in London," he said. "I spend most of the year in Britain. Often I can drive home from where I am.

"In America, you fly to a town and play that town for five days and then play another town.

"The hardest thing is working in the evenings. My wife is very sociable and would like to go out a lot more. I have to be very good on her birthdays and our anniversary. And she hates the fact that I work every Saturday. That is a big work day for me. On the other hand, she gets very happy when I am on the 'Royal Variety'."

Just for Laughs Bermuda will be on at the Fairmont Southampton from January 6 to 9.

American comedian Alonzo Bodden will return for the third time as the host of the Just for Laughs Bermuda comedy night. Other international performers will include Jeremy Hotz, and Godfrey. Bermudian comics will be Bruce Barritt and Nadanja Bailey. This year, Just for Laughs is offering a host of different viewing options, including dinner and the show on opening night, and cabaret style on Thursday night. For more information about times, prices and dinner options, see their website at www.comedyevent.bm or telephone 232-2255. For more information about Mr. Cruttenden, visit his website at www.halcruttenden.com.