PAUL Merton's Impro Chums, stars of the inaugural Great Yorkshire Fringe in York last summer, return north tomorrow to play Pocklington's Platform Festival at The Old Station.

In the wake of Al Murray - The Pub Landlord's sold-out Pock performance last year, the festival's comedy slot goes this time Have I Got News For You team captain Merton and his chums Mike McShane, Lee Simpson, Suki Webster and piano-playing Richard Vranch.

"Yorkshire audiences are very warm, and lately I've been beautifully entertained by repeats of The Good Old Days on BBC4 on Fridays nights," says Paul, heading off an early detour, before he re-routes to a recollection of the Impro Chums's Great Yorkshire Fringe show in the White Rose Rotunda, a circular, mirrored Spiegeltent. "We had a really good fun there because we can adapt to a space and we loved the Spiegeltent."

For those unfamiliar with the Impro Chums, they create a brand new show every show, inspired by suggestions from the audience as well as their own improvisational skills.

"That's why I love it so much, because every show is so different," says Paul, who can see a similarity of sorts between the long-running BBC news quiz and the Impro Chums, now in its 14th year.

"Whether performing to a live audience or responding to what's been happening in the news, with the news always changing over the course of a week, there's always a chance to react in both shows."

Such is Paul's enjoyment of the spur of the moment, the chance to express the quickest of wits, that he still appears at the Comedy Store in London most Sundays, 31 years after he was a co-founder of The Comedy Store Players. "It doesn't feel like 31 years; it feels like 30," he says.

As with Comedy Store Sundays, there is a framework in place for the Impro Chums. "We make the rules; we break the rules, and there's still constant surprise because I'm on stage with four people who can turn something in a moment and you have to react to it," says Paul.

Performing regularly is vital for Paul and co, not least with the proliferation of improv shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. "Young acts really get into it because of the freedom it gives you, where you don't need a script and you don't need to rehearse, but you've got to be good at it, so you have to keep doing it," he advises any new kids on the block.

"There's always the caveat with performing that we mustn't look to enjoy ourselves before the audience does, so you have to be wary of in-jokes. Everyone gets on really well in the Impro Chums, whereas if two people don't get on, it can quickly turn into a shouting match."

Platform Festival, Pocklington presents The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain tomorrow; Paul Merton's Impro Chums, Thursday; both at The Old Station, 8pm; doors, 7pm. Box office: 01759 301547, pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk or platformfestival.net