Justin Moorhouse

Justin Moorhouse is peturbed. There's children in the front row and he's about to swear... alot. "Is this a comedy show or a creche?" he barks. "You're barely older than my little lad and I'd not let him fucking come." These initial interactions with the audience are, it turns out, the highlight of the show; the rotund comedian bounces around the stage, oozing charisma as anecdotes of fat women and audience-free magic shows abound.

But the bulk of the show, the title might suggest, is about being a daddy, as Moorhouse now has two kids in tow. As a result of this recent development, anecdotes about his kids predominate, with occasional digressions on the two women that spawned them, his "tight bitch" of an ex-wife and "new woman" Catherine. Moorhouse's delivery is superb, but his material leans towards the predictable as he settles for easy chuckles over intelligent humour. Playing the jovial, self-deprecating Northerner, who frequently refers to himself as "fatty", Moorhouse is certainly an affable character but he's too much of a nice guy, his wit not sufficiently cruel or original to make any kind of impact.

Sweating profusely by the end, Moorhouse's seemingly-endless enthusiasm almost makes up for the ill-advised, lengthy musings on Catherine's pregnancy and the birth of his child. Although this is a heartwarming show that's sure to leave you smiling, the comic's affection for his family is more likely to provoke 'aaahhhhs' than laughs at this year's Fringe.