He caused controversy at the PFA awards earlier this year but comedian Reginald D Hunter is ready to take Croydon by storm later this year, writes Andy Bloss.

The American is one of the most in demand stand-up comedians around and is expected to be a sell out at Fairfield Halls later this year.

His new tour, In the Midst of Crackers is just as honest and contentious as his other shows and it comes to Croydon on October 26.

He has two previous sell-out tours in the UK and a best selling DVD to his name, as well as performing in Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and South Africa.

A regular at the Edinburgh Festival, the comedian has also featured on a host of prime time shows such as Live at the Apollo and Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

Hunter says he cannot wait to tour again and get back to doing live shows.

He says: "Stand-up comedy gives you such buzz. It’s a wonderful moment of reaffirmation.

"You’re standing in front of thousands of people who are laughing their heads off. They are the very same people I see in my daily life who don’t make eye contact with me.

"Suddenly I connect with them on stage, and that makes the pain of being among them all day-long worth it.

"Stand-up is such a thrill. It genuinely galvanises you. It means you can get out of bed for something you really care about.

"If I’m exhausted, the live arena is the only place where I can still find a way to do my best. It really doesn’t seem like work at all."

Born and brought up in Georgia, Reginald has been based on this side of the Atlantic for the past decade and loves that the Brits seem to dig his sense of humour.

"People here get me - and that’s something I’ve never felt in Georgia. There my sense of humour always seemed odd. I was always being sent out of the classroom at school. Girls thought I was weird. There I was the outsider," he says.

"Here my sensibility makes perfect sense. All my neuroses help me fit in here. I have felt right at home in Britain since the very beginning.

"This is the place that has given me the biggest opportunity. Did my great-great-grandfather have a relationship with a British person?

Hunter adds: "In America, I’m just another big black guy with dreadlocks."

Reginald D Hunter, In the Midst of Crackers, Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, October 26, 8pm, £21-23, call 020 8688 9291 or visit Fairfield.co.uk.