The desert kingdom of Dubai is now home to British comic Jim Davidson but he is back in Blighty touring with his adults only, Uncut stand-up show. Yet he chose the shimmering blue skies of Dubai a few weeks ago for interviews to promote his Christmas pantomime, Dick Whittington, and his career in general.

Kidbrooke-born Jim first appeared in the public eye when he won the TV talent show New Faces in 1976. Always a performer as a youngster, he took to the stage in the scouts and played drums in a band.

But it wasn't until the age of 20 he first had a stab at stand-up, persuaded by his mates to fill in for a comedian who hadn't shown up.

"I was a bit boozy at the time and thought, I can do this," he recalls. "It was at a pub in Woolwich where I found my first gig and my first wife."

Jim went on to host several primetime TV shows, including Big Break and The Generation Game, which he fronted for seven years.

Throughout his career, Jim has been a panto regular, both on stage and as producer.

"My first panto was in 1976, at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham," he says. "Frank Ifield was topping the bill. I played Idle Jack and I loved it, I couldn't wait to go on.

"Panto is the only chance I get to be clean," he laughs. "You can go on and be a clown, like I used to do on the Generation Game. The adults enjoy themselves because they see their kids having a wonderful time," says the 52-year-old dad-of-five.

Chairman of the British Forces Foundation charity, Jim has entertained troops in the Falklands, Bosnia and recently in Iraq. A visit to Basra last year with opera star Katherine Jenkins involved a terrifying helicopter journey, flying under power lines and dodging missiles.

A lifelong Charlton FC fan, whenever Jim is back in Britain he tries to visit the Valley to see his team play. So why does he choose to live so far away from his beloved Addicks?

On the terrace of the six-star Grosvenor Hotel, he explains why he's made the desert paradise of Dubai his home.

"The sun shines, for one thing. You can get up and it's sunny and you think, I'll have a barbecue today. It's a better way of life. I don't do any TV in the UK because I can't cook or paint houses. So I might as well be out of work here," he says.

Last year Jim organised the first annual Dubai Comedy Festival, with a line-up of 30 stars including Bobby Davro, Ronnie Corbett and Richard Digence.

"Here I don't have any baggage they don't say oh he's that 'orrible Conservative Charlton supporter', they just know me as a comedian."

He also likes the monarchy's strict law and order regime.

"The best thing is, no crime. You can walk anywhere safely," says the veteran Tory activist, who counts Margaret Thatcher and party chairman Lord Ashcroft among his friends.

"Plus the fact I've been struggling with a bloody tax bill since my last divorce I had a £2m bill to pay. I got so sick of it, I thought; I'm going to be a tax exile."

Jim grins ruefully: "Lord Ashcroft put me in my place in one sentence.

"When I told him I was moving here, he asked me: Don't you have to be wealthy to be a tax exile?'"

- Jim Davidson Uncut Fairfield Concert Hall Saturday, May 6, 8pm £17 and £19 020 8688 9291 www.fairfield.co.uk