By Mark Charlton

Racist. Sexist. Homophobic. Foul-mouthed. Jim Davidson has been called all these things, and far more besides.

But the comedian expects to raise a few eyebrows when he performs in Leicester for the first time in years.

The 55-year-old stand-up has rarely been out of the news during a lengthy career pockmarked with criticism for his act, which not only fell foul of changing tastes but, more importantly, was deemed politically incorrect. And not in a good way.

For that reason, he claims, he was effectively banned from performing in Leicester at city council-run venues.

But here we are in 2009 and an Asian promoter has taken the plunge and booked Jim for a show at the privately-owned Athena, in Queen Street.

It is safe to say the irony has not been lost on the comic.

“It’s the Asians to the rescue!” he proudly proclaims. “I love Leicester and I’d love to play De Montfort Hall but I got into a row with your city council years ago, who would not book me unless I signed a document promising not to do racist material.

“I asked them to define racist and they couldn’t, so I never signed it.”

For the record, the city council say there’s “no specific ban in place, but all programming decisions will consider both the popularity of the artist and the impact the content of their performance would have on the positive community relations in the city”.

Athena, meanwhile, was only too happy to make the booking.

“These Asian lads have said, ‘come along and do a bit of work for us’. That’s the irony you have.”

The rows over what is racist and what isn’t will probably rage until the end of days.

What is certain is that Jim has taken plenty of criticism for his act down the years. And it’s not just racism he’s been accused of, but sexism and homophobia too.

“I have been called all sorts,” he says. “Racist, homophobic and ginger. I have not done any racist stuff for years and years and years.

“If I do something, it has to have a joke to it. If a man has a stutter and you want to say something about the stutter, you can’t just say all people with stutters are t***s, you have to have a joke, a reason for people to laugh.

“I don’t have a problem with any race. I do have a problem with lazy people, those who do nothing, while we all pay for it, and I include all walks of life in that.”

Here’s another irony that’s not lost on Jim: he’s moved from the UK to live in Dubai.

“I am an ethnic minority now, yes,” he says.

“I live in a Muslim country. I love it here. People are frightened of Islam and they need not be.

“I live among some wonderful people. There are idiots in every religion giving them a bad name.”

Down the years, Jim has enjoyed prime-time TV slots, including hosting The Generation Game on BBC1. In 2007, he took part in reality show Hell’s Kitchen with Chef Marco Pierre White. It was a typically controversial turn.

“I didn’t like that too much,” he says. “I was tired and had all these women moaning at me all the time.”

He was forced to leave the show after a bust-up with gay celebrity Brian Dowling, who he described as a “shirt-lifter”.

“When I was called in by Marco and told I’d have to leave after what I’d said, I said, ‘why don’t you just edit it out?’, which of course they didn’t.

“So I believe they are responsible for all the complaints they received afterwards, not me.

“I had a 30-minute conversation with Brian, they showed 30 seconds. It’s their (the show’s producers) moral problem.”

Jim’s Leicester show will be a mix of new material and what he describes as “a selection of the best stuff I have done over the years”.

Info

Jim Davidson plays Athena on Thursday, May 7, at 7.15pm.

Tickets cost £19. For further details, contact the venue on 0116 262 6556.