Hidden under the bonhomie and infectious giggle of comedian Joe Pasquale is a real dare devil, who pushes himself to the limit and thrives on challenging his body and mind.

Fourteen-years-ago Joe won his stint in the jungle with I’m A Celebrity and he said that eating bugs and coping with creepy crawlies was nothing compared to the 23 hours of boredom in between filming.

“I did enjoy the experience because it was different, but sitting around watching people argue wasn’t much fun.’’ he said.

Joe was featured in the 2004 edition of the TV series I’m A Celebrity and one of his many challenges was to be buried underground with rats! Before he entered the jungle the comedian was terrified of flying and in the programme he had to climb down a ladder attached to a helicopter.

“I was scared of flying and they threw me out of helicopter so after I’m A Celebrity I got my pilot’s licence,’’ he said.

Another mission impossible the comedian undertook was the TV series Skating On Ice. He was partnered with Vicky Ogden. “I had never been on the ice before but I gave it a shot and ended up doing a tour with Torvil and Dean,’’ said Joe.

He also entered the Sugar Free Farm on ITV and says that to this day he is still off the sugar and he is still into his boxing, which is a particular hobby. He believes in healthy living and was an advocate for the Man Alive 2005 campaign run by Cancer Research UK which alerted men to the dangers of becoming overweight and the necessity for exercise.

Other challenges include running the London Marathon and winning the Guinness World Record for the most martial arts throws in one minute. He casually said that he didn’t do much training as he did judo as a boy and just needed a refresher before the record attempt.

“I know I am going to be dead one day so I want to get as much done as I can,’’ he said. “I need to keep fit for my work, it is all physical, imagine a fat Frank Spencer?’’

Joe took the leading role in the theatre tour of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em and he says that stepping into Michael Crawford shoes was scary, as he had to learn 108 pages of dialogue.

“That was running a marathon every night,’’ he said. “I was on stage the whole time and it is physical but it was a great success and we are going back to it next year and performing in the West End.’’

The comedian is also not afraid of challenging his mind as he appeared on Celebrity Mastermind with the specialist subject of Vampire horror movies. He says he is a big horror fan and has just written a book of short ghost stories called Deadknobs and Doomsticks.

He also tackled both physical and mental endurance when he was featured in Alone In The Wild. “That was amazing, I was completely on my own with no camera crew.I had to learn how to handle a camera as well as survival techniques,” he said.

Joe is currently celebrating 30 years in showbiz and is back treading the boards as a stand-up comedian with his new show A Few of My Favourite Things - which does what it says on the can. “It is a mix of my favourite stuff and new stuff with painting, music, audience participation, mind-reading comedy, singing and dancing. It’s great to be back on the road, I haven’t done stand-up for a year because of Some Mothers, although I hate the traffic jams while travelling.’’

One of the highlights of his 30 years since he appeared on the talent show New Faces was a guest slot on the Muppet show.

“I used to watch the Muppets when I was growing up so it was an honour,’’ he said.

As part of his UK tour Joe will be bringingA Few Of His Favourite Things is at Swindon’s Wyvern Theatre on September, Saturday 15 at 7.30pm, tickets are £22 from 01793 528144 www.swindonwyvern.co.uk. - Flicky Harrison