Stand-up comedian, novelist, playwright, lyricist and compere of the Royal Command Performance (an unexpected twist if ever there was one), Ben Elton's pretty much done the 'dahling' lot.

But for those of you who can't get enough, Tonight's The Night, the acclaimed musical based on the songs of Rod Stewart, right, is coming to Oxford's New Theatre on Monday, June 5. And guess what, Ben penned it...

Rod, however, was not what you'd call a hands-on collaborator: "All he said was: Don't mess it up. See you at the first night'. It combines the work of two people who love pop and entertainment and aim to give people a great night out.

"I love to tell stories and be funny, and Rod above all else is a wonderful entertainer.

"Rod called his anthology Story Teller. He's as interested as much in the lyrics as the tune, and in the great tradition of Sinatra, he phrases each song beautifully. Just listen to Maggie May or You Wear It Well you always have a very clear idea of the story with his work.

"That's why his songs lend themselves so well to a love story. Any Rod Stewart musical must above all be a love story."

A drama graduate from the University of Manchester who has penned plays such as Gasping, Silly Cow and Popcorn, Ben has developed a highly successful career as a lyricist. He wrote the words for Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Beautiful Game, as well as penning the script for We Will Rock You, the hit show drawing on the songs of Queen, which has been playing to packed houses at the Dominion Theatre in London.

So will he be sitting down to pen any more major musicals?

"No," he declares. "I've had some very flattering offers to write other rock'n'roll musicals I won't tell you who from but it would be too much. I love the shows I've already created and wouldn't want to dissipate that. I'm not an empire or a corporation, and I don't feel the need to sell franchises of my life. You have got to focus and spend your time on those things you really care about."

Rather, he is rekindling an affair with his first love: stand-up comedy. Why?

"Three small children," Ben replies, his eyes lighting up.

"When you've been off the road for a while and you've been woken at all hours by screaming kids, you start to miss the soft, gentle hum of a hotel minibar at night!

"In the past, I'd watch something like The X Factor and think, 'I wish I was doing stand-up at the moment I could really roast that'. Now I can!" he said. The X Factor is just one of the many subjects that Ben gets his teeth into during the course of his riveting two and half hours on stage.

"They go on about having 75,000 applicants," he continues. "But in fact they are relying on the audience's complicity.

"If the judges actually saw 75,000 people and they worked 10 hours a day, it would take them two and a half years to audition everyone.

"We've all seen people who are far better than the contestants on The X Factor, but all the good ones always get chucked out. They're only interested in the village idiots."

Ben, who has also been behind such hit TV programmes as Blackadder (above), The Thin Blue Line, The Man From Auntie, The Ben Elton Show, Mr Bean, Filthy, Rich and Catflap and Stark, says he is no longer a Young One (he's 46).

"Now, I'm just as likely to riff about the fact that I now have to shave my ears as about the so-called War on Terror," he laughs.

Tonight's the Night is at Oxford's New Theatre from June 5-10. The box office is on 0870 606 3500.