WHEN Lucy Porter was growing up she had an unusual dream - to come from Manchester.

The Croydon comedian's infatuation with Northern culture is displayed in her newest show, Northern Soul, which she brings to the Stand next Monday.

"All my contemporaries when I was 12 were dreaming of being ballerinas and show-jumpers, and my dream was to be from the north of England," she chuckles.

"Music was mainly what caused it, as I was an indie kid and I loved bands like the Fall, the Wedding Present and, crucially, the Smiths - I was a Morrissey devotee and thought that if he was from Manchester then maybe it was my spiritual home too."

That backdrop has inspired Northern Soul, which Lucy has tackled in her usual bubbly manner. It has also prompted her to look at her life and led her to a realisation.

"Doing a show like this does make you think about the parallels of your teenage years and your current self, and patterns of your life," she explains.

"I realised that I've always been attracted to miserable men. I started looking at my husband [the comedian and actor Justin Richards] and thought to myself 'I've married the Hampshire Morrissey'.

"Of course, if my husband does mind being referred to as miserable in the show, that will only make him more miserable, and therefore more attractive to me. It's a win-win for me."

Lucy's comedy gigging over the past year has marked her return to the stage, after taking time off to have two children.

A popular performer on both stage and screen, the 40-year-old unveiled Northern Soul at the Edinburgh Fringe last month, where it received fine reviews. Returning to the Fringe prompted a few fears, though.

"I always feel old at the Fringe until I see Fred McAulay, and he reminds me I'm still a whipper-snapper," she chuckles.

"I do now feel that if I walk into bars during the Fringe then people will recoil in horror at the old lady and be asking 'who's being collected?'"

Lucy's talent for self-deprecating wit hasn't left her, then. That's one reason she's popular in Glasgow, and Monday marks her second appearance at the Stand. Her March visit created fond memories.

"I've enjoyed coming to Glasgow more every year, as I get to know it better," she says. "Six months ago I came out after the gig, met my friend and there was one of the best pub quizzes I've done taking place nearby.

"We formed a team with a couple of random people who'd been to the show, and it was great."

There are several other things on Lucy's mind, too. She's been working on a sitcom script and having a crack at a novel too.

"I'm terrible for starting lots of things, so halfway through the sitcom I decided there was a novel I needed to write," she says.

"So I'm two-and-a-half chapters into it, and after I get up to three I'll see if there's any interest in it."

In the past Lucy also presented FirstPlay, an online digital magazine devoted to the Playstation3, which gained her an unexpected following.

"I did have a group of gamers in the audience once. Last year's show featured a lot about childbirth. So it was a two-tier show for 18-year-old boys and 40-year-old women, but everyone learned something about each other from it."

l Lucy Porter, The Stand, Monday September 23, £12, 7.30pm