Actress Dawn French is embarking on her first solo tour and said she is "sick with excitement" at the prospect.

The star, best known for her partnership with Jennifer Saunders and her performance in the title role of The Vicar of Dibley, has teamed up with theatre director Michael Grandage to create the show which is called 30 Million Minutes.

She said: "I'm sick with excitement about this solo tour. I am enjoying the fact that I can't categorise exactly what it is, but it's somewhere between a monologue, a play, and an autobiographical slide show with a few funnies thrown in.

"At last, I have one of my three genie wishes granted, which is that I finally get to work with Michael Grandage. The other two wishes are as yet unfulfilled. They are secret obviously, but suffice to say, one is about Barack Obama in Speedos. The other is about me in speedos, with cheesecake involved... Enough said."

The tour opens in Sheffield in June before going on tour with dates including Glasgow's Pavillion on June 10 to 12.