Eddie recently broke box office records selling out a five-week residency in London's West End in less than 48 hours.

Stripped - which came hot on the heels of his American sell-out tour across 34 US cities - was indisputably the hottest ticket of 2008 on both sides of the Atlantic.

Now the man who turned talking nonsense into an art form has announced he will tour the UK and Ireland with Stripped, his first UK/Irish tour in six years.

Izzard has been hailed as one of the foremost stand-ups of his generation. He takes ideas and situations and extrapolates them into bizarre, tangential, absurd and surreal comic narratives.

Since his first stage appearance on London's West End in 1993 there have been a succession of sell-outs and critically acclaimed international tours.

Eddie's musings have earned him countless awards including two Emmys. Whilst initially renowned as a comic, Eddie is also now equally respected as a film, Theatre and TV actor. His hugely successful drama The Riches is screened all over the world and he is currently to be seen on the big screen starring opposite Tom Cruise in Valkyrie.

Tickets for Eddie's Belfast date on December 12, go on sale this Friday, February 6, priced £33 (subject to booking fee).