“It’s not a show just for people with Parkinson’s. It’s for anyone who wants a laugh,” said Paul Mayhew-Archer, the co-writer of The Vicar of Dibley, who is bringing his Incurable Optimist tour to the Isle of Wight next month.

Paul, a name behind countless British TV shows, is a campaigner for Parkinson’s disease.

He was diagnosed with it in 2011 and will be bringing his comedy tour - which explores all aspects of Parkinson’s -  to Cowes’s Trinity Theatre on Thursday, September 5.

“I decided to find the funny side of Parkinson’s because it helps people cope with it,” Paul told the Isle of Wight County Press.

After performing at the Royal Albert Hall, Paul decided to take to the stage at Edinburgh Fringe, followed by a tour of the country.

“I was asked to do a few minutes so I remember standing on the stage telling a joke and it got a big laugh. 

“I thought, this is what I want to do.”

Tickets to see Paul are available from  https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/trinitytheatre and proceeds from the night will go towards Parkinson’s UK.

Paul found fame as a co-writer of The Vicar of Dibley, with the legendary Richard Curtis.

Paul was invited to meet with the Love Actually creator after Richard saw Paul’s sitcom, An Actor’s Life For Me.

“He asked to see me and I thought he wanted to pick my brains about writers so I took a list of ten I thought he would enjoy working with."

Paul said Richard looked ‘bemused’ when presented with the list, only for Paul to be offered the co-writing job himself.

The beloved TV show starring Dawn French and the late Emma Chambers was voted the country’s third best-loved sitcom in a nationwide poll.

Paul and Richard then went on to write the screenplay for Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot, the 2015 TV film featuring Dustin Hoffman and Dame Judi Dench.

“We loved doing Esio Trot and it was wonderful working with Judi and Dustin,” said Paul.

“They come from completely opposite styles of acting but were both utterly brilliant.”

When he isn’t writing screenplays and scripts, Paul can be found alongside celebrities including Jeremy Paxman and Rory Cellan Jones, taking part in the Movers and Shakers podcast, talking all about Parkinson’s.

“We absolutely love doing them,” Paul said.

In April, the presenters visited London to present a petition to Downing Street.

“People with Parkinson’s aren’t represented enough and they need more support.

“We’re trying to make sure that everyone in the country gets the support that they need.”

Paul, living up to his claim as the most cheerful of the presenters when living with Parkinson’s, joked about the absurdity of the group being told not to make any ‘sudden movements,’ due to the armed police on high security.

Telling the County Press about previous trips to Brading Roman Villa and Osborne House, Paul said he’ll be coming to the Island next month with a couple of friends, for the first time in years.