GYLES Brandreth, the well-known wit and word-meister, is to bring his love affair with the English language to local audiences.

He will take a bow at the Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury, on April 18 and at Worcester's Huntingdon Hall, on May 28.

The former MP and star of "Just a Minute, The One Show and Room 101 will take "Word Power" as his theme, a show he describes as "an uproarious magic carpet ride around the world of the English language".

So what can audiences expect from his ‘Word Power’ show?

Gyles said: "It's based around my lifelong love of words and includes stories from my life in the theatre and politics. It’s a show for people who love live theatre and who enjoy listening to Just A Minute or watching QI.

"English is the richest language in the world. There are 500,000 words in the English dictionary. The unfortunate French only have 100,000 words in their vocabulary – and that includes 'le weekend'."

Gyles thinks a lot about words; but his favourite word changes from day to day.

He explained: "I’m currently rather liking the word 'yex' It’s an old word for a hiccup and very useful for playing Scrabble. I’m enjoying another old word at the moment, too. To 'squiddle' to waste time in idle talk. I do quite a bit of that."

As a reporter for The One Show, Gyles has travelled "literally from Land’s End to John O’Groats", so what is his favourite accent?

He said: "Just to be difficult, I rather like a Brummie accent. I don’t mind what the accent is, so long as whoever is speaking can be understood."

For Gyles, it's important that people speak up.

He said: "I can’t stand mumbling. These days on TV I often find myself watching the TV with the subtitles so I can follow what’s going on."

But Gyles has no fears about the impact of the internet and mobile technology on the English Language.

He said: "The English language is rich because it isn’t pure. New words are arriving all the time and lots of them have come along with new technology. Of course, there are dangers in the brave new world of texting; and some of the funny ones feature in Word Power!"

Gyles believes the English Language is getting "more and more important every year".

He said: "English is now truly the lingua franca of the world. More people are speaking English than ever before. We are so blessed that our language, English, is the world’s language. Word Power! Truly: get it, use it, conquer the world."

Speaking of conquering the world, or possibly wanting to, what does the former MP dislike about the kind of language that politicians tend to use?

He said: "I don’t like anyone using cliches because clichés are lazy. During the last election I thought I’d go mad if I heard another politician talking about ‘hard working families’. I like language that is fresh and surprising."

Not surprisingly, Gyles does admire William Shakespeare, the national poet.

He said: "He is one of the reasons that English is the world’s richest and most wonderful language. Until Shakespeare came along, the English language lacked excitement."

Gyles's knowledge of language is so extensive, he was able to tell Miley Cyrus, face to face, that she hadn't actually invented the word 'twerking', the process whereby the bottom is encouraged to wobble about at an alarming rate, usually to the intoxicating rhythms of modern pop music.

Gyles said: "I met Miley in a lift at the BBC. She is famous for her ‘twerking’. I told her that the word twerking had been around since the early 1800s. It’s a mix of twist and jerk, actually."

For Gyles, words are part of the human story.

He said: "Talking; oral communication; that's what makes us human: and that's why I'm coming to town with my new show, Word Power!"

The Roses Theatre box office number is, 01684 295074.

Huntingdon Hall box office number - 01905 611427.