LOVE 'em or hate 'em, Neil and Christine Hamilton have provided no end of public titillation since the former was ousted from the Conservative Government in 1997.

After embarrassing John Major with the cash for questions scandal, the former Minister and his wife hit the headlines after being accused of raping mother-of-four Nadine Milroy-Sloan in 2001.

The episode blew over amid a frenzy of flashing cameras and the immortal words from Mr Hamilton "she is a gold digging slut", but that wasn't the last we heard of Mr and Mrs H, by any means.

Providing a quality hour of cringeworthy antics on Louis Theroux's fly on the wall documentary, the pair became oh-so-reluctant household names, gracing the panels of, amongst others, Have I Got News For You and I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here.

And the chance to witness first hand their ability to annoy, fascinate or provide side splitting pleasure with their intelligent wit is coming to Worcester, as the candid couple prepare to grace the stage of The Swan Theatre as part of a tour of the UK.

Billed as "excellent speakers", Neil, a Spectator magazine Parliamentary Wit of the Year, economist and former barrister, and Christine, a regular media personality and author, with her own show on BBC Choice, are to face the music at the city venue on Friday, February 27, at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £15 from the box office on 01905 611427.

Another famous face will also be appearing in person at the Swan - but famous for quite different reasons.

Kate Adie, chief correspondent for the BBC, was one of the first British women to send dispatches from war torn countries and her scintillating talk on Tuesday, February 10, aims to provide an insight into a job where danger often accompanies the pursuit of truth.

The title of the sell-out Royal Geographical Society lecture, You Should Have Been Here Yesterday, is a phrase which regularly greets reporters when they arrive at a scene and Kate finds herself echoing these words when embarking on research.

After gaining national recognition following her coverage of the SAS end to the Iranian Embassy Siege in 1973, she won the Monte Carlo International Golden Nymph Award in 1981 and 1990, and was awarded the MBE in 1993.

Twice named Royal Television Society Reporter of the Year, she is now a familiar voice on Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent and recently released her first book, The Kindness of Strangers.

Another national hero for twenty-somethings is the man behind Sean's Show, the drole Dubliner, Sean Hughes, who is also the youngest winner of the Perrier Award for Comedy at the Edinburgh Festival.

On Saturday, January 31, the 90's icon, who now lives in London with "a cat, a dog, a smoker's cough and loud music", will demonstrate another string to his bow at Huntingdon Hall, starting at 8pm.

Unbeknown to some, in addition to performances in the critically acclaimed Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Channel's 4's The Last Detective, he is also the best-selling author of Sean's Book and The Grey Area, a collection of poems, short stories and sharp autobiographical pieces.

His appearance in Worcester will be based on this "riveting, blackly comic" work, as well as his two novels, The Detainees and It's What He Would Have Wanted, a narrative comedy of secrets, sex and bad weather.

His third novel is due out in September.

Tickets, costing £10, (concessions £9) are available from the Huntingdon Arts Box Office on 01905 611427.