In Birmingham to promote his friend Jasper Carrott's forthcoming Rock With Laughter shows at the National Exhibition Centre, at which he will also appear, Lenny Henry had some shock announcements for Campbell Docherty.
Lenny Henry has served notice: no more sketch shows, from now on it's Shakespeare for him.
Well, maybe. Certainly the Dudley-born comedian has had it with the variety TV shows with which he has become synonymous.
"At 46 it's probably time to stop dressing up like Beyonce. Certainly my 14-year-old daughter thinks so.
"Last year, we did a parody of the Kelis video for that song Milkshake. I don't know about the straw breaking the camel's back but those fake tits nearly broke mine.
"It was after that my daughter said 'maybe it's time to stop this kind of thing'."
There is a more "serious professional" reason too.
"Well, I have been doing them every year since I was 17 and we have developed a proficiency for them that can become dangerous I think."
Lenny wants fresh challenges, with tackling the Bard among them.
"I spoke to a friend recently who said doing Shakespeare was almost like learning a new language. But I'd like to think I could do it.
"I love watching that discipline of live theatre where the actors have their lines but the performance can be different every night."
What part though? Hamlet? "Oh no, I don't think it would be credible me playing the sulky student whining about his father's death. Malvolio is a good part, the Duke in Measure for Measure.
"There are lots of good parts in Shakespeare," he said. "There's lot's of them I'd like to do, anything but Othello."
A comedy drama, a situation comedy and a new stand-up show are all works in progress for Lenny but in the immediate future he's booked for four nights at the NEC appearing in Jasper Carrott's Rock With Laughter shows.
The NEC gigs are the first time he's performed stand-up at the venue, apart from introducing UB40 and a corporate bash.
"The really good thing is there will be some giant screens because, especially for me, the audience really need to see the facial expressions.
"Jasper has been doing the Christmas Cracker shows with comedians and the old rockers for a few years but I think he wanted to do something slightly different so he could get more acts.
"I'm going to mess about for 20 minutes, that's a freedom I get with Midland crowds.
"I don't know what it is but people in Leicester treat me like one of theirs and people in Stoke do too. I'm from Dudley but I think people really want to identify with the guy up on stage. I love seeing Billy Connolly in front of a Scottish crowd and I was fortunate enough to see Max Boyce in front of a Welsh crowd... it was like the Second Coming."
He still has an affinity with his home region and still sees his sisters, who still live in the Black Country. That said, he isn't too keen to get involved in talking about Saturday's riots.
"Don't ask me about Lozells, I'm not from around here," he said, pretty much the moment my backside hit the plush leather sofa in his hotel suite.
I was in two minds about going down that line with him anyway. Ok, he represents an important positive role model for black children today and he might be thinking about tackling Shakespeare, but he's still a comedian.
Nobody sought out Benny Hill's considered views on the miners' strike did they?
Did they?
