Emma Pomfret joins Neil Pearson for a booze cruise...

It's that strain of very British humour that I enjoyed as a kid - and still enjoy as a middle-aged kid now

Dave (Mark Benton), Rob (Neil Pearson), Morris (Brian Murphy) and Marcus (Ian Richardson) ponder life's cruelties in Booze Cruise 2

Following the huge success of ITV1's The Booze Cruise, the same hapless group of mismatched friends and neighbours are back again this Christmas, having swapped the choppy waters of the English Channel for the picturesque British countryside.

Inevitably, things don't exactly go swimmingly, as what should be a relaxing weekend charity treasure hunt swiftly descends into what can only be described as slapstick chaos.

Neil Pearson returns as sarcastic charmer Rob, alongside Planespotting's Mark Benton as his affable best friend Dave, the team's unfailingly optimistic organiser and all-round Mr Nice Guy.

This unlikely duo are joined by Brian Murphy as Rob's cantankerous old neighbour Maurice, Anne Reid, as his unflappable wife Grace, and BAFTA-award winning Ian Richardson as Dave's dreadful prospective business client, Marcus Forster.

Pandemonium is the order of the day right from the start, with Rob receiving a barrage of text messages from his mistress, everyone barely tolerating Marcus for the sake of Dave's career, and even a suspected death along the way.

"It makes me laugh - especially when I'm doing it. It's difficult to keep a straight face in front of Brian Murphy, and with Mark Benton it's impossible - he's so unprofessional," laughs 46-year-old Neil.

"The cast are marvellous, and I have a great time with this material, both on screen and off.

"I mean let's be charitable, the characters are all flawed. In fact Rob gets away quite lightly - well, so far," he reveals, adding that they took the opportunity to film a third feature-length episode at the same time.

"Nobody dies so there is scope for a fourth one - I guess it all depends but there's certainly no resistance from me!"

"I think we were all gagging to get together again - obviously we missed Martin Clunes, but as much as we would have liked to have had him on board, I think the show is none the worse for his absence because that core cast momentum is still there."

The London-born actor, who made his name in the TV newsroom comedy Drop The Dead Donkey and police drama Between The Lines, believes that the success of The Booze Cruise - which attracted an audience of 12 million in 2003 - is thanks to the great script.

"There's a place for traditional family comedy and part of the attraction of being involved was that a lot us felt like it was the nearest we could get to being in a Carry On movie.

"In fact it has its roots further back than that - it's a bit like those saucy seaside postcards you saw around in the 50s," Neil grins.

"It's that strain of very British humour that I enjoyed as a kid - and still enjoy as a middle-aged kid now. Inoffensively saucy, family-based, quite old-style comedy is something that I hadn't done before and something that I definitely wanted to be part of."

With his non-stop moaning, his tetchy relationship with his next-door neighbour Maurice, and the way he treats his long-suffering wife, Neil admits that Rob can come across as rather heartless, but he does have a softer side.

"He is the sort of character who stands by his friends - his presence is needed by his best mate so he tags along on the treasure hunt knowing he's going to have a bad time.

"And he does have a bad time, but he's there for Mark anyway."

2006 is looking busy for Neil - he's recently finished a two-part thriller called The Kindness Of Strangers, which will be screened in the New Year.

"I'm also involved in a Channel 4 project called The Play's The Thing, where we're looking to open a hitherto unperformed play in the West End next year," he explains.

"We're trying to see whether it's possible for a new writer to make a name for him or herself in the West End, and whether we can garner an audience there.

"I'm one of a three-person panel trying to whittle down the entries and it's a lot of reading. It's due to open in June and the four-part documentary will be screened just before."

But despite the inevitable talent showcase comparisons to programmes such as Pop Idol, Neil is quick to point out that he?s definitely not the new Simon Cowell.

"No West End investor or cast would pick up on something that was merely a gimmick, and I'm not Simon Cowell - my trousers are too low!"

* The Booze Cruise 2: The Treasure Hunt, is on ITV1 on Christmas Day