Jim Moir promises laughs from new Coronation Street character

Best known by his stage name, Vic Reeves, Moir will arrive on the famous cobbles as larger-than-life character Colin, an employee at NewsCo, the company that ran Norris and Mary's Mr & Mrs competition.

But while Moir is himself a renowned writer, with a CV boasting TV titles such as House Of Fools, Shooting Stars, Monkey Trousers and Vic & Bob's Afternoon Delights, he admitted that he stayed well away from tweaking the ITV soap's script.

"Because the writing is already so good I don't really want to fiddle about with it too much," the 58-year-old said.

"But I've got quite a lot of little movements, I asked (at one point during filming) "Would you mind if I cocked my leg up here?

"I've got some good pointing techniques as well. I used a pointing technique that maybe Nicholas Cage has done before."

He joked: "I worked it out myself ... I went to pointing school. There's a variety of them, and foot pointing as well."

While there are still days to go before viewers meet Colin for first time, Moir gave away just a few back-story details that could suggest reasons for his arrival in Weatherfield.

He explained: "(Colin) had a string of newsagents which he lost when he got divorced and his wife turned them into a string of yoghurt shops.

"So he works for NewsCo, an umbrella company for a lot of newsagents in the North West... He wants to get his newsagents back.

"He's got some very good comedy lines, but he's a very odd character, larger than life.

"By the time I leave I might just have worked out what he's about."

Moir is only contracted for three months on the show so far but, confessing that he already knows what happens in his final episode, he hinted that there "could be room for more".

Asked if there could be love in the air for Colin, he replied: "Potentially".

For Moir, the job is a "privilege" and an "adventure", as he described Corrie as the only television show he has consistently watched for his whole life.

The acting offer was floated past him several years ago by the show's previous producer Stuart Blackburn and later followed up by current series producer Kate Oates in the form of a Post-It note on his theatre dressing room door.

"When I first stepped on (the set) it was a bit like your first day at big school, which a lot of kids will relate to right now," he said.

"But then all the nerves disappear because everyone's so nice and you make friends pretty quick."