Chess chief stands up for prostate cancer

David Pollock is one of eight business behemoths taking part in a charity stand-up night

Chess Telecom chief David Pollock (pictured) is braving the wrath of a live stand-up comedy audience in the name of charity.

He is joining seven other business heavyweights from the Manchester area on stage to take part in Funny Business North West, a stand-up comedy event to raise money for The Christie and Prostate Cancer UK charities.

The event will take place on 2 October at The Comedy Store on Deansgate Locks, and will be judged by a panel comprising Comedy Store founder Don Ward, chief executive of sponsor New Look Alistair McGeorge, and Jason Cooke, the comedian behind BBC sitcom Hebburn.

Comedian Justin Moorhouse has also been confirmed as the headline act for the event.

Other executives taking part include: Deloitte UK executive member Sharon Thorne, Christie chief executive Caroline Shaw, Elaine Birchall of PZ Cussons, Urban Splash chairman Tom Bloxham, DX Group chief executive Petar Cvetkovic, Richard Duerr of Duerr’s Jam and senior independent director of Fenner Plc, Vanda Murray.

Pollock said the nerves were definitely starting to build: “When I agreed to this challenge, I was nervous but thought that would ease with practice and help from my comedy mentor. How wrong I was, even with a couple of warm-up gigs behind me I still terrified.

"I’m passionate about fundraising and have done some crazy things in my time but the Comedy Store on Wednesday night has got me really twitchy," he said.

There are now just 50 tickets left for the show. Tickets can be bought via the Funny Business website.