EastEnders actor Ricky Grover is opening a new weekly comedy club on Saturday in a super casino in Stratford.

Dubbed The Comedy Shuffle, Ricky is returning to his stand up roots and his hometown to establish the regular event in Aspers Casino at the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre.

The event aims to be the ultimate night out where punters can have a flutter, enjoy a meal, have a drink and a proper laugh with stars such as Ricky, Omid Djalili, Sean Collins, Tim Vine, The Noise Next Door and Kane Brown for the launch night on Saturday.

Once a month, newcomers are also encouraged to have their chance in the limelight by competing in a Shuffle Showdown.

Ricky started out as a hairdresser but fell into comedy by accident after he blagged his way into the Tom Allen Centre on Grove Crescent Road with a play that turned out to be far too short - so he started making jokes.

Ricky said: “I was trying to find a venue that had a good vibe to it. I was walking around Westfield with my family and I thought ‘this place is buzzing!’

“What’s nice about it is that it’s a real mixture of everyone. People are driving from miles away to come to Stratford but I kept seeing faces I knew and they kept saying ‘can you do a comedy club around here?’ and I thought, yeah, actually that’s a really good idea.

“It’s quite an intimate venue, really, just over 200 people. I’m worried I’m going to be looking down and everyone is going to be a relation or mate.”

On securing big stars for the opening night, Ricky added: “When I rang up Omid, I said ‘well, I was wondering whether you’d come to this new club I’m doing in Stratford-’ and I didn’t even finish my sentence. He just said yes straight away and he said ‘For you, I’ll do it every night’ so it’s great to know you’ve got support from other comedians like that.”

The Comedy Shuffle will open at Aspers Casino, Westfield Stratford City, E20, from 8.00 pm, £12 adv, £15 door.

To book, visit www.thecomedyshuffle.com or call 07565 543 100, or follow the link on the sidebar on the right.