Lenny is growing older and wiser

You would expect comedian Lenny Henry to be cracking jokes and smiling - but instead the poor man is suffering from a cold.

While we are talking he is coughing and spluttering with a chest infection which is doing its best to lay the comedian low.

With a chuckle and a snuffle Henry reckons he doesn't have to search too far to find the culprit who gave him the lurgy.

''I bet it was that Elle Macpherson who gave it to me. You do know there were tongues involved don't you?''

Of course. Millions of viewers watched as the unsuspecting comedian was set up on a Blind Date courtesy of Cilla Black.

The date, part of the Comic Relief extravaganza, selected Macpherson, the model better known as The Body, having to turn down Twiggy and Helena Bonham-Carter in the process.

''I had no idea it was going to happen. When it came to choosing I just saw this man screaming, 'Number one, pick number one', so I did.

''We went to a kebab shop and boy could she eat, big bags of chips you know. Definitely a robust Aussie, a big girl. She's also very smart.''

So how forgiving was his wife, comedienne and Vicar of Dibley, Dawn French?

''Well let's not forget about the Hugh Grant scenario,'' Lenny Henry says with a huffiness that is belied by the twinkle in his eyes.

He is of course referring to when the comedienne got to 'snog' Grant on a great big lip-shaped sofa, again in aid of Comic Relief.

But it was a date with another, rather more important lady, that occupied Henry's mind recently, when he went to receive his CBE from the Queen at the beginning of March for his charity work.

Henry jokes that he hoped that becoming "Commander of the British Empire" might see him being put in charge of a submarine.

Then looking thoughtful he says: ''I just know my mum would have loved to have been there, she'd have just loved the whole vibe of being at Buckingham Palace and getting dressed up for it.''

His mother, Winifred Henry, died last year and it is obvious that her death hit him hard. Lenny is the fifth born of seven children brought up in Dudley, in the West Midlands. He reveals that he is planning to talk about his mother's funeral as part of his forthcoming nationwide tour.

''The best comedy is about serious things. My mother was in care for the last year of her life and she faced it with dignity and a sense of humour even though people would talk about her as though she wasn't in the same room.

''She went through amazing privations and if I can I will try and find the words to talk about it - after all that's my job.

''I know my mum would have loved the funeral. There was a choir and three bishops; it was a very joyous celebration and it was wonderful to realise how much she was loved and how much she meant to people.

''A mate of mine came up and said it was the first funeral they'd ever been to where they felt better going out then coming in. There was a real positive charge there.''

Henry admits that the recent Mother's Day was tough but having Dawn and their daughter Billie around did make it bearable.

His stand-up tour kicks off at the end of April but before then Henry was back on our TV screens on Easter Monday starring in a film with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, called The Man.

He played travel agent Dennis Jackson, who has never really grown-up and fails to appreciate the good things he has in life, including his wife.

''He finally learns that in the great scheme of things love and being loved in return is the most important thing,'' explains Henry.

He is also busy filming Hope and Glory, by Lucy Gannon, who created Peak Practice and Soldier Soldier. Set in a poorly performing school, Henry is the headteacher drafted in to turn things around.

Henry admits it is the first thing that has come along since Chef that he has wanted to commit to.

He says: ''Working on something for four months is a long commitment for me. It's like going to the coal face every day, so I haven't taken it on lightly.''

On the distant horizon are plans for a sitcom but he claims he is happy letting that idea "percolate" for a bit.

Henry says he is proud of his work in Chef but believes the challenge now is to create a character who is slightly more likeable then Gareth Blackstock.

On the business side of things his production company, Crucial Films, has been scaled down into a development company.

''Not through any feeling of disappointment,'' says Lenny. ''We did good work but I probably think I wasn't serving it in the best way.

''If you are the chairman of a production company you should be working at it every day and I couldn't give it the time it needed to drive it and make it a success.

"Being a development company it really focuses the mind on what I'm doing. It has made life much simpler. People shouldn't be sorry, I'm proud of the work we did and we achieved everything we set out to do.''

It is obvious that Henry is ready for the road: "Any stand-up will tell you that if you haven't done it for a while you start getting worried that you are going rusty. When you get the charge from the audience it's like 'yes! this is it'."

Henry says a large part of the show will be him mulling over what it means to be 40 and how getting older impacts on every part of your life: "I'm still Lenny but I can see changes in my life and I just have to discuss them with the audience.''

Honour - When Lenny Henry was made a Commander of the British Empire he half hoped to be put in charge of a submarine

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