Big names in the stand-up business including Slim and Eddie Nestor are gearing up for Strictly Come Laughing 5

WHEN WAS the last time you laughed? I mean really laugh? If you have to think about it then there is no excuse! Grab yourself a ticket for Strictly Come Laughing.

If you are in strict need of a high dosage of good, old-fashion, belly- laughter then the only place where you can be healed is at the show dubbed the “ the funniest show in the world” – Strictly Come Laughing – to be held at The Hackney Empire on September 8.

Renowned for the past decade for making people laugh until they cry – the show was formally known as Empire Strikes Black – with proceeds going to charity Friends of Tafo, which supports a small town in Ghana called Kwahu-Tafo.

The importance of laughter is never overlooked at this star studded event with comics like Eddie Nestor, Robbie Gee, Slim, Axel, Glenda Jaxson, Richard Blackwood, Eddie Kadi, A Dot, Kane Brown, Kat, Stephen K Amos, Jermain Jackman and Lennie Henry all guaranteeing to make you laugh.

An event for the whole family to enjoy, which will include special celebrity guests from the world of TV, film and stage, the healing power of laughter for both mental and physical problems will prove that laughter is the best medicine.

It’s true, laughter has the power to heal both your mind and your body. In fact, doctors now use laughter therapy, laughter yoga and laughter clubs to help people get well.

Speaking to award-winning comic, Slim, he told The Voice: “If people don’t laugh they will simply cry and turn into sad, lifeless souls. Laughter is therapy and it heals the pain many of us carry within.

“I am always touched by fans who tell me that they got their mojo back or forget about their problems after they came to one of my shows.”

The south Londoner added: “ If you need a good laugh and I mean a good laugh make sure you come to Strictly Come Laughing because remember, ‘for every minute you’re angry, low or sad, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”

Award-winning BBC broadcaster Eddie Nestor told The Voice why he likes to laugh and make people laugh: “Laughing makes me feel great and alive. I love making people laugh because it is the only power I have left at my age.

“I especially enjoy getting those screw-up faces that sit in the audience. I love turning their frowns into huge grins and eventually belly-laughter.”

Asking if he had ever noticed that the least unpleasant people you know are those that are unable to laugh at themselves, Nestor said: “People who take life too seriously and are unable to laugh at themselves will always have real challenges in their life.

“Laughter is truly medicine. It’s crucial to a person’s happiness and heals pain and tragedy. My father passed away a few years back and it was the remedy of laughing together and crying together with family members that helped to heal our hearts.”

However, one of the top reasons why laughter is so important, away from the fact that it takes less muscles to smile than frowning – is summed up by comic and actor Robbie Gee: “A very important man once told me that ‘the more you laugh the more weight you lose’…I laugh so much now, I don’t even sleep.”

Strictly Come Laughing 5 takes place at the Hackney Empire on September [email protected]. For tickets/information call 020 8985 2424