Steve Dixon BBC News Online reporter

Comedian Rob Brydon is looking forward to his latest incarnation of Keith, the chirpy, care-worn cabbie in Marion and Geoff.

Brydon's last outing as Keith was nearly three years ago, when the series drew critical acclaim and set the tone for a new wave of fly-on-the-wall comedies.

Rob Brydon with Julia Davis in Human Remains

The 37-year-old Swansea-born actor admitted he was curious how television audiences would react to the changes in the new, six-part series, which begins next week.

Co-writer Hugo Blick and Brydon got together last year to plot out how the story in Marion and Geoff had moved on in real time.

The first series - which won Brydon a Best Newcomer prize at the British Comedy Awards - saw Keith the cabbie's wife Marion having a torrid affair with Geoff.

Rob Brydon - Life of a comedian:

2003 - Marion and Geoff 2002 - Cruise of the Gods 2002 - 24 Hour Party People 2000 - Marion and Geoff 2000 - Human Remains 1998 - Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

"Initially, we felt we had told the story, then Hugo and I got back together and thought 'what could have happened in those two years?'" Brydon told BBC News Online.

"I think the characters have moved on in a very interesting way."

Brydon and the crew spent a year filming the show.

"It is quite different to filming something like Human Remains, with just myself, Hugo (Blick), a production manager and camera assistant.

"You are your own bosses and on the day of shooting, if you feel you are having a great day, you carry on until you exhaust yourself and if not, you stop for the day. There is something quite enjoyable about that.

When I make up a character or take on a performance, I find I am that person 24 hours a day. Rob Brydon

"But on Human Remains, with a full crew, you have to get your certain quota of filming each day."

And the spin-off from having a small, flexible crew on Marion and Geoff is the richness of the comedy.

"You sometimes find what you originally had on the script was the best way, or an ad lib will come up and you will go with that."

Brydon is also taking the character of Keith out on the road on tour round the UK, in a show entitled Making Divorce Work, starting on 6 March.

"Keith talks about divorce and famous people who have gotten divorced," Brydon explained.

'Real comedies'

The tour is also another way of Brydon staying in touch with the ever-optimistic Keith.

"When I make up a character or take on a performance, I find I am that person 24 hours a day.

"I see how I react to things - I was driving one day and there was a noise on the side of the road and I immediately analysed how I reacted to that noise: was there any shock on my face? I try to bank that reaction straight away."

I would like to see more Welsh programmes on network television Rob Brydon

Brydon said he realises that Marion and Geoff fits perfectly into the current popularity of "real comedies" such as The Office, created by Ricky Gervais.

"We share similar kinds of tastes in the kind of work we do and it has become fashionable - but how long will it remain?

"I am aware of it, but I could not do anything else."

And Brydon reckons Gervais will probably re-think his decision to shelve any future adventures for the disastrous office manager David Brent and his hapless colleagues.

"He will change his mind," he said with conviction.

"I will certainly not be doing any more filming of Marion and Geoff this year after the tour. I would never say never again; we will see what happens."

Homeland

The comedian is currently penning the screenplay for a romantic comedy film, fitting that in with playing Keith at the Edinburgh Festival and other side projects.

Brydon is also curious about tapping into the rich vein of situation drama and comedy he believes exists in his homeland of Wales.

"I think there is an incredibly wide scope for work and I would like to see more Welsh programmes on network television.

"There is one project that I might be looking at this year that is Welsh."

Marion and Geoff begins on Wednesday, January 29, on BBC2 at 2200GMT.

You can join in a live chat with Rob Brydon immediately after Wednesday's show by following the Talk Wales link on the left.

Rob Brydon opens the Making Divorce Work tour at the Kings Lynn Arts Centre on 6 March and at venues across the UK until 9 April.