WITH a knack for funny rhymes and stories, stand-up comic Richard Dellow has landed a book deal for his latest book.

What’s Up Daddy’s Nose is a funny and imaginative story of a child peeping up their dad’s nose only to a monster trying to floss and a sausage in a tracksuit applying lip gloss!

Richard, from South Benfleet, said: “I have this funny thing when I am with my kids where I make up silly rhymes to make them laugh. Mostly I am on the trampoline bouncing with them making up rhymes and stories .

“Lots of the ideas come and go but then some of them stay with me and I think to myself ‘this one has something more to it’.”

Richard, 43, has two self-published children’s books, The Turtle in my Tea and The Cheese on the Trapeze.

He landed his book deal after contacting publishers with his ideas .

“I wrote to a lot of different book agents and Austin Macauley came back to me and said they loved it,” he explained.

“The process takes some time as yo u have to work with an illustrator and go through the proofs.”

His kids love their dad’ s stories and the fact they had a part to play in the book.

“They love that some of their ideas are in the book. In What’ s Up Daddy’ s Nose? they came up with silly things like ‘a pig in skinny jeans’ and ‘a builder in a bath of beans’.”

The engineer and stand-up comic has enjoyed performing his book to local schools.

“A s soon as I mention bogeys they all start giggling. Children can tell straight away if you’re being genuine, and they can be brutal,” Richard Laughed.

“I must say, after months of not doing stand up I have such a high from performing in the schools!”

Stand up has been a passion for Richard for many years .

“For years I fitted stand up around my job and I would travel to London to perform at the Nice N’ Spikey comedy club.

“Then during lockdown it made me have a complete re-think about what I wanted to do. Commuting a long way for a 10-minute spot is not so easy when you have a family.

“I love to perform, there’ s always some fear just before but once I am there talking to an audience, it all melts away.”

You can buy What’s Up Daddy’s at Waterstones, WH Smith and Amazon.