The star of BBC4's "A History of the World Backwards" and "Robert Newman's History of Oil", he is cooking up a night of comedy in aid of the Climate Chaos Kitchen, a monthly event examining how Hebden Bridge can adapt to the challenges of climate change.

"I am going to be doing the world's first ever Carbon Neutral Show on BBC TV later in the year, and so I am very interested in the ideas around Transition Towns which the Climate Chaos Kitchen is looking at soon. And I am writing a novel called "The Oil Merchants" about the beginning of the oil trade , so I am keen to find out about what's happening here in the Calder Valley to plan for a post-oil future," said Rob.

His shows are an energetic mixture of stand-up, character comedy and a bit of ukelele and Sunday night is expected to be another sell-out.

"This will be my third gig at the Trades Club. It is one of my top-three favourite venues. I like the DIY-vibe of the place, the atmosphere is very buzzy and the audience very positive. I have friends in Hebden Bridge and shall be staying on a canal boat. It is the one whose chimney stack will be belching black smoke on Sunday morning as I fail to get the wood-burning stove to work. Whenever I am in Hebden Bridge, I rise at dawn and I go skateboarding on the half-pipe in the park bright and early before any kids are around to see a 43 year-old humiliate himself attempting an axle-grind. I have been skating for thirty years and I'm still rubbish," said Rob.

The Climate Chaos Kitchen event on the concept of Transition Towns takes place at the Trades Club on Sunday, June 1. For details contact climatechaoskitchen@yahoo.co.uk