ANOTHER Royle in Ipswich - my arse A week after Queen Elizabeth showed up on the train in Ipswich the one and only Jim Royle of the BBC's Royle family fame decided to stop off for a pint in the town.

ANOTHER Royle in Ipswich - my arse

A week after Queen Elizabeth showed up on the train in Ipswich the one and only Jim Royle of the BBC's Royle family fame decided to stop off for a pint in the town.

TV and film star Ricky Tomlinson - well known as couch potato Jim Royle and football manager Mike Bassett - last night pulled up a bar stool at The Dove Street Inn, in Ipswich.

Hot on the heels of producing his new Christmas song "My Arse" which is tipped to be battling the X-factor song for the coveted seasonal number one slot he appeared at the pub as a prize for the popular real ale pub winning the Cask Ale Pub of the year 2006.

Dressed in trademark holey vest and jeans he regailed regulars with jokes and anecdotes from his career, including the fact the he knows former Ipswich Town manager Joe Royle, claiming he is a distant relation to the Royle family.

After around half an hour of stand up comedy and a question and answer session with the audience he then happily mingled with drinkers, posing for pictures and signing autographs.

One drinker said: “Jim Royle in Ipswich, how cool is that? Fingers crossed The Dove keeps it up so he brings the family next time.”

The Dove, previously an Evening Star pub of the year winner, unanimously won the judges votes for the Cask Ale Pub of the year 2006, organised by Greene King breweries and The Publican magazine.

As a prize for its achievement, it won the chance for a visit from Tomlinson who seemed completely at home among a crowd of real ale drinkers on the opening night of its beer festival.

He said: “I love coming to places like this. It's a normal local where people come every night. It's got a lovely friendly atmosphere.”

A mild beer drinker by tradition, the Liverpudlian revealed he even brings a store of the drink down south with him to avoid drinking champagne at corporate events.

Next Monday he is due to release his spoof Christmas single, produced on the spur of the moment, written in an hour and a half one day, with the video filmed in his garden shed.

Dove landlord Ady Smith said he and his partner Karen, who run the pub, could not believe it when they found out Tomlinson would be visiting.

He said: “ We see little TV in this trade when the main programmes are on so when you get someone who has been there and done it all, it has the makings of a really good night.

“We just wanted to give something back and say a big thank you to all our customers.”