COMEDIANS heading to Edinburgh Fringe stop off at Barnard Castle to preview their show while others are lined up for the autumn season at the town's Funny Way to Be season at The Witham.

Steve Bugeja and Hayley Ellis's double bill tomorrow rounds off the summer season. Bugeja, fresh from supporting Russell Kane on his national tour, brings a new show, Unpronounceable.

He won the BBC Radio New Comedy Award in 2013 and made his Fringe debut solo last year. He has written for TV and contributed material to Radio 4’s The Show What You Wrote and Radio 4 Extra’s topical sketch show Newsjack.

Ellis began performing in 2009 and is a regular contributor to BBC Two's Russell Howard’s Good News. She is a regular co-host on Janson Manford's Absolute Radio show and recently supported comic and Catastrophe star Rob Delaney on tour.

Peter Dixon, of Funny Way To Be Comedy Club, said: "Steve and Hayley have given great performances for us in the past. It’s a delight to see their careers take off.

"In the past we have presented a number of Edinburgh-nominated shows on this final weekend before the festival and we have high hopes this year, too."

Tickets are £8 in advance or £10 door at the door, available from funnywaytobe.com.

The autumn comedy season starts on Saturday, September 3, when Jason Cook, stand-up and creator of the BBC2 sitcom Hebburn, presents Newcastle comic Lauren Pattison and two others yet to be announced.

Pattison was runner-up at the 2014 Funny Women Awards and recently supported Katherine Ryan and Stewart Francis on tour.

October 1 sees a return visit by Pete Firman with a new family show TriX, which he will premiere in Edinburgh. It is suitable for ages 14+.

The following weekend brings Mick Ferry as the headline act with Steve Bugeja. Voted Best Live UK Stand-Up by fellow comedians in 2013 Comedy Awards, Ferry is renowned as a purveyor of gloomy surrealism.

On October 29 Tim FitzHigham presents Will Kempe Shakespeare’s Stand-up as his commemoration for the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare. The tribute is to Will Kempe, the 17th Century stand-up and creator of some of Shakespeare's greatest comic characters.

Lee Nelson returns with new material on Wednesday, November 9. His Barnard Castle debut was a sell-out in 2014.

On Saturday, November 26, the club welcomes Dane Baptiste, one of the hottest names rising through the comedy ranks. Original, provocative and prolific, he was the first black British act nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2014. He brings his critically-acclaimed show, Reasonable Doubt, on his first nationwide tour.

In Stockton, the Ten Feet Tall autumn season at the Arc will bring Fringe favourite Felicity Ward on October 22 during her first UK tour. This promises her darkest and funniest show following the acclaimed documentary, Mental Mission, which had the third-best reviews at the Fringe last year.

Mark Thomas, returns to the Arc, on Tuesday, November 1, with a new show about the Red Shed, the workingmen's club in Wakefield where he began performing and experienced political awakening. Interviewing old friends and comrades, Thomas pieces together the club's history and campaigns with some of the poorest workers in the country in a tale of strikes, fights, dinner ladies, beer, pickets, placards, friendship and remembering.

Tomorrow, previewing Edinburgh Fringe comedy shows in a double bill at Ten Feet Tall, are Jo Caulfield and Gavin Webster.

For tickets and full details, ring the box office on 01642 525199.