At Detling showground on Sunday, 30,000 fans were screaming at four-piece girl chart-toppers Little Mix.

The night before, in a little theatre on the Isle of Sheppey, self-styled British heart-throb Jess Conrad, 82, was entertaining just over 30.

The two venues are only 15 miles apart but the shows were separated by generations.

It is incredible to think that 60 years ago, teenage girls were swooning at the feet of East End boy Jess. How many of the Little Mix crew will be performing in their 80s?

Jess had twice performed two sell-out shows at the 100-plus seater Criterion Theatre in Blue Town, where he is a patron.

He had been due to return in March but it coincided with promoting his surprise hit TV show Last Laugh in Vegas, which he recorded with seven other veteran British entertainers: comedians Cannon and Ball, pianist Bobby Crush, funnymen Bernie Clifton and Mick Miller, entertainer Kenny Lynch, singer Anita Harris and former Hi De Hi star Su Pollard.

The new date turned out to be the start of the school summer holidays. "With hindsight, this was not a good night to have a show," he mused.

However, the trouper, wearing a stunning pink two-piece suit and sporting immaculate hair, strode onto the stage on Saturday as a pre-recorded message introduced "Mr Irresistible Himself."

Jess, who left school unable to read or write, is the first to admit he owed his initial success to his good looks.

Determined to break into films, he took to working out with his own weights to carve out a six-pack so he could "get my shirt off, like the Americans."

After opening with rock 'n' roll classic Johnny B Goode, Jess took a moment to gather his breath before reaching into his jacket pocket for a tiny hand mirror.

He peered at his reflection before announcing: "Ah, JC, you're still looking good after all these years."

His entire act is spent gently taking the mickey out of himself.

"I know how thrilled you must be to see me," he said to the audience.

"I'm thrilled to be here, too. But at my age, I'm thrilled to be anywhere."

He has never been one to take himself too seriously and allowed Jim Davidson to mercilessly tease him on TV's The Generation Game.

Backed by Roger Nicholas and the Criterion Allstars, Jess went through a set from the 60s including Fings, Teenager In Love and Do You Mind.

For the second half, the audience was treated to a full and frank show-reel of his finer moments, appearing in the horror movie Konga, the TV comedy series Are You Being Served, Space 1999 and the TV docudrama Telstar about record producer Joe Meek.

Jess recalled how his mother locked him in the coal hole to punish him, why he based his act on flamboyant American pianist Liberace, how he started out as a film extra and why he was taken under the wing of TV producer Jack Good and turned into a pop star. His biggest claim to musical fame, however, was recording This Pullover which was voted the world's worst song by DJ Kenny Everett.

Jess even explained how he auditioned, unsuccessfully, for the part of James Bond. It was down to his blue contact lenses, apparently.

Some said the Little Mix tickets were selling for between £100 and £200. It made Jess's £25 tickets seem a positive bargain.

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