ARE people "softer" in the south? Singer-songwriter John Shuttleworth sets out on a journey to find out in his new documentary, Southern Softies (Cert U).

It is, of course, a mockumentary, written and performed by John's creator, actor Graham Fellows.

Even by John Shuttleworth's standards, the film seems to get off to a stilted start, although it may just be a case of having to adjust to the shambolic style and wobbly camera.

It soon becomes apparent that the search for southern softies is meaningless and the quest is all but abandoned. The film becomes all the better for this as John and his tiny crew face more pressing problems, such as how to finance the rest of trip and where on earth is John's agent, Ken?

It's a subtle but charming film, with plenty of humour throughout. Most of the folk interviewed by John have no knowledge of his true identity but, with a refreshing lack of cynicism, there is no attempt to humiliate the participants.

Southern Softies is very much made for the Shuttleworth fan but there were plenty of them at Quad's sold-out screening, which was opened with a short performance from John Shuttleworth and closed with a Q&A with his creator Graham Fellows.

It was great to see John back on stage and, although his performance was rusty, it's always difficult to know where the joke ends and the actor's own forgetfulness begins. No matter, John is always hilarious, especially when performing on almost home turf (the character is from Sheffield). It was interesting, too, to see Graham Fellows as himself in the post-screening Q&A and he came across as a genuinely nice bloke.

John Shuttleworth is back on the radio in May and returns to Derby in November - keep an eye on Qt in the Derby Telegraph for details.

Helen Meynell