His mother grew up in the town in the Vale of Glamorgan, although her father originally settled in Grangetown, Cardiff, after leaving Jamaica.

Gilligan said he still visited family in the area, adding he and fellow comedians performed a gig to help with fundraising to safeguard the future of Cadoxton Conservative Club in February.

"I've got very fond memories of spending six-week holidays there," he said.

"It holds a huge place in my heart so it's always important that I'm making sure I'm still present."

Comedian Mo Gilligan chats to Lucy about his love of Barry Island

Gilligan, a judge on popular ITV series The Masked Singer, recalled spending days on the beach and riding the log flume at the fun park as well playing the penny arcade machines.

He told BBC Radio Wales' Lucy Owen that he was pleased Gavin & Stacey had put the resort on the map although the show did not have the same "connection" that he remembered from his youth.

"They'd be like 'how, how are you in this?", adding people seemed surprised to learn about his Welsh connections as he grew up in London.

He also said he enjoyed returning to perform in Cardiff because it had a "really good vibe".

"Getting to go back to some of those places that always show me a lot of love is really important and there's no better place to perform than Cardiff," he added.