LOVE HIM or loathe him, Generation Game host Jim Davidson is one of the country's most popular entertainers.

The 46-year-old entertainer seems to be constantly joking for a living. When he's not on screen he is appearing in pantomime (this year in Dick Whittington at Southampton's Mayflower Theatre) or performing his risque stand-up routine.

But behind the smiling facade, there is a troubled life which at times has nearly destroyed him. Davidson has just published a warts-and-all autobiography. So why has he decided to reveal all about his alcoholism, drug problems and four marriages now?

"Money," admits Davidson, sitting in his BBC dressing room preparing for another edition of the Generation Game.

"They just offered me a wad load of cash to write about my time in the rehab clinic. So I thought why not? When you go into one of those clinics you certainly learn a few things about yourself. They just strip all the layers away."

His treatment proved successful and for six years he was teetotal but Davidson readily admits that these days he enjoys a drink.

"I don't think it's the amount you drink that matters... It's how you behave that's important and how you feel inside and why you are drinking. That's what I've altered, not the amount."

Born in Blackheath, London, Davidson entered showbiz as a 12-year-old chosen to appear in Ralph Reader's Gang Show at the Golders Green Hippodrome.

A year later he auditioned for, but failed to get, the part of the Artful Dodger in the movie Oliver!. He recovered from this disappointment and began working the pubs and clubs as a comedian. In 1976 he got his big break, winning talent show New Faces.

Something of a theatrical entrepreneur, his company Effective staged shows around the country. But last year they overstretched themselves with a lavish production of Dick Whittington at London's Hammersmith Apollo. It flopped and ran up debts of around £670,000.

"We have the ability to turn gold into lead," jokes Davidson. "Last year I made the biggest turkey in London."

The company went into liquidation in April but Davidson promptly launched a new company, The Midas Media Group. It will be producing nine pantomimes around the country this Christmas.

A comedian, known for his adult-orientated material, he's successfully carved out a career as a family entertainer.

"People trust me not to cross the boundaries," he explains. "When I'm doing this show I behave like this and when I'm doing the other show I behave like that."

CLOSE TO THE EDGE by Jim Davidson is published in hardback by Ebury Press priced £16.99.