1. When did you think about a career in comedy and what were your first steps into it?
I knew from the age of about 12 that I wanted to be a comedian – while friends were going off to music festivals, I spent most of my time watching comedy shows on TV and listening to funny radio shows and podcasts. I did my first gig a couple of months after my 18th birthday but it took me a few years to start gigging regularly as I needed to build up my confidence a bit more.
2. Best gigs you’ve been to?
Plan B at the O2 Arena in 2013. Not only did he perform a greatest hits collection of his two previous albums, but his support acts were the then little-known Rudimental (also featuring Ella Eyre and John Newman), and Labyrinth. The energy in the room was incredible, and it came at a point in my life where I really needed that adrenaline-filled experience.
3. Fantasy wedding/birthday party band?
I would love a band made up of my non-musical mates. For the most part, it would be ramshackle and a disaster – but, God, it would be hilarious.
4. The record you’d take to a desert island?
Probably Ill Manors by Plan B, as it would remind me of many fond memories I had before I was stuck on this cursed island.
5. And the book you’d take?
Francesca Martinez, What the *** is Normal? – just because it is currently next on my list of books to read, and she is a legend.
6. Top three films?
The Dark Knight, because it reminds me of being a teenager and how excited I was back then. It was also one the favourite films of a friend who is no longer with us, so it reminds me of him.
Ladybird, because it is a beautifully crafted film that encapsulates the feelings of adolescence in such a deft, deep way.
Austin Powers, because it’s a properly funny pastiche of spy movies, and we all need things that are light, silly and ridiculous.
7. Worst film you’ve seen and why?
Kangaroo Jack, because there are no redeeming features to that monstrosity.
8. Favourite authors?
AA Milne because the Winnie the Pooh books were a treasured part of my childhood and I still love them now. To appeal to the hearts of both children and adults at the same time is no mean feat.
9. Sport you most enjoy?
I love snooker, it is my favourite sport. My favourite player is Ronnie O’Sullivan but I also really like Stuart Bingham as he celebrated winning the World Championship by saying “Winner winner chicken dinner” – what a legend.
10. Ideal holiday destination?
I am not sure about ‘ideal’, but the place I’d most like to visit is Iceland, as I have heard it is a beautiful country.
11. Pet hates?
Snobbishness. You see it a lot from people in the comedy industry, who look down on some forms of comedy, and it really annoys me. If it makes someone laugh then it has a place. Not every piece of comedy has to be so high-brow that the brows are on the top of your skull.
12. What’s your favourite:
Dinner?
Roast lamb, with all the trimmings and mint sauce.
Dessert?
Pancakes, because you can have them in so many different ways – lemon and sugar, chocolate, banana… even put a Creme Egg on one the other day.
Drink?
Probably the red berry Bulmers, as it is like a bottle of Ribena that makes you all silly.
13. Who is your best friend and how do you know each other?
I can’t pick just one. I still have a group of lovely friends I met at school and we still keep in regular contact. It is something I am always grateful for.
14. Is there a God?
My best response to this would be to say you should listen to Episode 2 of my BBC Radio 4 series (available via BBC Sounds), as that expresses my feelings towards this topic in a far better way than I can written down.
:: Tom Mayhew’s series Benefit Scum is currently on BBC Radio 4 and can be found on BBC Sounds. Tom will be performing a virtual show on March 27 as part of the Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas & Politics 2021. Full programme is now available to view online via imaginebelfast.com
