Hot comic of the moment Seann Walsh has themed his new tour on getting older, but is he getting wiser? Jo Roberts found out.

His last tour, The Lie-In King, was about living alone and trying to sort himself
out. Just a year later, fast-rising young comic Seann Walsh returns with his new show, where he is now living with his girlfriend and she is trying to sort him out.

The blond shaggy-haired star of BBC1’s Monks and Comedy Central’s Big Bad World has two dates left in the county at Maidstone and Folkestone.

He told What’s On how his London upbringing and early comedy career in Brighton has sharpened him into the sought-after stand-up he is today.

You’re originally from Lewisham, how did that play its part in shaping you?

“Well I uzt to talk like dat innit, but I left young enough that it’s gone. Luckily. I would have been the only ever rude-boy Aslan.”

You spent your early career in Brighton, a place that seems to have a much higher percentage of hipsters than your average town?

“I don’t know about that but it’s a very creative town. Most of my friends ended up doing something creative whether it’s being in a band, directing films or making paper aeroplanes with their dole application.”

What were the factors that shaped your humour?

“[Irish comedian] Tommy Tiernan mentioned recently that he thinks going to lots of different schools had a part in becoming a comic, because it meant he was constantly having to reintroduce himself and never fit in. That was interesting. There’s something in that, as I also went to quite a few schools. I had quite a rule-less childhood, which I think made it very difficult to do anything ‘normal’. Stand-up is basically a certain amount of time on a stage where you can do what you want.”

You left school with one GCSE – what was the story there?

“I didn’t behave. I went onto college to study things I was interested in, which helped me and I saw the enjoyment and importance of education. I wish I hadn’t mentioned it, as it’s something I’m quite self-conscious of and it always gets brought up.”

How did comedy emerge as a potential livelihood?

“Luckily, I never really wanted to do anything else. There was a time when I wanted to be a filmmaker and I’m still very interested in films. I even used to do sketches during school lunchtime as a kid. Film is one of the things I enjoy the most and, for whatever reason, I’m a person that’s not satisfied just enjoying something. I have to think ‘Right, I enjoyed that. I’ll do that then’. Unless it’s food. Unfortunately, I can’t be bothered with cooking.”

Who were the comedians who inspired you when you were younger?

“Basically the big names when I was growing up: Lee Evans, Jack Dee, Lee Hurst, Jeff Green, to name a few. Everyone else seems to say Richard Pryor. I only remember him from Superman 3.

How has it lived up to expectation when you’ve worked with any of them since?

“I can actually say ‘It’s okay, you can meet your heroes’.”

How has your material developed over the years?

“I write a show every year before Edinburgh Fringe Festival and, because of my busy schedule and inability to do more than one thing at a time, I get under two months [to do it]. I just write about my life in the past year building up to Edinburgh.”

How does this affect your relationships – are people dubious?

“No, only taxi drivers.”

GIRLFRIEND

On living with his girlfriend – the actress Rebecca Humphries, who he met while filming Big Bad World – Seann has joked: “I have met and moved in with my girlfriend. You know what it’s like – you have to change, you have to adapt, different ways of looking at life.

“She thinks that when the dishwasher has finished the dishes, you put them in the cupboard; whereas if you’re me, the dishwasher IS the cupboard.

“The flat has to be spotless at all times, in case we have ‘guests’. GUESTS?! I used to have friends! I remember friends would come round, we’d talk nonsense and then we’d go out. What are these ‘guests’ doing – coming round and then leaving comments on Trip Advisor?”

Seann Walsh’s 28 Tour is at Maidstone’s Hazlitt Theatre on Sunday, November 30, at 8pm. Tickets cost £14. Visit www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk or call 01622 758611.

Lastly, Seann appears at Folkestone Quarterhouse on Friday, December 5, at 8pm. Tickets cost £14. Visit www.quarterhouse.co.uk or call 01303 760750.