Ed Byrne, who is coming to Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich and Lowestoft with his Tragedy Plus Time tour takes on our Six of the Best Podcast

Ed Byrne is in his third decade of being on our television screens having regularly appeared on the likes of QI, Mock The Week, and Have I Got News For You to name a few, as well as hosting Live At The Apollo and Comic Relief Bake Off.

But now this fantastic funny comedian, who has extended his Tragedy Plus Time tour to the end of 2024, will be coming to the Marina Theatre, in Lowestoft, on February 15, The Apex, in Bury St Edmunds, on June 30 and Ipswich's Corn Exchange on December 11.

Reporter Kev Hurst chatted to Ed for our Six of the Best Podcast on subjects including how his comedy journey began, the #preshowpint ritual he has and the possibility of him ever going on Taskmaster – you can listen to it or read the abridged version of the interview below.

So Ed, what made you want to start in comedy and take to the stage?

I was always a fan of comedy from a young age, this is going to sound ancient but I used to listen to comedy albums – vinyl LPs of people like Billy Connolly and Monty Python.

Back then that is how comedy was consumed – if you weren’t seeing it live you would literally put a record on the turntable and get it that way, all of those were owned by my older brother back then.

When I was a teenager in college I work for the students’ union and had to make the odd speech here and there and I kind of got a feel for putting jokes into it and started to think that maybe I could do this a lot more.

I then started MC-ing at a comedy club in Glasgow of a Wednesday night which also helped. So it was a mixture of people telling me I was funny and just getting a feel for it through the medium of student union politics.

You are returning to Bury St Edmunds in June and I noticed the last time you were here you did this thing call #preshowpint – posting a picture of yourself in a pub in the place you are doing a show at and drinking a local beer – how did that all start and what sort of reaction do you get when you come walking in?

It is a funny one that, we just got into a habit of doing it anyway and I posted a couple of times just showing what I was doing, as one does on social media, and it just became a thing.

It started on Instagram because I think at the time I was shut out of my twitter account because I had been hacked and with Instagram being about the pictures, we started doing that.

Occasionally I get a free beer or an invitation to come to a certain pub, so it has become quite nice and as I always tag in the place, the bar and the make of the beer I am drinking I am now followed by a load of beer bloggers and websites.

As well as the comedy, I know you are into your hill walking and previously did a hill walking series on YouTube called Ed Venturing, where you take some of your comedy friends with you and asked them questions along the way – is there a chance that you could bring that back?

Well, there were two more which were in the can, which I will probably edit and put online at some point but it is a big ask trying to drag people up mountains with you, to get a time when they are free, when I am free and it is expensive to film.

So we won’t be doing any more unfortunately, unless some television company ponies up some cash for it, so I am afraid not.

But what I have started doing is a podcast, called Ed Byrne Needs a Hobby, rather than me taking people hill walking with me I have started trying other people’s hobbies with them and they then sell their hobby to me as a prospective one for me to do – that is nice because you get to hear about what makes their heart sing.

I love the brilliant show which is Taskmaster – have you ever been approached to do it and do you have a competitive streak for that sort of thing?

Oh yeah, I have a hugely competitive streak. Maybe not for the kind of things that they do on Taskmaster as they are slightly daft and sometimes involve physical prowess but your general knowledge quizzes, I get fiercely competitive.

I have won The Weakest Link, The Chase, Family Fortunes and House of Games, so yeah I would love to go on Taskmaster. I have not been asked or approached, but if I was I would definitely say yes.

As a comedian, how do you cope when a joke just does not hit the mark you have wanted it to?

Well it depends, in the case of it being a joke you are still working on, then you can go back and work on it if it is something that you believe in.

But if it is a joke that normally works and you do it one night and it doesn’t, then that is just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes and that could happen at any time – it could be down to anything, including timings or even a word taken out or put into it.

And finally, what is the best lesson you have learned over your years in comedy?

I think it is probably to keep a record of every joke you have done, either by recording it or writing it down, because you forget them.

I have a woman who is cutting up my old specials and putting them out on to the net and she sends me clips for approval and some of the stuff is from 20 years ago that I don’t remember but is really funny.

So yeah, for those starting out, I would say that your career could be a long one and you always can go back to stuff and repurpose it.

Ed Byrne’s extended Tragedy Plus Time tour will be coming to the Marina Theatre in Lowestoft on February 15, The Apex in Bury on June 30 and Ipswich's Corn Exchange on December 11.