Worst gig?
I’ve had a few over the years but the worst ones are never really in comedy clubs, they are when you go somewhere else. The toughest I have ever done was for the Navy at a naval base in Harrogate. I was on after a female singer from Barnsley who was dressed in a bikini. 100 sex starved men gave her act their utmost attention to for 30 minutes. As she finished to the loudest cheering I’ve ever heard I was introduced as “Some comedian from Manchester” to a loud chorus of boos. After ten minutes of dying on my arse I said I was going, at which point, the man who booked me came on stage, grabbed the mic and said I was being paid for thirty minutes so if I didn’t stay on and do my time I’d get killed. Suffice to say I stayed on, and the crowd stopped booing, jeering and heckling and just ignored me for the next twenty minutes.

What’s the best heckle you’ve ever heard?
Most are pretty bad as normally the only people who heckle are either very drunk or very foolish. My favourite heckle story from the circuit though is about a comic who opens his set with, “Good evening, my name is ….. and I’m a schizophrenic” to which the heckler replies “Well why don’t you both **** off!” There is no recovery from that.

First Gig
My first gig was at a pub called the Burton Arms next to Band on the Wall and it was about 15 or 16 years ago. There was no real comedy circuit in Manchester at the time, just this pub gig, a gig called the Buzz in Chorlton and a once a month comedy night at Band on the Wall.

The compere at the time was Dave Gorman who you might know from TV. In the crowd were Steve Coogan and John Thomson. I went on, did about six minutes, got a couple of laughs and then couldn’t get the mic back in the stand. It was pretty horrible but I knew the second I got off stage that the first gig was the most difficult and from now I’d be able to do it.

If you fancy trying your hand at stand up comedy there are open mic nights (nights were anyone can have a go) throughout Manchester. The best one is at the Frog and Bucket on Oldham Street every Monday. My advice would be to write a few gags, get up, give it a go and see if you can do it. Most comics from the North have tried out material here, for instance Johnny Vegas, Peter Kay and Alan Carr as well as hundreds of others (like me) who you’ve probably never heard of. To book a spot call Lee on 0161 228 6335.

Are comedians all miserable?
No but according to Rob and Rachel I am.

What is the one piece of advice you’d give to anyone wanting to be a comedian?
Never steal someone else’s jokes. If you do and the crowd laugh, they’re not laughing at you, they’re laughing at someone else.

Favourite joke
What’s pink and wrinkly and hangs out your grandad’s pants?
Your Grandma

My Top 5 Comedy Shows of all time
1. I’m Alan Partridge
2. The Day Today
3. Family Guy
4. The Simpsons
5. Vic Reeves’ Big Night Out

As I’m a stand up comic people sometimes ask who my favourite comedian is. I like loads of comedians of today like Harry Hill, Sean Lock, Johnny Vegas and Bill Bailey. I also think Steve Coogan is amazing, especially as he’s from Middleton which is right near where I was brought up. However my favourite comedian would have to be Les Dawson. He died a few years back, was from Manchester and was a brilliant storyteller, writer and years ahead of his time in terms of his material.