Presenter, footie pundit and stand up comedian Paul Tonkinson talks to Amie Mulderrig  ahead of his show in Walthamstow. 

 

What have you been doing today?
I’ve been doing a bit of writing, as I’m doing these support gigs with Michael McIntyre, so I’m getting ready for his big arena tour. 

 

Is that nerve-wracking?
Not for me, but for him it is! But it’s really good fun. I get to do lots of different gigs and theatres. 

 

Who is the bigger diva out of the two of you?
There is no question...it’s him. We travel separately, I drive on my own, because I’m at an age where I like to listen to things I want to in the car, he hides under a duvet while someone else drives. He works hard though. 

How are you feeling Manchester United’s loss on the weekend? 
It’s incredible watching them at the moment. It’s simultaneously exciting, exhilarating and terrifying. It’s comic seeing Van Gal realise what league he’s playing in and what’s happening. This burst of confidence and then a huge reality check. We’ve got fantastic attacking options, but no defensive options. It’s entertaining to watch. At 3-1 you’re not exactly cracking open the champagne, because you’re only playing Leicester and it’s early in the season. But 5-3 to Leicester, (sighs) United got a proper tonking. 

 

You’re coming to Walthamstow for a gig at Ye Olde Rose and Crown, will you be doing anything special?
It’s special in the sense that I’m appearing in Walthamstow... I hear it’s up and coming... that’s what everyone who’s moved to Walthamstow in the last ten years is telling me... 

 

How do you come up with your material?
It’s mainly observational. I notice something and make notes and then bench it for about four years! You rehearse it in your room and it seems fine, but when you get out on stage and perform, it can be a case of, god this just isn’t sharp enough. There’s a difference between being witty and being funny and on stage you need to be funny.

 

What inspired you to get into comedy? Were you funny at school?
I think I was, but I was more into the classic kid routes of wanting to be a footballer, but realised that wasn’t going to happen. I ended up going to study drama at Manchester University, then just started performing my own work at 19-years-old. It’s such an addictive feeling that I just wanted to do it again and again and again. 

 

What was your first gig like?
It was an open spot in a comedy club in Salford. I’d come from performances in front of students and my peers with a pocket full of poems and a heart full of joy, but when I got to Salford...well, before I even got to the stage they were shouting ‘f*** off and show us yer arrrrse’, so it was quite a brutal awakening to the industry. I didn’t gig for a year after that. 

 

What’s been your career high and career low?
Simultaneously The Big Breakfast. It was shambolic. That took a while to shed that feeling of disappointment. But a real career high has been doing arena gigs with Michael McIntyre.

 

Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre Pub, Hoe Street, Walthamstow, E17, October 1, 9pm. Details: 020 8509 3880
yeolderoseandcrowntheatrepub.co.uk