Top comic Sarah Millican talks touring and her new DVD

17 November 2011

1. Sarah, your DVD 'Chatterbox Live' is soon to be released - how much fun was the tour to do?

The travelling side can be tiring but the shows are always great fun. It’s the best part about the job, performing live. Although the travelling is tricky. I’m looking forward to the invention of magic shoes. Click my heels and I’m in Milton Keynes. The audiences were great. I was very lucky.

2. Do any memorable moments stand out for you?

There are memorable moments every night. I always like to talk to the audience and there’s nothing as funny as the public. I ask questions and relish the answers in each show. I always put the highlights of each show up on Twitter (@SarahMillican75)

3. You're also in the middle of a new tour, how's that going?

It’s going well. I’m about a 5th of the way through it and loving it. Come back in April and I’ll be crying and carrying round a picture of my living room to remind me what it looks like.

4. Why do you think people should come out to see the show?

I think we could all do with a laugh. Thanks to the invention of the microwave we can all cook but to be entertained is wonderful. On my nights off I often go and see live comedy. Bloody love it.

5. Are you struck with nerves at all before you head onto the stage for your sell-out gigs?

I’m a little nervous but I think that’s healthy. It’s never good to take these things for granted and be all relaxed about it. When I first started, I used to be so nervous I couldn’t eat for 4 or 5 hours before a gig. Now I can eat (and do) up til the last ten minutes. That’s down to experience and knowing that I would die on a tour if I did it the other way.

6. You've become such a popular name in the industry, what made you want to become a comedian?

It was something that came to me quite late. I got divorced at 29 and while I used to write in my spare time, I wouldn’t have considered performing. Then I did a workshop for people who’d written but never performed and loved it.

7. You're one of few, successful women to make a big name in comedy, do you think it's more difficult for women than men in your industry? If so, why?

No, I think in most cases you get treated equally. There just aren’t as many women doing it. And the only people that really ask the questions about women in comedy are journalists.

8. Working on the circuit and on TV panel shows etc, you must get to meet a lot of funny people, who is funnier than you expected them to be?

I never judge people on how they’re portrayed on the telly as I know that editors exist so I’m never surprised like that.

9. What is the best and worst thing about being a comic?

Best thing is when a new joke works. There’s no finer feeling. Worse thing is the travel but it’s really not so bad and you get really good at service stations. I never stop at a bad one now.

10. Do you ever get star-struck or embarrassed? If so, by who or when?

I get embarrassed when I quack a fart out unexpectedly like anyone else but rarely starstruck. Of course, when I bump into George Clooney on the set of 8/10 Cats (fingers crossed) I will be a ball of starstruck, dribbling, crying and rocking but probably still undressing.

11. What advice would you give anyone who is wanting to break into the comedy industry?

This is the advice I was given and it has served me well. To work hard. To write every day and gig every night. To always carry a notebook. To harness every funny thought. To record gigs and listen back, learning from the audience response. To watch as much comedy as you can. And again to work hard.

12. Finally, if you weren't a comic, what career path would you have liked to have taken?

I’m very good in a callcentre so if this all goes to pot, I’ll just try and get back into that. With this soft Geordie accent, I could probably get a job in the complaints department. I’m pretty good at calming people down.

Sarah Millican Chatterbox Live is out on DVD on Monday 21 November.

FemaleFirst Jenna Fordie twitter: @Jenna_FAM