Josh Widdicombe is fast reaching the very top of his game. He’s a panel show regular, has got his own radio show, sells out theatres up and down the country and will have his debut DVD out for this Christmas – and all after performing his first ever stand-up gig just five years ago.

“I couldn’t handle working in an office,“ the tussle-haired comic tells me, in the middle of ’putting a wash on’ at home during a break in the tour, “and I thought how the hell am I going to get out of this? For some reason I thought this might be a way and it’s paid off – looking back I realise it was an idiotic move.

“You think how many comedians can there be? A hundred? And there’s thousands of them.

“Oh my word – I was dreadful, absolutely appaling. I had nothing to offer anyone and I apologise to anyone who saw me in the first two years.

“It was night upon night of depressing trial and error shows, but it’s good for the soul, you learn to be humble.“

It didn’t take long before Josh’s ’bemused malcontent’ act was getting noticed by comedy competition judges and he was snapped up to support the likes of Michael McIntyre and Stephen Merchant. To achieve what some comics take decades to achieve must have taken some ruthless determination?

“Am I ruthless? I’m a dreadful human being,“ jokes the messy-haired 29-year-old, “No, no, you don’t have to be ruthless. You have to be a hard worker I think and willing to be ruthless with your own time and yourself. And not sit around playing X Box all day – though I’m not really into computer games so it’s lucky for me.

“Like today I got the Guardian and there was a sixteen page pull out on Margaret Thatcher I was quite interested in reading. And I stopped myself – I’ve got to write this show – but I would happily spend a day reading all that stuff.

“That’s the kind of ruthlessness I show, not allowing to let myself sit in a coffee shop and read the Guardian – tough times, tough times!“

Josh, originally from Devon, puts his meteoric success down to a combination of hard work and good luck.

“I’ve put a lot of effort in,“ he says. “I don’t think you realise when you start doing comedy quite what a long journey it will be. It takes over your life for five years.

“It’s more of a trade than I thought it would be – you learn, you improve.

“I think comedy’s quite meritocratic. You can’t get to the top of comedy without knowing what you’re doing. There’s no Jedwards – do you know what I mean?“

In his show Josh shares his young fogey annoyances with modern life, from customer service to Monopoly to Toblerones.

“I get annoyed to myself, I’m not one to make a scene – I don’t think I’ve ever made a scene,“ says Josh, a former sports website writer. “I’m quite laid back, but some things...

“I don’t get annoyed as often as it would seem, but almost as often as everyone else. The persona is me to an extent, it’s a heightened version of myself, a more two dimensional version of myself and hopefully a funnier version of myself.

“I’d say it is me, but I’m not like that all the time otherwise I’d be an absolute nightmare!“

Reaching the upper echelons of the comedy world from a standing start in just half a decade, Josh has high hopes for the next five years but won’t say much more than that.

“I try not to set targets otherwise you’ll only be disappointed,“ says Josh. “You just don’t know what’s round the corner.

“You try not to compare yourself to people because that’s where madness lies. Whether they’re people you started out with or who are massively successful – you’ve just got to run your own race.“


Josh Widdicombe is at The Radlett Centre with Charlie Baker, on Friday, April 12 at 8pm. Details: 01923 859291