Size really does matter according to skinny-limbed, big-haired comedian Russell Kane, and his theory is us Brits are all a bunch of scrunched-up, flattened down and repressed people. Except him, that is.

He is the Enfield boy who threw off his working class roots to get a first at Middlesex University. The Essex boy who doesn’t fit into the stereotype. The high-flying city boy who jacked it all in to become a stand up, renowned for his Jedward-style hairdo.

“This is my funniest show,“ he says of Smallness, which aims to dissect the nature of our nation, and is coming to St Albans next month.

“It’s about us being introverted, looking down on the floor and not gesticulating.

“There are lots of things we Brits do which are abnormal compared to other cultures. In Britain, staring is so rude, but isn’t in other countries.

“And we only gesture with our forearms, the rest is dead, whereas other nations wave their arms around.

“And we cheer when someone drops a glass. That’s so uptight.

“The reason you see all those Brits off their faces in Faliraki is because we’re so repressed usually.

“There are always exceptions though and I’m like that.“ At first glance that would appear to be true. He talks a mile-a-minute, has a massive, blonde-streaked quiff and favours outlandishly bright T-shirts.

But he reveals he actually suffered from crippling stage fright when he first quit advertising to pursue his “accidental“ comedy career.

He first decided to try stand-up after his mates told him he was funny and performed his first gig in front of 300 people at The Comedy Club in London.

“I Googled places that did open mics and that was the first one that came up,“ says the 33-year-old who lives in Epping Forest. “I had no concept whatsoever of what stand-up was. I thought it was still like Roy Chubby Brown and stuff my dad laughed at and I just told some stories.

“I got a laugh in the middle and it was like a needle slipping into the vein.

“I did my second gig and it went really well, and I was hooked.“ Leap forward to 2014 and his show Live at the Electric has just started its third series on BBC3 and he has launched chat show Staying In with Greg James.

“I still feel like I’m up and coming at the moment,“ says the 2011 winner of Celebrity Mastermind.

“I basically retired to do my hobby and have won the game really. But then you let ambition creep in your head.

“I would definitely like my show to get over to BBC2 and become like 8 Out of 10 Cats.

“I feel like I’m in set 1B, like at school, at the moment and I want to be in 1A.“ The caffeine addict, who is also an avid reader and television viewer, is relying on his natural drive to get him there.

“It’s definitely my personality you see on stage. I don’t make my stories up. I never stop thinking.

“My best trait is energy. My shows are all full of it. It’s also my worst. I never stop, I’m never calm. It’s a blessing and a curse and drives me mad.“ The fact he was the Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner in 2010 would suggest he was born to work in comedy.

So does he have any regrets?

“I absolutely love what I do. Every day I wake up feeling like a really lucky b*****d. But if I had never done that first gig I would probably be a respectable, middle-class person with a good job and steady wage.

“We all know where this is headed, I’ll end up with a kangaroo testicle in my mouth or in the Big Brother house in a leotard just to pay my mortgage.“

Alban Arena, Civic Centre, St Albans, Friday, March 2, 8pm. Details: 01727 844488, alban-arena.co.uk