I may sound like a prima donna, but I couldn’t tour without my pillow
The Last Leg’s Josh Widdicombe is ready to offer audiences a bit much as he talks to MARION McMULLEN about tattoos and touring
You, Adam Hill and Alex Brooker now have 16 series of The Last Leg under your belts. Did you have any idea how successful the Channel 4 show would become when it first started? (LAUGHS) No idea. We were doing just 10 days originally and now it feels we are on all the time.
We first did it for the Paralympics and it wasn’t intended to be anything more. But they brought us back and we got the chance to find out what the show was all about and it was sort of allowed to grow organically. Now I can’t remember the time before we presented it. Now it’s the day job.
What was it like going on a road trip across Australia with Adam and Alex?
THAT was too hot for me and it was a long, old gig – three weeks – but that’s the fun of this work. You get to do different things with your friends and get paid for it. There are no negatives.
Who would be your perfect Last Leg guest?
NOEL Gallagher I think would be a fantastic guest. He’s so forthright and spot on and he would be funny with it. I’d take Liam Gallagher as well.
Do people find it hard to believe you got a tattoo to win TV comedy quiz Taskmaster?
I CAN’T quite believe it myself. The challenge was to buy the best present for £20 for host Greg Davies... so I got a £20 tattoo of Greg’s name on my foot. It’s the most painful part of the body for a tattoo, but I won the task and the series and that’s the main thing.
Taskmaster is so much fun and everyone on it wants to win. I often forget about the tattoo these days and then I’ll suddenly spot it.
You’re now touring with Bit Much... It’s your first stand-up tour in three years so what can audiences expect?
A LOT has happened since I last toured. The main thing is I’ve had a baby, but I’m aiming not to talk about that on the tour. (Laughs) Everything except that.
I’m pretending I’m working but the tour’s going to be a bit of a break for me. I’m playing some big venues and I’ve had a long time to work on the show.
My view of stand-up is really just writing about the things that make you laugh. I never intend to write about one thing or another. I note things on my phone and, really, once the show is written it changes very little.
People who go the first night of the tour will find it much the same at the last night. I want people to feel they are getting their money’s worth. What do you enjoy about performing? THE best thing about my job is I get to do a lot of different things – standup, TV, radio and podcasts – it all keeps you interested.
When I started stand-up it was terrifying. Now you are doing a show that you really believe in and you know it’s funny. It’s a kind of joy to me when you have audiences, people coming to see you, and you get to be on stage.
Do you find it easy to unwind after a show?
I’M normally in a car and driving a long way to the next venue. I’m not in a tour bus or anything like that and I come back home a lot of nights when I can. I don’t really have to unwind. I’m quite quiet afterwards. Being on stage is the fun part.
I always take a pillow on tour with me. I have got a bad neck – all the hotel pillows over the years have given me a bad neck.
It makes me sound like a prima donna, but I couldn’t tour without my pillow. It’s quite hard and expensive. If I leave my pillow in a hotel on tour, that’s a problem.
Were you surprised to once end up on a ‘worst dressed’ list? THAT was funny. I didn’t think people would even know who I was but, for a comedian, being picked was an absolute dream.
You ended up in hospital with appendicitis earlier this year. How are you feeling now?
IT was quite a serious week really, but I kept being told the operation was a normal thing to do. A scar is no problem after having a tattoo. I have no other tattoos but ‘Greg’ and I will never, ever have another.
What else is in the pipeline for you?
I’M doing more episodes of comedy panel show Hypothetical with James Acaster and there are more dates for Bit Much ... into 2020.
It’s the Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo next year, but there’s so much in my diary right now that that is the first time I’ve really thought about it.
I’ll be going from one job to another and there will be a lots of tour shows before The Last Leg and Tokyo.
■ JOSH Widdicombe is touring the UK with Bit Much… For details see joshwiddicombe.com
A scar is no problem after having a tattoo. I have no other tattoos but ‘Greg’ and I will never, ever have another...
Josh says having his appendix out was not as painful as getting his Taskmaster tattoo