In his final class as a pupil at Brighton’s Dorothy Stringer High School, Seann Walsh asked his drama teacher whether she thought any of his class could go on to be actors. She said yes.

“I don’t think she specifically meant me but she really did believe what she said and that’s really important. At school you need people to believe in you. Especially if you’re like me and no one did.”

Perhaps as a student who left school with a solitary GCSE, unsurprisingly in drama, Walsh couldn’t foresee a future where he would be earning strong reviews starring alongside former Inbetweener Blake Harrison in Comedy Central’s Big Bad World.

The tale of Walsh’s journey to stardom starts in a fashion recognisable from his Big Bad World character Eggsy. After school he held a series of less glamorous jobs. He was fired from TK Maxx for sleeping under the coats and then worked at what was formerly the Roundhill Pub on Ditchling Road. He gained belief in his comedic ability after going through the ever-popular Jill Edwards’ Comedy Course. He credits Edwards with kick-starting his comedy career but only happened upon the course by accident and nearly missed out on a place altogether.

“I was at Komedia, watching stand-up and I asked if I could do new a new act night because they’d stopped doing one when they told me about this course. So I went down there with my mate [and fellow comedian] Rich Perry but there was one place left. Because I’d asked about it I was the one who got to do it.”

Despite the increasing success that followed Walsh’s graduation from the Edwards’ course, he says the careers of Simon Pegg and Ricky Gervais show how much further comedians can go. Though he’s keen to stress he currently sees his own forays into TV as a nice sideline, it was a sideline he thoroughly relished.

“It was the most fun I ever had working on anything. Being a comedian for a few years now, you travel around on your own a lot, it’s quite boring. To do something collaborative was amazing, and to work with such talented people was so much fun.”

Walsh still considers himself a stand-up first and foremost. He’ll be performing his new show – The Lie-In King – for two nights at Hove’s Old Market as part of the Comedy Festival from next Friday.

“The show is about me moving to London and living in a basement flat and the effect that’s had on me and how much I’ve changed.

“It includes me doing a Limp Bizkit rap. I used to love the band when I was a teenager, which I guess is quite embarrassing now.

“My routine is still nonsense, and not meant to be taken too seriously. I’m not Bill Hicks, I’m not trying to change the world. I’m talking about how, when I can’t be bothered to reach for the DVD remote, I watch the stand-by menu where you just see the DVD logo change colour for about an hour. I’m not more mature and I don’t want to be.”

The occasionally boorish demand for all comedy to be high brow doesn’t register with Walsh.

“I don’t read about comedy or reviews or Google myself. I don’t know what people think. I just go with what I see, which is mainly watching live comedy and I think it’s in the best shape it’s been in for a while, with so many incredible comedians out there. “They’re not to everyone’s taste but different comedians do different things for different people. I enjoy watching Stewart Lee and I enjoy watching Michael McIntyre, you don’t have to just like one thing.”

He agrees that in the past he might have held a different opinion and experience has made him more chilled out. Like a student progressing through his qualifications, Walsh says he’s still learning the business. These days, however, he’s got more than just one teacher on his side.