Seann Walsh: 28

Komedia, Gardner Street, Brighton, Thursday, July 9

SOME comics are great archivists – Bob Monkhouse famously recorded every television appearance he made, while Terry Jones ensured his pension by buying the original tapes of Monty Python's Flying Circus from the BBC.

Seann Walsh may not be in that same category, but his return to Brighton with his touring show 28 is purely to create a permanent record of what is a transient medium.

“When the tour came to the end I realised I didn’t have a recording of the show,” he says. “I had written pieces on bits of paper but can’t understand my own handwriting, and it wasn’t documented anywhere else. I wanted a record of this show as I really like it. The film is not for going out anywhere – it’s just for me.”

Komedia was the obvious place for the Brighton-based comic to record the show.

“Komedia is one of my favourite clubs in the country – it’s where I started off,” he says. “It’s such a special room – the acoustics are brilliant. You feel like you’re playing to a lot more people than you are.”

The show 28 is the third in a series of personal stand-up pieces Walsh has created, providing what he describes as “a snapshot of my life at that time”.

“I did an Edinburgh show [in 2012] about my relationship with alcohol,” he says. “The next show [2013’s The Lie-In King] was about trying to stop that and calm down. This show was about moving in with my girlfriend having calmed down a lot.

“I like truth, I like it when someone is expressing something real. I always try to look for what I find amusing and what an audience would be able to relate to.”

Following this recording show Walsh is taking a two-year break from touring – and will not be heading up to Edinburgh this summer.

Part of this is down to his parallel television career, which has seen him appear as a team captain on E4’s Virtually Famous and umpiring Holly Willoughby’s ITV sports quiz Play To The Whistle.

“I’m happy jumping between the two – the reason I’m not going to Edinburgh is because of a panel show,” he says. “I’ve been doing stand-up non-stop – I would like to relax a little bit and not be under pressure to write something. Usually by now I’m chain-smoking and drinking black coffee outside cafes trying to find ideas. I want to start again – like being a comedian again for the first time.”

He admits his choice of panel shows now hedges towards the active and silly.

“They are reactive – things happen to you and it’s fun,” he says. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy them, even if I act like I’m p***ed off.

“I did Mock The Week when I was 23 or 24 – it was probably a bit too soon. I wasn’t up to date with the news and politics. I sort of regret doing them. I would have a different approach today – and would be a bit more informed about the subject matter.”

He does regret he missed out on hosting one other BBC panel show.

“I did a lot of Never Mind The Buzzcocks – but being the guest host was on my bucket list,” he says. “I’m gutted – I think I would have done a good job – I got on really well with [captains] Noel Fielding and Phill Jupitus.”

As for future dreams he would love to continue his incursions into acting – where his most notable success was in the Comedy Central series Big Bad World where he played bedsit philosopher Eggman opposite now-girlfriend Rebecca Humphries as chugger Meg.

“Acting has been so much fun,” he says. “It’s a different skill which I love learning about – it’s something I don’t get to do in my day-to-day jobs. There is a lot of performance in stand-up, but I don’t really see I use anything I do from my stand-up when I’m acting.

“I’m not as nervous in front of a camera – as a stand-up when you’re performing in front of an audience when you start out it’s terrifying!”

He has put together a couple of short self-funded comedy films for his website seannwalsh.com including the truth behind the iPhone adverts, and his own take on an X Factor sob story, all filmed around Brighton.

“What I love is I have total control and autonomy over what I want to do,” he says. “I wish YouTube had been around when I was younger – at 29 I’m too old to become a YouTube sensation!”

Starts 8pm, tickets £10. Call 0845 2938480.