THERE was a time when Isy Suttie would never have dreamed of settling down with a partner, buying a house and having a child.

And yet, to the comedian’s apparent surprise, these are all things which have happened to her in recent years.

“I wasn’t interested in that and I didn’t care about it,” says Suttie, best known for her role as the colourful Dobby in hugely popular Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show.

“They just weren’t things that were in my orbit. Therefore I was more able to devote my time to things like Weetabix eating competitions and things like that – more hedonistic behaviour.”

Suttie is soon to embark on a stand-up tour based on her book The Actual One, which documents her life as a twentysomething and, ultimately, the search for love.

Although she feels “a general level of contentedness” with her lot now, she recently came upon some old diaries which made her realise she was “really proud of who I was in my twenties.”

“I used to really just live life to the absolute full in a way that I really can’t now, with familial responsibility and stuff like that,” she says.

“I did just tackle life head on, strike up conversations with strangers and everything, and I’m really pleased that I did all that. As you get older, your world does become slightly smaller. I certainly think there is a restlessness of youth, and that should be capitalised upon.”

Suttie’s stand-up routine is different every night, she explains, as she mines various sections of the book and her general memories of her younger self.

While she is in a position now to look back and observe the actions and emotions of this time, she insists that she “didn’t wake up one day and feel all grown up.”

“It wasn’t just about wanting to go out all the time when I was in my twenties, although I did want to go out all the time. Whereas now I really want to stay in at nights – even if I have to go the shop after 9pm I’m reluctant.

Then follows a line that could have come straight out of Peep Show, the programme that won the hearts of a nation for finding humour in mundane, everyday life. “I want to just stay in and watch, you know... Broadchurch.”

Suttie is engaged to fellow comic Elis James, the real-life Actual One. She sought his advice when writing the book, but admits she “basically just wanted him to say it was funny.”

“We both use our lives for our comedy, and when you’ve got a toddler there can be quite a few funny moments in any given week. But you don’t want to be one of those people who go on and on about their kid on stage.”

In her twenties, Suttie was conflicted about the idea of finding a partner – more generally, she says she “hates the pressure society puts on people to be in a couple.”

One of the centre pieces of the book and stand-up show is a concerned intervention by Suttie’s mother.

“My mum got involved, as she often does, and set me up an internet dating profile. The truth was that she just wanted me to find someone because she was worried I wouldn’t, but I was always going to be OK even if I hadn’t. It shouldn’t be presumed that every single person is Bridget Jones.

“You can’t have just one thing that brings you happiness – it’s a bit of a danger thinking that.”

Suttie has obviously spent a fair few hours pondering the notion of happiness – her own and in general – but there is sadness in The Actual One, too, as she discusses the difficulty of breaking up with someone you love. She says the mixture of “light and shade” is a useful tool for her comedy.

“I quite like that bittersweet thing of exploring sadness. Ironically, I feel like more people can identify with a story you’re telling if it is specific to you. Otherwise it becomes a bit vague and sentimental.”

There were certainly many people who were feeling more than a bit sentimental at Peep Show coming to an end late last year. Having appeared as Mark Corrigan’s (David Mitchell) love interest Dobby from the fifth to ninth series, Suttie says she will miss the show but is glad “it didn’t overstay its welcome.”

“It never felt like it got stale, and I think the last season was as good as any of the others. When we got back together to do the last season, it felt like a celebratory goodbye rather than a sad moment.”

Edwin Gilson

Isy Suttie, The Hawth, Crawley, Weds, September 7 Komedia, Brighton, Tues, September 20

The Hawth, 7.45pm, £15, 01293 553636 Komedia, 7pm, £14, 08452 938480