His little girl may only be crawling at the moment, but her arrival has dramatically changed the way Rob Rouse views the world.

“I’m now a radical feminist,” he says from his home in the Peak District. “Invariably when you have kids, you start seeing your life through their lives.

“It’s weird – when I had a little boy, I remembered the fun things I did as a small boy. But as I get older, and after my daughter came along, I have become more fearful and very protective. There’s that extra sense of protection you feel as a man towards your daughter – fighting off paedos and the horrible males in the world.

“It changes what you see in front of you, the role models and the way things are projected at young people. “It got me thinking about how women are represented in the world, media and culture, as well as what we are giving to young lads. They are just as vulnerable in the world they’re growing up in.

“We don’t seem to let kids be kids as long any more.

“It’s all the stuff I’m worrying about in my head, in the way previous generations worried about the role of rock and roll.”

The former geography teacher and winner of the 1998 So You Think You’re Funny award has always turned to the subjects that get him in the gut for his comedy.

“I’m trying to make sense of the world,” he says. “I love comedy when people are trying to scratch that itch.

“The most important thing is admitting you know nothing – that life is more about feeling it and thinking about it and talking about it. There are too many people in the world saying, ‘This is what is right and what is wrong.’”

That’s not to say Life Sentences is going to be more of a lecture than a laugh-fest.

“There’s a huge section in the show about poo, where I’m being quite graphic and open,” he laughs. “There’s a lot of poo in my life. As an adult, it is fascinating how we get freaked out by the smallest thing. My son has no qualms about pooing – he has broken down my defences.

“When you have a family you have no choice – the bathroom is a free-for-all with people pooing while you’re brushing your teeth!”

He is not afraid of using his family as material.

“You get a lot of single guys talking about getting drunk and not being able to pull,” says Rouse. “The fact is, that stuff doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

Edinburgh ennui

“We were all kids. Many of the audience may or may not have kids. At a party it’s more fun to play with the kids rather than listen to someone talking about their kitchen worktops being refurbished.”

Having a family has also changed the way he works, spending his weekends playing clubs and going on tours rather than spending a month in Edinburgh for the festival.

“My boy started school this year, so I didn’t want to be in Scotland for a month before he did,” he says.

“Going around the country to where people live is better than playing the same hot and sweaty venue that you wouldn’t be allowed to keep chickens in.

“It also means I can give a longer show in a better environment – it’s fairer really!”

  • Corn Exchange, Church Street, Brighton, Saturday, October 13. Starts 7.30pm, £15/£13. Call 01273 709709