Safe territory, Marcus Brigstocke insisted in the opening exchanges of this show, was assured.
Gentle send-ups of regional accents, swipes at UKIP and pleas to save the NHS followed, as if to reinforce the promise.
A pleasant and forgettable hour seemed there for the taking until, in almost seamless style, the BBC Radio 4 regular launched into a series of surprising stories detailing, among other ordeals, his protracted testicular difficulties – ending in a doctor applying freezing gel to Brigstocke’s nether regions, before messing up the scan after “snookering” them – and his doomed previous career on an oil rig.
If Brigstocke’s everyman charm snares a mainstream audience, this show took off when he let loose his vulnerabilities.
He is aggressively unwilling, understandably, to become the media’s “eating disorder comedian”, but his material about being a 24-stone, 17-year-old chocolate-gorging obsessive in rehab – and his subsequent transformation into a podium dancer, after falling in love with himself while “dancing like everyone was watching” – is engrossing.
It could have gone deeper, but was also honest enough to afford him a spectacularly indulgent, feelgood ending which would have felt naff without the confessional 45 minutes which had preceded it. The more Brigstocke reveals, the better he is.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article