Fame can be a double-edged sword.

Appearing as resident nerd team captain on 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown means the crown prince of misanthropes now sells out bigger venues.

But now he performs to some of the “morons” he rails against – the talkers, those incapable of sitting still for 40 minutes and the drunken shouters who frequently peppered his Comedy Festival show with comments and interruptions.

Not that it seemed to unsettle Richardson – although his previous painstakingly detailed comic writing felt a little broader perhaps to fill the larger space.

Part of this could also be his much-vaunted OCD approach to life having softened now he is in love and is, by his own admission, happy.

This new upbeat condition was a running theme – central to his descriptions of how he met his new partner, and his discovery he could enjoy a US speedboat trip with his friends.

His turn of phrase and sense of timing were still impeccable as he held a mirror up to modern society to say exactly what he thought about it – especially when he described his launch into the tasteless world of the vegetarian after an unforgettable experience on a cattle ranch.

Richardson occupies a unique niche in the observational comedy world as a self-confessed outsider, preferring a night at home watching the snooker (“a sport based around tidying up”) to a debauched stag night.

But it felt like the true depth of his feeling was lost on some of the audience out looking for cheap laughs.