HIS face has been seen on Mock The Week, QI, Have I Got News For You and Jonathan Ross. He also co-presents the Channel 4 programme The Last Leg and has written and starred in his own sitcom, Josh.

But for all that TV success, Josh Widdicombe says he is returning to his first love: stand-up.

Widdicombe underscores how delighted he is to be returning to the live comedy arena after a sustained period locked away in various TV studios. “I love stand-up,” he beams. “I think of myself as a stand-up. It’s not like a proper job, but it’s what I do. Other things just happen to me, and they have all come out of my stand-up. It’s good to remind myself why I ended up getting my own sitcom.”

He will soon be hitting the road with a new tour, called What Do I Do Now?

Widdicombe, who hails from Devon, says, “I’m really looking forward to it because I haven’t been on tour for a while. I feel so rejuvenated.”

He jokes that he is only concerned about die-hard fans. “I say that the loyalists are the ones I’m interested in, the ones ?who have been there from the start. But in fact I’ll take everyone.”

Another reason why Josh is so popular is because, in spite of his great success, he remains appealingly down to earth. He says: “I find it hard when well-known people moan about fame.

“I was in Edinburgh last week and a lot of people came up to me and chatted. You can’t complain about that. If that’s the tax I have to pay for getting to do what I do, that’s absolutely fine by me.

“People are very well-meaning. They don’t shout abuse. It’s all really positive. They don’t want to talk about much because in these days of camera phone everyone is obsessed with documenting that moment.

“As long as they’ve got proof that it happened, it’s fine. That’s how it works. But that’s really good because you can’t spend all day walking the streets talking to people about your canon.”

As for what’s in store, fans can expect a dose of his self-deprecation as well as “what’s annoying me right now”.

Of his other material, he adds: “I’ll also be doing a lot about growing up in Devon in the 1990s.

“At my primary school, there were only four children in my year. It was a very different experience... so I’ll be doing some comparing and contrasting with how I live now.”

The comedian says the relationship with his audience is important to him.

Widdicombe says: “That interaction with the audience is what keeps the show lively and it’s what keeps you interested as a performer. If you’re doing a show for 50 nights, it’s very nice to make every show a bit different. That way, each night feels like a one-off for that particular audience.

Widdicombe says, “I don’t talk about big issues in my act. On TV, a lot of shows are topical, ?but that’s not why I started doing comedy.

“I’ve never done stand-up about politics or human rights. That’s not what I talk about on a day to day basis with my mates, so why would I go on stage and talk about it?”

Widdicombe says he relishes the whole process of touring. “I really like the lifestyle, and I really like ?travelling around the UK. It’s a very pleasant way to see the country. It’s really interesting to see where people come from and then talk to them about those places.

“It’s also quite a meditative way to spend your time. When you know you’re going to be in a car for the next four hours driving to tonight’s ve?nue, your day is prescribed. You think, ‘This is going to happen’. So you just sit there and chat because you can’t do anything else.

“It’s actually very stress-free.”

JOSH WIDDICOMBE is at the Congress Theatre, Carlisle Road, Eastbourne, on October 11, 8pm, tickets £20, call 01323 412000; Brighton Dome, Church Street, November 12, 8pm, tickets £19 plus booking, 01273 709709.