Bridget Christie brings Jacket Potato Pizza tour to Brighton

What is the new show about?

It’s about everything and nothing. I deliberately wanted to write this show in a different way from previous ones where I had a particular thing I wanted to address, and to have the freedom to talk about a range of diverse subjects - from where I am in my life right now to the political landscape - but not to linger on any one topic for too long. I've not really approached a show like this before and I really enjoyed working the stuff out in previews.

Does that mean some material may develop during the length of the tour?

The material will continue to evolve throughout the tour, but that normally happens anyway. Some routines become longer and others are lost entirely. I think it's good to have that flexibility and not be too locked down or rigid about it, especially with any topical sections.

You last toured in 2023. How do you view the vastly changed political landscape in both the UK and the US since then?

Well, it's just so depressing and concerning. I will be talking about it briefly in the new show but not dwelling on it too much. I think we need to stay alert and engaged but not so much that we let it overwhelm us. There is some hope with the New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Greens leader Zack Polanski here, but we need to remain vigilant.

'Jacket Potato Pizza’ is a fantastic title. What prompted it?

It comes from a date I went on in my 20s when a guy made me a "jacket potato pizza" (a dry baked potato plonked into the middle of a dry pizza base) and then told me it was "fusion cuisine". I didn't see him again…

Do you talk in the show about being single again in middle age?

I talk a little bit about not actively dating through choice and being a "volcel" - a voluntary celibate. The dating world has changed greatly since I last dated and there is so much involved now with apps, etc. that I genuinely cannot be arsed.

So you’re not swiping left or right at the moment?

No. I will meet someone in real life organically who piques my interest, or I'll stay single, but I'm definitely not going to be downloading another bloody app and giving away even more of my data to some billionaire so that I can meet up with someone I've got nothing in common with and talk nonsense when I can be at home with a cat on me, drinking wine and watching Columbo.

Are you excited to be back on tour?

Yes, I love touring. I love doing the shows and meeting the audience.

Anything you don’t like about it?

The only thing I don't like is being away from home. I don't like being away from my family and pets.

Do you bring a bit of home with you?

I bring my flat pillow. There is nothing that winds me up more than a massive spongey pillow that smashes your neck to pieces.

So you’ve packed your comfy pillow and you’re on the road. You famously bought yourself a motorbike to celebrate your 50th birthday - are you on a bike now?

I won't ride my motorbike on tour, but I might get myself a camper van and tour around in that.

Do you enjoy finding new places to perform?

I love it. I especially love the smaller venues in more isolated towns. There's a real sense of community and love at those shows and I love chatting to the audience afterwards at the merch desk.

Are you able to get out and about in the localities you perform in?

It’s hard because you're often in and out, and historically I have always been working on a TV or radio project at the same time. But looking forward, and also once my daughter has left home, I can see myself touring a lot and spending more time getting to know the country more.

In your stand-up show Who Am I? and your acclaimed Channel 4 series The Change you addressed the menopause, a subject that’s now mainstream. Do you feel like a trailblazer?

Is the menopause mainstream?! We have Davina McCall, ‘Riot Women’ on the BBC, and ‘The Change’, but I'm not sure it's mainstream? And no, I will never feel like a trailblazer for anything.

You’re now a mother of two teenagers - how do you feel about that?

Where to start with that question! I am both excited for them as they enter this new chapter of their lives and also devastated for myself as I come to terms with a future without them in my day-to-day life. When they're little you never see it coming. You never think about them leaving.

Have they both flown the nest?

I’m not quite there yet as I still have one at home for another few years, but it will come soon enough. I talk about how I'm navigating all that in the show and it's been interesting hearing how audience members have coped with it. One bloke couldn't wait for his to leave while others never stopped grieving, even years later.

Apart from the tour, what else is keeping you busy?

I have various projects on the go spanning TV, film and theatre but nothing I can talk about in any detail just yet.

Anything you can tell us about?

I’ll be playing Ruth, an unhinged, unprofessional grief counsellor, in the second series of Lucia Keskin's brilliant sitcom Things You Should Have Done on the BBC soon.