Father Ted star Ardal O'Hanlon tours stand-up show to Derbyshire

The good news is that this has meant the Irish stand-up, writer, and star of such TV hits as Father Ted and Death In Paradise has felt compelled to write a new stand-up set, The Showing Off Must Go On.

Ardal is touring the show to Buxton Opera House on March 7.

“There’s an awful lot to talk about,” he admits. “Especially in the last two or three years, the world has changed dramatically. I thought I’d cracked everything and then suddenly you have to completely re-engage with the world as it shifts.”

Inevitably, the likes of Trump and Brexit will raise their heads, though in Ardal’s hands, the treatment of the work will be typically off-kilter. “I think it’s incumbent upon a comedian to find clever and imaginative ways to come up with stuff. I prefer watching comedians who aren’t too blunt or too partisan, so while I have strong political views, I don’t want to hit an audience over the head with them. I’m not going to mention Trump or Brexit by name, but I hope to be able to do stuff on them while trying to keep it a bit light and user friendly.”

As well as displaying his talent for a decent pun, the title of Ardal’s show reflects the part of his personality that he’s had to draw upon to get on in the entertainment world. “I’m a very reluctant show-off,” he says of The Showing Off Must Go On. “I come from a part of the world where showing off is anathema; it’s the worst thing you could possibly do. When you grow up in a border area of Ireland, people are very wary and cagy and keep their head down at all times.”

This left Ardal feeling somewhat conflicted. “I love stand-up comedy and I love performing, but I was always conscious that this is showing off and I’m slightly uncomfortable about that. I suppose the question I ask myself almost every day is ‘why do I do this?’ And as I get older, ‘why do I still do this?’ As Father Dougal McGuire, Ardal charmed the socks off the nation when Father Ted reigned supreme on Channel 4 in the 90s. Although he’s not involved in any way with the proposed Father Ted musical (‘I wish them well with it’), he still looks back with fondness on the Craggy Island-set sitcom. “I’m so grateful of the show and proud of my part in it. I was in the throes of a burgeoning stand-up career at the time when we made it; we’d be rehearsing during the day and I’d be gigging at night.”

Tickets to see Ardal on Saturday, March 7, cost £25. Call 01298 72190 or go to www.buxton operahouse.org.uk