VIDEO: Stand-up Alasdair Beckett-King talks to Phil Hewitt/SussexWorld about his debut tour

South London-based Alasdair plays the Komedia Studio in Brighton on April 7 and 22 as the holder of Chortle’s Breakthrough Act of the Year 2023. Which came as quite a surprise. Such a surprise in fact that he missed the awards ceremony: “There is no cash prize. It is just a trophy. I was very busy and I so convinced that I wasn't going to win, I didn’t go. In fact I thought that they told you in advance if you were going to win but then, of course, if they did that then nobody would go along, would they. Of course if I'd known I was going to win I would have gone but I suppose now I have just got to keep not going to awards ceremonies if I hope to win anything!

“It’s an award for breakthrough and it is voted for by the public. It feels like it is something you get if you just keep plugging away and people are finally starting to notice you. I've managed to make very small and modest inroads into television and perhaps that has made the difference. It feels like I'm absolutely the opposite of overnight success, like a meteor that rises very, very slowly.

"I've been doing this for about ten years so yes it has been slow but I'm completely fine with that because I know that it will continue to be slow and that's good. I often think that people that have huge overnight success have been doing an awful lot of secret work in the background so I'm not resentful it has been slow and hard work because I'm sure that's how it will continue to be. And actually that's one of the great things about stand-up that whatever happens or whatever doesn't happen, whatever plans come off or don't come off, you know that you can always continue writing jokes. If you've done it before you know you'll be able to do it in the future.”

And now comes the first ever tour: “I've gigged all over the country but this is the first solo tour and as a breakthrough artist as well! The promoters are very canny. They want you to tour but you need to have TV credits and I suppose over the last couple of years I've managed to do that to an extent. And I think I've reached a point where I can have a modest little UK tour, only 27 or 28 dates but it's a lovely step up for me and I'm really pleased but I never enjoy anything really. Everything is infused with anxiety. My mum is Scottish and you can't really enjoy anything if that’s the case: that's not what it's there for. But due to an administrative quirk I actually did the first date of the tour more than a month before the tour started so I had a little taster and the first one actually sold out. I had not completely learnt it but it was just really really good and the crowd seemed to be delighted to be there so it's great to have got started, We had a really good crowd that must have come across me through Twitter or YouTube or whatever so it was all pretty encouraging really.”

Alasdair plays the Komedia Studio in Brighton on April 7 and 22. Tickets are available through the venue.