Liverpool comedian John Bishop is no stranger to our shores and in 2017 he embarks on a 13-date tour of Ireland, including three nights at Dublin's 3Arena.
Here, he talks to John Byrne about his transformation from sales rep to stand-up superstar, an actor and a chat show host.
As part of your Irish tour in 2017, you're playing three nights at the 3Arena. It's quite amazing that the likes of yourself can fill these places . . .
Oh, it's bonkers! It's ridiculous! It's actually good for people like me, if you like, our generation, because when I started no one was doing that. So it wasn't an aspiration. You never thought it would be like that so you never had to consider it as a target.
I've met some new, younger comics and people coming in and they've got that as an end-point. You've got to be very lucky to get up there. You wouldn't want to start off any career and set yourself down as a fail. I just think, for us it's great, because everyone that I know, my level, who've done arenas, still can't believe that we're doing it.
It's not that long since you had a proper job, is it?
Do you know what? It's ten years ago this month.
And it's been an amazing decade for you . . .
It has. I started my forties and I left my job and went full-time and I was hoping to make a living and cover the bills. And the aspiration beyond it wasn't much more than that.
To be fair, a lot of that comes down to my wife. We had three kids in school, we had a mortgage, and I had a good job. I was earning a good salary at a drug company and so you've got to sit down and go, 'This is what we need to exist as a family'. And I'm going to get that, just by telling jokes.
And you go, 'Really?' To be fair to her she said, 'Right. You know your little bit and I know my bit. So you've committed to doing that and I'll support you doing it.'
I have to say, she's my second wife. But she was the first wife as well. We were married, split up and then we got back together. And when we got back together, you have to re-evaluate everything. And I think, probably if we hadn't of had that break, a decision like this, to leave this and do this, wouldn't have been palatable.
You didn't rest on your laurels though, and you've dipped into acting and have had your own chat show. You're not afraid to give things a go, are you?
To be fair John, what have I got to lose? When you look at it you go: what have I got to lose? I used to be in an environment where somebody could promote me. I'm not in that environment any more. I'm not waiting for my next promotion, I'm not moving up a diagram. I'm self-employed. I'm a self-employed person and you've got to try and keep on thinking up new things.
Does make you feel more comfortable with yourself?
That was a major motivating factor to leave my job. Liverpool had got to the final of the Champions League in 2005 and it clashed with me having to go to a medical conference in America. I tried my best to get out of it, I tried my best to turn it down, and basically my boss said: look, this is your job. That's just a football match. So I had to give my ticket to one of my mates, and I went to Seattle for the conference.
The meeting I went to that was so important, it ended a day early, so I managed to get back and watch the game in my house. So I nearly got there. I watched it in my house, and my house was all full of my mates kids and wives because they had all come round to our house, so I'm there, all my mates are at the game, and I've got little girls doing cartwheels in front of the telly.
And I remember thinking: no one's ever going to tell me what I can or can't do anymore. And within a year I'd left my job.
You're going to feature in a new ITV drama called Fearless. Can you talk a little about that?
I've done a few bits on it already, and the bulk of my time is coming up through December and right up to Christmas. But who wouldn't want to do it? It's very heavyweight stuff.
It's written by the guy who wrote Homeland, Helen McCrory's the lead - she's brilliant. It's another one of those things; I'm just hanging on the coat tails.
In terms of your chat show on the W channel, In Conversation With, was it a conscious decision to go all Parky with the extended interviews?
I wanted to do a non-promotional interview show for a while, but none of the channels were interested because - I don't know why – I think that at times in television they underestimate the intelligence of the audience. They don't think you're going to be able to hold an audience's attention for an hour with one person. Wouldn't it better if you had four people and you all sit on a couch. And wouldn't it be better if you did something like a bit of cooking? And I said that's not what I want. I want one person for an hour. And fortunately W did and it's been a massive success.
The reality is I'm interested in people. That's life. That's what makes human beings brilliant. I think to try and reduce everything down to soundbites is not necessary. I think we have the capacity to listen to an hour's conversation between two people who are interesting.
Finally, how do you feel about turning 50?
You know what? I'll be honest. It's been such a great decade, this decade, I feel fit and strong and I'm happy. You grow into your own skin more. I'm growing into my old skin – but I've just got more of it!
John Bishop Winging It Irish tour dates:
Cork Opera House: September 19 & 20
Dolans, Limerick: September 21 & 24
glór Ennis, Clare: September 22 & 23
Galway Seapoint: September 27 & 28
Landmark Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim: September 29
Town Hall, Claremorris, Mayo: September 30
3Arena, Dublin: October 6-8
