Comedian delivers on national TV debut

Chris Washington appears on the third series of Live From The BBC, performing a 30-minute stand-up routine to a packed audience at the Radio Theatre in London.

Other news: Council issues under-age alert for tan salonsHis show focuses on keeping your life ambitions to a modest level and features anecdotes of his time doing work experience as a dinner lady, and a humble Christmas wish list which included Brookside action figures.

The 29-year-old from Golborne recently traded in a job as a postman for a full-time career in comedy, and spoke about how his performance on the BBC was one of many strange experiences in his rapid rise to success.

“It’s very surreal, I suppose,” he said.

“I watched the first series at home, before I ever wrote my first set. It’s a bit of a mad experience really, but a very good one.”

He added: “It couldn’t really be bigger in terms of getting you out there, getting people to see what you do.”

And despite Chris’s rapid rise to success in recent months, his invitation to appear on the show was still unexpected. He said: “It’s probably the best surprise I’ve had in my career, it came out of the blue.

“I got a phone call from my agent one morning and she told me I was on it. Sometimes, you know if you’re in the mix for something, but I didn’t have a clue about this. It’s quite a big thing to get your first big TV appearance.”

And Chris’s appearance on the show fits perfectly with his routine and life motto of “Dream Big, Within Reason.”

He said: “By not chasing to be on that show, I’ve ended up on it, so it sticks with the theme in that respect!”

There are some comics who struggle to translate their comedy club routines to a mainstream audience, but this was a problem that did not concern Chris.

He said: “I try to make my stuff for everyone, it’s not like it can only work in comedy clubs. I try to have a wide appeal, and the gig was good! I like to do comedy that your nan could enjoy.”

The show was taped at the start of the year, when Chris was still working as a postman. He revealed that this experience of creating the show convinced him to finally pursue life as a professional stand-up.

“It was the kind of thing that made me think it was time to go now,” he said.

“I didn’t have any experience of TV or anything like it. I was sat in meetings discussing the show. At the time, the last thing I was in a meeting was about walking in front of someone’s window when they’d put two plant pots there to stop me doing that.”

Chris is now preparing to return to the Edinburgh Fringe next month for a second successive year, followed by a run at the Lowry in Salford, where he will perform his all-new routine, You Beauty.

Chris’s episode of Live From The BBC is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer and will be screened again on BBC One on August 8 at 11.15pm.