Mock The Week star Ed Gamble can’t wait to “see the whites of people’s eyes” when he brings his new Electric tour to Dundee’s Whitehall Theatre tomorrow night.
And the comedian, who is a judge on BBC Two’s Great British Menu alongside Tom Kerridge and Nisha Katona, promises a “big, silly fun show” which will be “exactly what we all need after two years of misery”.
Food Podcast
Londoner Ed, who co-hosts the hugely popular podcast Off Menu on which he and James Acaster invite guests to imagine their dream meal, is notorious for milking comedy from food, his type 1 diabetes diagnosis and weight loss.
But as a stand-up comedian, he tackles issues ranging from bowling shoes to gyms and camping.
“Food is the ultimate universal topic,” says the 35-year-old.
“Whether you’re a foodie or not, you’re always going to have memories and stories linked to food.
“I certainly think about food more because of being type 1 diabetic; I need to think more about what I’m putting into my body and that makes me focus on food a little bit more. On the other hand, I’m just naturally greedy. I can’t blame that on diabetes.”
Ed is back from a run around the streets of north-east London when we catch up on the phone.
He’s hugely excited to be performing in Dundee for the first time.
“I’ve never been to Dundee. I’ve done a fair few Scottish dates, like most English comedians – mainly Edinburgh and Glasgow. But it’s nice to get to see other bits of Scotland. And it’s great to be back out performing live. I don’t think people are over the novelty of being out yet. The excitement in these rooms in just incredible.
Scottish audiences
“UK audiences are sometimes a little bit ‘cross your arms’ and ‘come on, let’s see what’s you got’ but that hasn’t happened on this tour yet. They’re so up for it. They’re so happy to be there. I feed off that and they feed off how buzzed I am to be there.”
While Ed says he hasn’t planned any material that’s particularly “aimed at Dundee audiences”, there’ll be a little bit of “England-bashing”.
“Hopefully they’ll be on board with that!” he laughs. “It’s a very silly, fun show. It’s all of the fun stuff that’s happened to me in the last two years rather than the glum stuff.”
So what’s it like to be a judge on Great British Menu, I ask? “I ate more than 80 dishes! Every Friday we had to judge a new region or country and it was amazing putting together this incredible banquet of seriously good food. They told me not to eat all of it but I ate every single morsel of every single plate.
“Yes, I did feel awful at the end of the day but it’s all in the name of good television, right?”
While Ed says shedding seven stone in six months – after tipping the scales at 19 stone – has made him appreciate food more, he still occasionally binge eats.
“But on the whole I just love food and only eat stuff I really want to,” he says.
“I’m quite obsessed with cooking too. Getting obsessed with the mechanics of food is great.”
Another hot topic on Ed’s show is his love of heavy metal. “I love the energy and aggression of it – although that’s not how I describe my comedy.”
Big silly fun
For anyone yet to be persuaded to buy a ticket, Ed says: “If you enjoy my other work, you’ll love this. It’s a big silly fun show and exactly what we all need after two years of misery.
“Podcasts have been a real boon during lockdown – you sort of feel like you’ve connected with people on daily basis, but it’s great to be back in the studio and getting out to venues. The content’s better now you can actually see the whites of people’s eyes.”
Ed scored a notable TV comedy hit when he was crowned series nine champion of the award-winning TV show Taskmaster!
His stand-up special, Blood Sugar, is available worldwide on Amazon Prime.
He’s also co-presenter of Radio X’s Sunday morning show with Matt Crosby.
- Ed is at Dundee’s Whitehall Theatre on February 19 at 7.30pm. whitehalltheatre.com
