Jo Heenan is an up-and-coming comic, who regularly MCs across the UK. Martin Walker briefly caught up with the Scotsman after he had lit up the room one night at The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh.

How did you get started in Stand-Up?

“I went along with a pal who was going to be doing a five minute open spot. He got too drunk so I took his place. Died on my arse but somehow still enjoyed it. Been bluffing my way through this business ever since.”

I saw you MC at The Stand in Edinburgh. You had the audience eating out of you hand. How do you do it?

“Always make the audience think you’re their pal.

“I’m there to enjoy the show as well but I just happen to be on stage. If an act is just going through the motions, getting from joke A to joke B, the crowd can sense it, so they don’t care either.

“Always make it fun, always make it seem that you love being there.

“Being funny also helps.”

Have you had any bad experiences on stage?

“Yes. I can’t go into too much detail but it involved drunk soldiers and a hen party.”

Edinburgh or Glasgow?

“Edinburgh for the variety of different nationalities and Glasgow for the variety of different ways you can get killed.”

If you’re MCing a TV show, who’s on the line up?

“Gary Little, Dan Nightingale, Stu and Garry, Gavin Webster and Zoe Lyons. Just top, top acts. All of them ball bouncingly funny.”