After winning four awards in his first year alone, Rob Beckett has grown and grown in the world of stand-up comedy. And tonight, he’s in Lincoln.
He’s featured on various TV shows, co-hosted I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here Now! and performed in front of thousands at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Right now, he’s preparing to embark on his first ever UK tour. Ahead of his Lincoln gig, he chatted to Luke Botham about his new show, fish and chips, and his lookalikes.
If there’s one thing Rob Beckett loves, it’s a good portion of fish & chips. And that’s exactly what he aims to get upon his visit to Lincoln. He’s coming here as part of the Comedy Festival 2013 and says he’s going to be staying in Grimsby on his trip up north: “My tour support lives there. So we’re staying at his mum’s house. Apparently the fish and chips are incredible. Honestly the best fish and chips in the country! That’s what he says.”
It’s not the first time he’s performed in Lincoln, but this visit will mark the first time he’s ever been here on a tour. His new show is called ‘Rob Beckett Lives,’ and he says it’s all about him.
“It’s about me and my family and my life and what’s been happening in the last year,” he says, “It’s all funny true stories and observations about stuff and a lot of it’s about me being an adult, but I don’t really think I should be because I’ve just not grown up enough.”
This could be pretty interesting considering that in the last year alone, he’s presented I’m A Celebrity’s spin off show ‘I’m A Celebrity! Get Me Out Of Here Now!’; performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and featured on shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats and Big Brother’s Bit On The Side.
He’s hoping to make a return to I’m a Celebrity this year, but nothing’s confirmed yet: “It was brilliant fun, yeah it was great! [I was] out in Australia for 5 weeks watching a show. It was just like being at home on the sofa. I got to watch the show and have a nice time in Australia!”
In past gigs, he often discussed with the audience the amount of lookalikes he alleges has. He talks about how these vary from the friendly to the slightly more offensive: “Quasimodo isn’t the most complimentary, is it? You’ve got to laugh, though! Some old nan [called him it], she was like 80 as well! She said ‘Oh, I’ve got one for you.’ And I was thinking it’d be like some bloke from the 50s that I hadn’t heard of and she was like ‘Quasimodo!’”
His lookalike theme wasn’t originally intended to be a part of his new show, but he says it might make a special appearance in Lincoln: “I might do it for the tour to see how many new people I get by the end! So if anyone’s got any new ones come and tell me after the gig and I’ll add them in!
“I have loads so far, there’s like 30. There’s always a new one. Just anyone that’s a bit blonde and short with a big mouth, basically!”
His tour started this month in London, and if you want to catch it, he’s performing in Lincoln’s Engine Shed on tonight, Tuesday October 8th. Tickets cost £10 and doors open at 7.15pm.