I need to work on my act, says Vegas

Johnny Vegas has vowed to write more stand-up, after admitting his TV career has affected his live work.

He says working away from the stage can make comics rusty, while the fame TV exposure brings changes audience's expectations.

"Stand-up isn't a box you dip into, you have to keep doing it," he said.

"When you've been doing loads of telly and suddenly you're playing these enormous venues, you can go off.

"I think I need to sit down and write a show that suits a big venue, because now I'm playing theatres, and people behave differently. I want pissed-up hecklers.

"That's the problem with the monkey ads. You have to turn Johnny down for telly . So when the stand-up is pure Johnny, people's expectations, based on the adverts, mean they're coming to a gig and going: 'That's a bit off. He's got no shirt on, and he's shouting at people. Cynthia, we're leaving.'"

Vegas, who was talking to the Sunday Times after a particularly badly-received gig at the Brighton Comedy Festival, was plugging his first live DVD: Anyone For Ice Cream.

He has also just signed an exclusive deal to develop a new comedy show for BBC2.

Sunday Times interview

Published: 9 Nov 2003