Milton Jones

Suited perfectly to his guest appearances on British variety programmes, Milton Jones' forthcoming Melbourne International Comedy Festival show will see him expand his rapid-fire one-liners to fit a 60-minute timeslot. When quizzed on just how many one-liners that equates to, he doesn't miss a beat. “It depends on how much the audience are laughing. It's somewhere between one and two hundred.”

A father of three, Jones says his kids, to a certain extent, influence his comedy. “They inspire me because they're expensive. Also I try my jokes out on them and they're not allowed to eat until they laugh.”

At the time of publication, Jones had 314,000 Twitter followers and admitted he has used the medium to road-test his comedy. “Sometimes I do, but it's a different medium. The audience can literally see the punch-line coming.”

Outside of stand-up comedy and the Twittersphere, Jones is perhaps most well-known for his work on BBC radio. Starring in his own sitcom-style broadcast, he says with online streaming, it's not just the British tuning in, joking that, “Wherever the English language is spoken I have people running to/from the radio.” Alongside his comedy and radio work, Jones has been involved in television and writing, and will remain busy post Comedy Festival. “I have many ideas in embryo. Some of which will hatch and others will be eaten by predators. I hope the strongest ones survive and not just the not-really-thought-through platypus ones.”

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival will be Jones' solo premier in Australia. “I was here in 2004 for some mixed-bill shows in Sydney. I have also watched Neighbours quite a lot. I am looking forward to seeing the sun again.” Jones' run in Melbourne includes 22 dates – nothing compared to the 120 dates of his previous tour.

When told there's already a Milton Jones in Australia, who is a reality TV star known for herding cattle with a helicopter no less, Jones quips, “I tried that once, but it all went wrong when we went indoors for milking.”