Why The UK's Master Funnyman Is Still Aiming For World Domination

UK funnyman Michael McIntyre is by some distance his country's biggest selling comedian. He recently moved a lazy 400,000 tickets for the home run of his current show Happy & Glorious - which he's now bringing to Australia - during which he chalked up his 27th performance at London's prestigious O2 Arena, beating previous record holders Prince, One Direction and Take That.

He's also prominent on the idiot box - recently going primetime with BBC One vehicle Michael McIntyre's Big Show - but that home fame doesn't always translate abroad.

"I remember when I got down there [to Australia] last time and I opened the paper and there was a photo of me with the caption, 'The biggest comedian you've never heard of', and I was like, 'Oh, that's a bugger, I've got to get back to somewhere where they've heard of me!'" he laughs. "I've really enjoyed being abroad, though it's not something I ever knew was possible. I went to South Africa a few years ago and sold a lot of tickets there when I really didn't expect it at all, so that was really exciting. Then I did the same in Norway. I started getting carried away with myself and thought, 'I've got to go to Australia if I'm this big in Norway!' But it turned out that I'm not very big at all in Australia – no one really knows who I am!

"But I came anyway. It went really well, and that's the point – you just want to build an audience and keep coming back, so every time I have a new show I can hopefully come and do it Down Under."

Surely visiting somewhere where he's not hassled in the streets would be a nice change? "You would hope! I don't know if it's a London thing, but people don't care about me in the streets," he chuckles. "It really frustrates me - sometimes I have to go out of London just to feel successful. It does panic me, I'm opening up to you now! People deliver things at the door and need your signature and they'll be like, 'Can I have your name please?' and I'm like, 'Really? I've tried really hard to be on the telly!' It really upsets me! Then they'll be like, 'Can you spell that?' and I'm like, 'Can you back off? Stop making me feel depressed!'"

The scale of his success hasn't changed his comedic process. "It's always just me worrying about what the next thing I'm going to say is. Then when I think of it, I get very excited about it, then I do it, and then it's gone and I start worrying again," he smiles. "So it's pretty much the same, just lots of anxiety. It never really comes easily, but it's fun."