How did you get your start in comedy?
Well, in terms of performing, I started out doing acting, which was one of those things that can be a bit quite especially waiting for auditions. So I thought to myself why not give the standup a go and see where it would take me. I then went and did a course with a few other people in London, where you were given five minutes on stage doing standup and if the audience liked you then you had to continue performing, but if they didn’t you would just go back to doing your day job.
Can you remember your first ever joke?
I don’t remember my first ever joke, but I do remember doing an impression of Prince Charles at a young age… [Laughs]… Our neighbors from next door would come round, and my Mum would say, “Go on Andi do your Prince Charles impression”.
You’ve appeared in Waking the Dead, Casualty and as a nurse in EastEnders. You didn’t deliver Heather’s baby did you?
[Laughs]… No, I did not deliver Heather’s baby. However, I did actually deliver Honey Mitchell’s baby, which by the way was this fake jelly baby doll.
Do you know if you will be popping back to deliver Rocky Mitchell’s baby?
I would happily go back, but If I do I want to be the only nurse like Charley, is the only cab driver, and everytime when someone’s sick I want to be the nurse who they call.
Any interesting Eastenders gossip to share with us?
[Luaghs]…I don’t know if Winston, who’s usually in a lot of the background scenes is still around, but I was told he got a few lines to do which he messed up as he allegedly he got a bit too cocky, and started chasing the girls and showing off. So apparently there was a time when they got rid of him, and he was not allowed in Eastenders, but I think he somehow have riddled his way back in.
You recently said that Eddie Murphy is one of your comedy idols. What is it that you admire about him?
Well, we’re talking about Eddie Murphy sort of 1980-1981, he was about 21 years old, and he was an amazing stand-up. He’s made quite an amazing career for himself, and whether you like his films or not he is still a very successful guy. In his early days he’s acting and standup were just untouchable, you cannot take that away from him.
You often tend to talk about your Nigerian Heritage in your comedy. Does your mum see the funny side?
[Laughs] … My mum is actually very liberal. She’s one of those good church going Christian women, but she’s quite liberal in terms of what I say. She doesn’t get offended, and she also tends to laugh a lot. Recently, she came along to see a preview of my Edinburgh show, and she really enjoyed it. Even when I started acting, she was always very proud of what I was doing so, If there’s any offence caused its more over shadowed by her pride.
Your stand-up show Afroblighty focuses a lot on identities within multi-cultural Britain. Does your Nigerian background have anything to do with your comedy experiences?
I mean when I started out that was what I mainly spoke about because when you start out in comedy you usually speak about things that are closer to home. When I also looked at the material that I wrote over the years for Afroblighty, I noticed that there was definitely a theme and that’s how it came to being a show. Once I have done Afroblighty, I am looking forward to exploring other areas and not just race. I don’t want to be known as the comedian who does all the Nigerian stuff. Rightly, or wrongly Jocelyn Jee, did Little Miss Jocelyn, and she got categorized and it’s a very narrow window to put somebody in.
You’re a regular on Channel 4’s Stand Up For The Week, where you take a comical look at the news stories of the week in front of a live audience. Do you still get nervous before performing on stage?
Yeah, of course but I think it’s now healthy. Stand Up For The Week, is a really great show because we’re basically performing in front of a live audience and there’s no panel or any sort of fighting. It’s just us, guys and the audience having a laugh, and I really enjoy it but we don’t have much time to get our material together so all we hope for is our jokes to be funny.
If I was considering coming to one of your shows or sitting at home and watching Jeremy Kyle, how would you convince me to come out?
[Laughs]… I think if you come to one of my live shows you will definitely have a great time. Everyone talks about Frankie Boyle, being the architect of bad comedy taste I am, however, the complete opposite. I want people to have a good buzz about the show and hopefully have a great time.
Interview by Noel Phillips
Tickets for Andi’s first UK stand-up tour are now available for more info visit www.andiosho.co.uk