Only a couple of years out of university – where, incidentally, he won the first Chortle Student Comic title – the mild-mannered Lloyd Langford makes stand-up look deceptively simple.

His exterior is mild-mannered, charming and smiley, but it conceals the sharpest of comedy instincts and an innate grasp of timing and pace.

Combine that with his deft, original writing and you have a recipe for success: an act whose friendly, conversational approach distracts the audience from the impressive sequence of smart punchlines he so quietly and efficiently sets up in the background.

Langford successfully mixes the topical, anecdotal and the observational, skilfully avoiding the all-too familiar bland ‘have you ever noticed...?’ patter – but his biggest asset is his charm. He may be modest, but his prospects aren’t…