As he prepares to return to the Edinburgh Fringe, Michael Spicer – known for his Room Next Door videos and Radio 4 series – talks about what he can't get enough of at the festival; recalls his most embarrassing Edinburgh experience and complains about the worst thing about the Fringe (apart from the cost of accommodation, obviously).

Edinburgh binge

I don’t have a favourite thing I like to do at the Fringe other than performing my show. That’s a guaranteed point in the day when my head isn’t filled with a million intrusive thoughts and I can just enjoy doing my show. 

Another thing is that I live in the countryside now, which means everything is beautiful but literally nothing ever happens. So while I’m at the Fringe, I do like to take advantage of living right in the middle of an endlessly fascinating city during one of the biggest festivals on Earth by simply strolling around and taking it all in.

Edinburgh cringe

I’ve only done the festival twice before now and I can honestly say nothing embarrassing has happened during a performance. The only thing that sticks out is during a particularly hot day in the oppressive bank vaults of the Cowgate Underbelly, a member of the audience fainted. 

I was dressed as an inept security guard at the time, so I stayed in character by panicking, running around and generally not helping at all, which got more laughs than my original material. 

I can also remember being in the audience for a stage play about the life of Graham Chapman many years ago. As the play reached its poignant denouement, the actor playing Graham Chapman walked up to the actor playing John Cleese and said ‘John...I have cancer,’ to which a member of the audience responded in a voice louder and clearer than the two actors, ‘Oh that’s a shame.’

Edinburgh whinge

I don’t really understand why famous people do shows at the Fringe. The Fringe is not a festival for you to celebrate your status. You’re taking audiences away from performers who need them.

Okay, maybe, it all started for you in Edinburgh and you want to recapture the unmistakable energy of the Fringe, but I’m sorry you can’t. You’re not allowed. You’ve been in films. You’ve got an agent in LA. You’ve been on The One Show to promote your new travel series whilst sat between Dame Judi Dench and Sir Elton John. You don’t belong here. 

The Fringe is for fresh talent and new voices, not you with your dyed brown hair and your beaded bracelets and your crowd work and your ‘Fellas, does your girlfriend do this?’ 

And before you ask, no, I don’t consider myself famous. A guy in a car once shouted at me, ‘It’s you! The guy!’ and drove off. I would suggest Sir Elton John has never been the recipient of such a vague observation. 

• Michael Spicer: Hope All's Well is on at Assembly George Square at 16:40 from August 5 to 16