Two Pints stars take to the comedy club stage for their TV show

Will Mellor and Ralf Little turned their hand to stand-up in a bid to confront their fears.

The pair, who came to fame via the BBC comedy  Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, regularly perform live versions of their podcast – but admit to being terrified of stand-up.

So they signed up to take part in the Red Raw open-mic night at the Glasgow Stand for their U&Dave show Will & Ralf Should Know Better. But they did have one advantage over the other hopefuls, as they received some advice from pro Susie McCabe before taking to the stage.

’It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done,’ Ralf admitted, but said ‘once you’ve done it, you feel alive.’

 Will added: ‘That’s what I live for, the feeling of adrenaline from performing. I came off thinking I need that again, it’s addictive.’

He said there was some overlap with their previous work, but stand-up needed much more preparation – and nerve. ‘When we did ‘Two Pints…’ we learnt the importance of timing with an audience, which is everything. But stand-up is scary and lonely, there’s that fear of dying on stage.

‘Our podcast is unscripted and improvised, but you can’t go on stage [for stand-up] unprepared. Nerves will throw you. Everyone is waiting for you to make them laugh.

‘And the audience didn’t know we were going to be there, so it wasn’t like they’d bought tickets to see Will and Ralf. We had to come up with a ten-minute routine, the terror before going on was awful – I was pacing, my heart was pounding… ‘

Asked whether they would do it again, Ralf said: ‘Legitimately, we have both discussed it. Watch this space… 

And Will confessed: ‘We had a great experience, but who’s to say it wouldn’t be the opposite if we did it again?'

He added: ‘We were worried if we’d be welcomed by other comics because we haven’t done the hard graft to get there, do we deserve it?’

Ralf said he’d sensed that before, explaining: ‘ I hosted a show in 2002 called Edinburgh Nights interviewing comics at the festival, guys like Dara Ó Briain and Russell Howard before they were famous. 

‘They used to get annoyed if someone swooped in without having worked the circuit, but the comics I spoke to this time said it’s not really like that anymore because people are getting opportunities through TikTok and social media. They’re writing their own material, putting themselves out there and gaining a following, so the comedy community is more chilled about it, which is an interesting development.’

The pair also chatted to other comics on the open-mic bill with Ralf explaining: ‘I met a female comic who wasn’t bothered about making a career out of it, she just enjoys doing a five-minute set every few weeks – it’s a hobby that she’s good at, and that’s enough for her. She also confessed to having a poster of Will when he was in Hollyoaks on her bedroom wall when she was younger!’

• All episodes of Will & Ralf Should Know Better will be available on the U streaming platform from February 23. Their stand-up session is in episode 6, entitled Fears.

Published: 17 Feb 2026