...and the ups and downs of performing comedy alone

Tim Key has spoken of his love of pubs – and how it led to one of the weirdest Valentine’s Days going.

Speaking to Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett on the Dish From Waitrose podcast, he said: ‘I like going to the pub and having a pint of beer…  It is a really great place like a spiritual place. It's like a fun church. Sort of.’

He said his favourite hangouts were Soho, explaining: ‘I do love the French House. With their little halves.

’In Soho, there's a chair in the Coach and Horses… which is not quite a sofa, but it's wider than a chair. I sat there once and it was about 7pm on Valentine's Day.

‘I'm sitting there, then a character comes and sits next to me. Because he's a character, he comes with a hat and a cane.

‘He was horrible to me. Nice characters are all right. But, oh, no, this guy was mean. I've just had too many bad moments with characters. It's the hat…

‘Of course they are [annoyed that everyone else is allowed in Soho]. Because they're like the king, they're like the legend of Soho. No wristwatch, obviously. Pocket watch. It is. I'm not making it up. That's what it's got.’

‘I'm just wearing a jumper and my jeans. Probably my baseball cap. And then suddenly Eddie comes twirling his cane. No one else in the pub.’

But while exasperated by that exchange, Key hailed: ‘Here's to the nice characters!’

The comic is promoting The Ballad Of Wallis Island, which he created with his long-term friend Tom Basden.

Key  also spoke about the first time he performed a solo comedy show, having come up through the team shows of the Cambridge Footlights.

‘I think it feels like it's the most pure form of comedy,’ he said. ‘It might not be. I don't necessarily think it is, but there's definitely something about it which is quite gladiatorial. Which feels like it's just something that you should try  because it's different from being with your little sketch group, which-which I really loved. It's kind of how probably me and learned how to write and perform.

‘But there is something that's both horrible and exhilarating about walking out on your own in front of an audience who have come to see you. But it's a very difficult place to get to because you have to die several times on the way and you have to be on the N15 night bus and lose your trousers. It's not plain sailing.

‘It's not like a lot of jobs. There are moments where you're like, really soul-searching and wondering why you're doing it… and you're like "I can't I literally don't know how to do this" and there's people doubting you and you've got your own self-doubt and you're serving up a lot of crap, That's what you're dealing with.’

'And then you need to get to a point where you are loving what you're doing. And then your people, your audience… are enjoying what you're serving. It just takes time and it's very rewarding.’

Here's Key talking about Steve Coogan coming to watch one of his shows before they started working together on Alan Partridge.

And here he is recreating a challenge from the very first series of Taskmaster:

• Dish from Waitrose is available on all podcast providers. On the show guests talk about their favourite food... even when the hosts get it wrong!

Published: 7 Jan 2026