Host of BBC Two's Mock the Week, Dara O'Briain is fast becoming TV's face of Irish comedy, with appearances on everything from Never Mind the Buzzcocks to Have I Got News For You. As his national tour visits the area this month, he talks to James Rampton.

AT THE age of 33, Dara O'Briain is already building an enviable reputation as one of the funniest men on television. Memorable TV appearances include Three Men in a Boat, Parkinson, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, The Last Laugh and QI.

Now Dara is returning to his first love, stand-up comedy.

As Dara starts his national tour he claims nothing beats the buzz of performing in front of a live audience.

"The great thing about stand-up is you have complete editorial control," he says.

Dara became a sought-after act on the Irish circuit after studying maths and physics at University College, Dublin, where he was a champion student debater.

He says: "Television is more about contained spontaneity. In a studio, you keep thinking; I'll be out of light if I run over there.' "There are no such constraints when you're performing live. You can do exactly what you like."

Dara's forte is the way he interacts with the audience.

"In Newport one night, I was having a few problems," he recalls. "There was nothing coming off the audience. Then towards the end, I asked a guy: what's the greatest thing you've ever done? Give me anything.' There was a very long pause and a lot of shuffling around, before he went: 'Well, in 1968, I was the Milky Bar Kid.' The whole place erupted.

"But it didn't end there. I then asked the guy if he got to say those famous words; 'the Milky Bars are on me'. He replied sadly: 'No, they dubbed over my voice because in 1968 this country wasn't ready for a Welsh Milky Bar Kid'."

Dara, who has now moved to London from Dublin, explains why this sort of interaction with his audience is so vital.

"The banter makes every single show different. It also gives it a massive element of the unexpected.

"It also gives me something to work off. I love reacting to stuff.

"Comedy works best when it's stumbling over impediments.

"Sometimes something extraordinary happens. One fantastic night in Dublin there was an opera singer in the audience who sang us out of the theatre to Nessun Dorma. Those moments are unrepeatable and just priceless."

Dara, who delivered an outstanding display of comic crotchetiness on BBC Two's Room 101, underlines why grumpiness is so effective in stand-up.

"Disgruntlement is one thing comedians do better than any other art form. You can paint grief or love but you can't paint being annoyed by call centres.

"Broad, proper, grown-up emotions are covered by art forms such as painting, music and film, whereas niggly, petty grievances are perfect for stand-up.

"Misery loves company, particularly if misery can sell tickets to company."

It is that simmering sense of annoyance which invests Dara's act with a tremendous power.

"I want to belt the audience with energy," he says. "And the best way to do this is to take on an angry persona.

"I want to push the audience again and again until they topple over with their arms wind-milling in the air."

Dara O'Briain, March 14, Sevenoaks Play House, Sevenoaks, 8pm, £16.50, call 01732 450175.

March 23 and 24, Ashcroft Theatre, Fairfield Hall, Croydon, 7.45pm, £14.50 & £16.50, call020 8688 9291.