Brian Gittins still searching for comedy gold (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Brian Gittins still searching for comedy gold

10:35am Friday 17th December 2010 in Comedy By Graham Moody

Brian Gittins' comedy career has not exactly gone the way he planned it would.

Starting out on the circuit four-and-a-half years ago, he pledged to reach the London Palladium within five years but is a little bit behind schedule.

The closest he has got is opening for Ricky Gervais at the warm-up shows for his tour, but even that didn't go very well for the down on his luck comic.

"When Ricky was doing warm up dates for his tour we did eight together," he explains.

"Ricky introduced me as one of those freaks you see at the start of X Factor.

"I would go on and it would be virtually silent for 20 minutes and he would come on laughing at my failure."

That was then followed up by a not-so-pleasant Reading Festival experience this summer.

"I got bottled off at Reading and that's rather scarred me," he said.

"That was five months ago and I am still recovering from it.

"I was hated by 2,000 people."

So it's all going very well then and makes you wonder why he persists to put himself through the torture.

"I was told by various friends I was quite funny and I thought that gave me the right to get on stage," he says.

"I have a voice and I think people should listen to what I have got to say."

He brings his rather unique brand of humour to the Outside The Box comedy night in Kingston on Monday, where he will be joined on stage by some guests.

"There will be latex masks and 13 jokes because I don't have anymore," he says.

"I have two new characters I perform though, David Yim and The Pig Man.

"It's only because I bought a new mask and thought I could get a new character out of it.

"I don't really put a lot of thought into my performance and I always think if I am going down well then the audience have got some sort of ulterior motive.

"Plus the Kingston gig is very inconvenient - I have got a lot of turkeys to buy for Christmas."

Brian Gittins, Doc Brown, Tiernan Douieb Suzi Ruffell and Maff Brown, Outside The Box, Old London Road, Kingston, December 20, 7.50pm, £7.50. Call 07791 439363 or visit outsidetheboxcomedy.co.uk.