AFTER his stint editing the Adver, Geordie funnyman Ross Noble has a soft spot for Swindon. Ahead of his visit to the Wyvern Theatre, he gives us the lowdown on his new show, Brain Dump.

Where does the title come from?

I got it from a customer review on Amazon for one of my DVDs. They wrote, "This is just like a massive brain dump," and I thought: Oh yeah, that's exactly what my stuff is! I'll have that.

How do you think your comedy has developed since your started?

The main change is that, because I've built up this really loyal audience, there's more of a shorthand. When I first started, if I was talking about something a bit leftfield people would go, "Oh god, where's he going with this?" Whereas now that's what people want, they go, "Oh right! Where's he going with this!?"’

Your acting CV has bumped up in recent years, especially horror movie roles. Do your comedy skills come in handy?

‘It's definitely easier for a stand-up to do straight acting than an actor to do comedy. In the horror movie Stitches – it sounds mad because I was playing a killer clown – but I wanted to play it as truthfully as possible. I didn't want people to go, "Oh, that's just Noble dressed as a clown.” I’ve just filmed another horror, and that’s a straight horror film; there are no laughs in it.

Which was weirder: playing a murderous clown, or going on a date with Harold Bishop in the Australian comedy, It’s a Date?

Oh, the date! That was my idea, so I only have myself to blame. Afterwards I realised that I could have picked pretty much any Australian actress to date; I've could've written myself a love scene! But when he asked who I wanted to go on a date with I said, "Ian Smith, who plays Harold Bishop." The next thing you know I'm on a set sat opposite him.’

You have a very loyal fanbase; they see your show multiple times, leave gifts for you on stage… Is it sweet or creepy?

99 percent of the time it's very sweet and very flattering. Every now and then you get one where you go, "Okaaaay… That's a little bit scary…" I was in New Zealand once, and I was on my phone to my wife. I put the phone down and it rang again. I thought it was her ringing back, so I went, "Hi!" and this voice said, "Hello." It was a complete stranger who had rung every hotel in Auckland pretending to be my girlfriend. That was a bit terrifying. There's a big difference between somebody liking your comedy and someone wanting to wear your skin as a suit.

Ross Noble's show on November 10 is sold out but he's back at the Wyvern on January 18. To book go to swindontheatres.co.uk or call 01793 524 481.