A comedian who makes regular TV appearances used to come to Swindon once a month.

Nish Kumar used to come to Swindon once a month while working as a compere at a comedy club introducing other acts when he was starting out.

He is now best known for his TV appearances on Taskmaster, Live At The Apollo and QI.

He was named one of The Guardian and The Telegraph’s 50 Best Comedians of the 21st Century

Speaking with the Adver, Nish said: “I spent quite a regular period where I was in Swindon all the time.

“I think me and Ed Gamble basically were the two regular hosts of this gig in Swindon in a comedy club just round the corner from the Wyvern Theatre. 

“And I just sort of have memories of wandering around the town centre in a bit of a daze. 

“And there was a pub that was just covered in leaves. That's my main sort of memory of Swindon.”

He remembered: “Swindon has the vibe of a place that the people there can't quite believe that you bothered coming to it. 

“And that is a very nice starting point for comedy. There is a slight sense of people being like, ‘why on earth are you here? But we are glad you've done it’.”

Nish will be returning to Swindon on September 25 as part of his upcoming tour, Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe at the Wyvern Theatre.

The name refers to Nish tackling big topics at a time when, the show’s advert states, the country is in turmoil in an election year.

Nish’s show is described as 80 minutes of ‘sweet, sweet vibe killing’.

He said: “If you're sort of paying the slightest bit of attention, it's hard not to feel slightly panicked, I would say. 

“I'm hoping, if anything, to make it worse for people. I'm actively trying to ruin people's evenings.”

He continued: “I think post-pandemic I'm less mad with individuals and I'm more angry with wider systemic issues.

“I'm less interested in having a go at individual racists or people who have said things to me in the street. 

“I'm more interested in going after systems that promote those worldviews.”

He says this is a challenge, but one that he enjoys: “I'm happiest in this stage where I'm still working out the material.

“Of all of the cool and weird jobs that I've done, stand-up is still the thing that I enjoy the most.”