Canadian comic Stewart has dedicated his tour Pun Gent to his dad, who was a roofer. “So dad, if you’re up there...?”

A regular on Mock The Week and Live At The Apollo, he moved to the UK permanently eight years ago and has been touring regularly, including supporting Ricky Gervais on tour.

He specialises in good old-fashioned one-liners and joke-telling.

The beauty of being a one-liner guy is…

That while there’s a flow, I could still pop a joke in from the middle of nowhere that I might have forgotten to do earlier and it won’t be distracting: it’s just another one-liner.

I like to come up with a new gag that could bump out one of the ones that might not be quite so strong…

It’s nice to have an arsenal of gags – it’s comforting to know when the show is more or less ready and that I’m closing in on the magical hour.

And on this tour…

I’ve also got some technical things that will take up some extra-gorgeous moments.

I just want the jokes to be funny…

For me, comedy works with the element of surprise, so I like doing a couple of kitten jokes and then something dark as that catches people off-guard. But I don’t deliberately go looking for a dark joke, they come up as and when.

I’m living a charmed life…

Coming over to the UK eight years ago was the real turning point professionally for me. I’d been coming over for years as a part-time player, but being here permanently lifted me to the level that I always felt I was destined for. But I haven’t plateaued yet.

I’m always optimistic that my current tour is my last…

But threesomes with shemales and coffee enemas don’t pay for themselves, so the reality of the situation is that I have to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m hopeful that a sitcom comes along and all my creative energy goes into that. I’m a one-trick pony in the sense that I like to focus on one thing at a time. I’m also an eternal optimist.

I’ve written a half-hour script…

That currently resides in the in-trays of those who can make it a reality. It’s bullet-proof: it’s oot there, as a Canadian would say. It’s just ready for someone to say ‘Let’s get that piloted’ and then cue the Baftas!

SHOW DETAILS

See Stewart Francis: Pun Gent at Dartford’s Orchard Theatre on Saturday, November 21 at 8pm. Tickets £22, visit www.orchardtheatre.co.uk or call 01322 220000.

He’s also at Theatre Royal Margate on Wednesday, December 2 at 7.30pm. Tickets from £14.50, visit theatreroyalmargate.com or call 01843 292795, and at the Hazlitt, Maidstone, on Tuesday, February 9 at 8pm. Tickets £18.50, visit www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk or call 01622 758611.

He’ll be at Folkestone’s Quarterhouse on Friday, February 19 at 8pm. Tickets £18.50, visit www.quarterhouse.co.uk or call 01303 760750.