The Life of O’Briain

"Yeah, I was deemed ineligible for the Perrier Award,” Dara O’Briain is telling me over a crackling, static-filled phone line from London, “because apparently – and this I find quite amusing – I was too famous. [Pauses to gauge interviewer’s response] You see, the way you’re laughing makes it seem even more ridiculous. But it became the running gag, in a way – y’know, ‘I’m not gonna ‘do’ this restaurant, because I’m too big now’. And then, ‘I’m too big for this club, I’m too big for this chair, I’m too big for this conversation’. So that was the ironic motif to my shows this year, because, let’s face it, I’m not that big.”

In fairness, O’Briain might be doing himself just a tad of a disservice. His Edinburgh run this summer sold-out in double quick time, whilst his role as genial host of the BBC’s stand-up showcase The Live Floor Show has seen him further penetrate the consciousness of the British comedy-going public. O’Briain’s latest TV venture, however, sees him return to his native shores.
“It’s a live show on RTE called The Panel,” he explains. “It’s an Australian format that I participated in whilst I was touring there. I thought it was a great concept, so I asked the people who devised the show if I could rework it for Irish TV and they said, ‘Yeah, no problem.’
“It’s basically me and various guests sitting down and just bantering about the week. The show has a different vibe to Don’t Feed The Gondolas, it’s a bit more grown-up than that. We have people like Pauline McLynn and Colin Murphy lined up so it should be quite interesting.”
O’Briain goes on to stress that the programme bears little resemblance to established topical humour shows such as Have I Got News For You, and he speaks with the voice of authority – the comedian appeared on HIGNFY earlier this year in the company of veteran news reporter John Sargeant and Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik. How did he find the experience?
“Well, I was completely bricking it,” he recalls, “but it was great, actually. Paul Merton was really nice – I think as long as he knows that you’re not gonna interrupt him, or try to top him in any way, then he’s cool. And Hislop was a sweetheart. But the really strange part – and I remember Ross Noble saying the same thing to me – is when you’re sitting there chatting away beforehand, and then very quickly the lights go up, the theme music starts and the background shutters turn round. All of a sudden, you’re like, ‘Jesus, I’m on Have I Got News For You!’ That’s pretty nerve-wracking.”
Ever the upholders of journalistic virtue in a world of scurrilous tabloid ethics, it behoves hotpress to enquire: what did Dara make of Angus Deayton going psycho in a titty-bar whilst monged off his tits on coke?
“Well, whatever about that, I thought it was absolutely absurd that he was fired from Have I Got News For You. It was ridiculous and showed a huge amount of hypocrisy within the industry. But I think there was tension between the guys on the show anyway, they just weren’t close. They probably felt that the attention focused on Deayton was detracting from the overall credibility of the show.
“As it happens, my production company is developing another programme which we’re hoping to get Angus Deayton involved in. I mean, I think over time his abilities will be acknowledged again and all that other silliness will be forgotten about. He’s exceptionally good at what he does and talent will always prevail over everything else.”
Currently looking forward to making a return to the gigging circuit (“TV work is essentially just a means of getting more people interested in the live shows”), Dara remains hyper-wary of utilising clichéd subject matter. Relationships, for example, whilst a staple topic in many a hack stand-up’s routine, remain practically verboten in O’Briain’s off-kilter comedic universe.
“Well, there’s a practical element to that, too,” he elaborates. “The last thing you want to do in these situations is piss off ex-girlfriends, that can put your personal safety at risk. I mean, Ireland’s so small that if you’re talking about specific people in your show, chances are that they’re gonna find out. You know, they hear about it, they come to the gigs, and then before you know you’ve got an ex-girlfriend on the phone saying, ‘Right, so you’re telling the story about the time I…’
“In very general terms, it’s probably not the smartest thing to do. I mean, if you say something like, ‘I had a girlfriend once, and she used to do this amazing thing…’. invariably her cousin will be at the show, and she’ll hear back about it. Trust me, I don’t do it out of any sense of artistic bravery!” b

Dara O’Briain plays the Ambassador in Dublin on October 4