Things couldn’t be better for newly-married comedian Ed Byrne, as KATHERINE MACALISTER finds out.

Ed Byrne is negotiating with the BBC in preparation for his Live at The Apollo spot on Saturday night’s prime time comedy slot.

“It’s hysterical,” he laughs. “I’m asking things like, ‘can I have three s***’s for a ****.’ But when you consider that a complaint about Frankie Boyle’s ugly swimmer gag was upheld, you’ve got to be careful. So bang goes all my ugly swimmer material,” he grins.

“But it’s also weird because being a comedian normally means you get to say all the things that in real life would get you punched in the face.”

Ed Byrne, 37, is at the top of his game at the moment and loving every minute of it.

His stand-up tour is selling out to rave reviews, he’s big on TV and he’s just got married. No wonder he’s grinning from ear-to-ear. But surely it can’t all boil down to the love of a good woman?

“Well I dunno,” he says in his lilting Irish accent. “It’s given me some great new material and people seem to prefer hearing about ‘catching my mother-in-law on the toilet’ than ‘how I went out and got drunk with all my mates and chatted up some bird’,” he says. “I think it’s just given me more balance and it’s working – I’m doing some nice gigs; Live at The Apollo, Have I Got News For You?, things that two years ago I wasn’t even considered for, and instead was doing voiceovers and cable TV stints. So who knows, maybe I just got funnier.

“Of course the flip side to married life is going on tour because it means you can’t have a routine. We wanted to get a dog but who will look after it when we go to the New Zealand Comedy Festival or the Edinburgh Fringe?”

Presumably wifey doesn’t mind coming along for the ride then? “Oh no, she’s a comedy publicist and publicists and comedians are a bit like doctors and nurses or pilots and air hostesses.”

As for his routine, Ed says its rehearsed and he only goes off on a tangent if he knows where its heading. And while some audience participation is good, he never lingers too long. “Well some comedians ask so many questions it’s like watching a psychic. Besides, I know what my strengths are now. I’m not political either, or only political with a small p. There’s no point giving a political statement and then going back to the k*** jokes.”

So it must be a win-win situation now that comedians are beginning to make a come back in a big way? “More and more people are going to see them,” he agrees. “We have normalised things with our observational and anecdotal comedy. It’s not just pub jokes anymore. And I for one am happy about that. It’s all about a big house for Ed,” he grins.

“And I enjoy doing the stand-up. It’s the best way to keep things fresh and I always liken it to going to watch your favourite film with someone who hasn’t seen it. The audience haven’t heard the jokes and they make you giggle yourself because you’re feeding off them.

“So touring the material is the easy bit. It’s your reward because when it comes to writing the next tour, I drive myself crazy, and everyone else around me, by analysing everything and saying ‘do you think I could use that?’ “But this time around, if it’s not ready by next year I’m not going to break my neck over it. I want to recharge my batteries and have a fallow year if needs be. I won’t enjoy the big house will I if I don’t get to spend any time in it?”

Catch Ed Byrne in Different Class while you can at the New Theatre on Thursday. Call the box office on 0844 8471588.