Have you got enough there?” Josh Widdicombe asks at the end of our interview, and I nod looking at the pages and pages of shorthand.

But reading it back I wondered if I’d got anything at all, because he doesn’t give much away.

The 2011’s Fosters Newcomer-nominated debut show, by the star of Live at the Apollo, Stand Up for the Week, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Rob Brydon, was touted as “one of the most individual, accomplished, hilarious and unforgettable hours this year.”

And if you want to see the real living breathing comedy beast in action get down to the Glee Club to find out more.

That he’s a massively up-and-coming comedian isn’t debatable. He’s won or been shortlisted for every new award going, but getting closer to him is like stalking an endangered species – the closer you get the further he retreats.

The main problem is that although the 28 year-old is candid and honest, he doesn’t see what the big deal is.

What’s so fascinating about standing up in front of thousands of people every night making them laugh? And why does that make him interesting? Look him up on YouTube and you’ll be doubled up in no time, but like many comedians, Josh seems to save himself for the stage. Having supported Stephen Merchant and Alan Carr, he’s now going it alone and packing them in.

“In smaller venues,” he points out, “which is not the same thing, but it’s exciting and I still can’t believe people pay to come and see me and that makes me work hard.”

He’s been working hard, by all accounts, since leaving Manchester University to try to make a living writing sitcoms, before branching into stand-up instead. “I left the South West a decade ago and came to London to do this. It wasn’t my life plan and I never thought I’d be a stand-up, I just didn’t want to work in an office. If I could play an instrument I’d be a musician but I can’t so I don’t.”

Currently compiling new material, his spring tour is “the three-and-a-half years before Edinburgh – the best of. It’s a bit like the difficult second album syndrome. And I also need to pay my tax bill.

“But the fun bit for me is creating the material and then the show, doing stuff and it working. That’s the biggest buzz. And if it doesn’t work it’s glaringly obvious. I’m not one of these people who only feel alive when on stage. I can go for a week without a gig and I’d be just as happy having a night off.”

All of this is reeled off in the same dry manner Josh uses on stage. So for people that haven’t come across him before, what can they expect?

“I’m not an analytical person. But it’s observational comedy, not hard-hitting satire and hopefully it’s funny. Being funny is the main thing. I’m not going to change your mind on world events, but I will show up on time, do the show, be consistently funny, hope everyone enjoys it and then drive home.”

He makes it sound so simple, but what about getting up there all alone on stage?

“You get used to these things very quickly. I was supporting Stephen Merchant and by the fifth night I thought ‘not this again’. But as a support you’re there as a companion as much as anything else, it’s someone who’s going through the same thing as you.”

“It’s quite stressful being on the road all the time, and really less exciting than people think. I don’t have a social life as a result, so I live in a shared house. But getting a graduate job and coasting would have been a lot easier. Put it this way, you wouldn’t take on something like this if you didn’t like it.”

* Josh Widdicombe appears at The Glee Club on Sunday, April 15, not tonight as previously advertised. Call the box office on 0871 472 0400 or see glee.co.uk