Katherine MacAlister chats to comic Rob Beckett ahead of his upcoming appearance at Glee in Oxford

Rob Beckett is so lovely you want to take him home to meet your mum, which is no doubt why he’s been such a big hit on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Now.

But while the Australian jungle is a distant memory until the next series, Rob’s back on stage doing what he does best, stand-up. So get down to The Glee Club because this man is on the up and he’ll be selling out theatres before you know it.

“I just want to perform in bigger and bigger venues. That’s the plan. I did the Hammersmith Apollo in front of 3,000 people so if I can get to the stage where I fill an arena I would love to give it a go.” the 28 year-old says.

At this rate it won’t be long because having won the Amused Moose Laugh Off 2010 stand-up competition with an alumni of comics like Greg Davies, Rhod Gilbert, Jimmy Carr, Andi Osho and Simon Amstell, he realised he had potential, going on to win endless awards since then.

So how is he celebrating? “I bought a Nissan Micra, which is the most money I’ve ever spent, apart from my PlayStation 4, and even then I had to ask my mum if it was OK,” he laughs.

But then the boy-next-door charm works. “My shows are a bit like having a catch up with a mate, anecdotal you know, not like Jimmy Carr and full of one-liners, more the total opposite.”

Don’t be foiled by the cheeky chappy persona, because under the Mr Nice exterior there’s a steely rod of determination running through this South London lad. He knows what he wants and he’s been working flat out to get there.

“I used to work a 40-hour week in an office and then go out and do four or five gigs a week for two years. It was the only way to get better, and that helped, but it took quite a long time. “You have to put in the hard graft to get where you want,” he says.

So what motivates him? “I’ve never been good at anything else except comedy and I’m half decent at this. And then people say ‘you’re really good ‘and then I win an award. “It was like being given a golden ticket. And anyway I love doing comedy – it’s never a chore but I do put a lot of effort into it.”

It’s paying off, because when the Jungle headhunters were looking for someone to replace Russell Kane, they found Rob Beckett at the Edinburgh Fringe and after an audition he got the job.

“I just banter with the celebs, the crew, the guests, you just have to have the right energy.”

Rob was an obvious choice, because in the same way that Ant & Dec have forged a career out of being funny but kind, Rob is always positive on stage. “I never say anything nasty. I just mess about and have a joke. I don’t need to be critical or negative about people. Taking the mickey is lazy so I do the clowning around. I’m the butt of my jokes. “I want to have pride in what I do so I suppose I’m more of a traditional stand-up which means my audience has a really wide age range from nans to 10 year-old’s. I try to be nice to everyone. It’s how I was brought up.”

Once on TV Rob really noticed the difference: “I don’t allow myself to think about fame. I just get on with one day at a time. I might be talking to the press all day one day and then the next I take my car in for an MOT.“ The biggest break for Rob though was giving up his day job in 2011. “I’ve done everything, I worked in a pub, I was a cricket steward, I booked conference rooms - that was depressing. So the way I look at it, being a circuit comedian pays the bills and rent and anything else is a bonus.”

It’s not all glitz and glamour however. The last time he played Oxford Rob stayed in what he described as the worst B&B he had ever seen. He said: “It was like being an evacuee, nothing had changed since the 1930s and I was quite scared, so hopefully I’ll stay somewhere better. Accommodation can be up and down but I’m never staying there again.

“But in terms of goals, we always used to sit down on Christmas Day as a family and watch a stand-up DVD and I want my work to be like that, watchable for everyone.”

SEE HIM
Rob Beckett is coming to Glee Oxford on Sunday, March 23.
Get tickets at robbeckettcomedy/live.com