Dancing On Ice star Darren Harriott has revealed that comedy “helped him a lot” to deal with “some of the bad things that might happen in your life.”
The Love Island: After Sun co-host and comedian has delighted viewers of the ITV programme alongside pro skater Tippy Packard, where they have performed routines to songs including Fireball by Pitbull.
However he is set to swap his skates for the stage as he embarks on a 19-date headline comedy tour across the UK, which begins on September 13, 2023 in Glasgow.
READ MORE: Alison Hammond admits she turned down Dancing on Ice three times after major injury
Speaking exclusively to Daily Star about his upcoming comedy tour Roadman, Darren revealed that the shows will see him draw on his upbringing – including the death of his father and being in a gang when he was younger – saying that looking back on “some of the bad things” has helped him a lot.
(Image: PA)
“To look at some of the bad things that might happen in your life or some of the sadness, and go, oh actually, I got something good out of that,” said Darren.
“It’s horrible and I’m still dealing with it and it’s crippling, but I’m able to turn it into something funny, which has helped me a lot. Make a positive out of it.”
However he admitted that preparing to talk about his personal life on stage “takes a lot of time.”
“The thing about talking about personal life and harrowing stuff…a bit of advice I had from a comedian, a really good American comedian, was that you never want to leave the stage feeling like you sold yourself out,” said Darren.
(Image: BBC/Open Mike/Ellis O’Brien)
“If I’m talking about harrowing stuff like my dad’s death, or being in a gang, I never want to talk about it in a way that is sort of cheap laughs and I leave the stage feeling like I’d really let myself down in terms of the material and the way I’ve sold it.”
He added: “They’re always the hardest bits to get right. You not only have to get them right for the audience, but you have to get them right for you.”
The star has led a stellar career since bursting onto the comedy circuit, performing on Live At The Apollo, being nominated for the Edinburgh Fringe Best Newcomer 2017 and appearing on programmes including Britain’s Best Take-Away and Love Island: After Sun.
(Image: Getty Images)
Speaking about his comedy style, Darren described it as “just very honest,” explaining: “For comedians we don’t work in an office, we don’t really have an office environment – there’s no comedian’s Christmas party.
“For us, if you want to get something off your chest, we don’t really have that work colleague that you can say it to,” adding: “for us, that honesty comes across on stage.”
(Image: Matt Frost/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
He also explained that the name of his upcoming tour links to both his past and his future, saying: “I hadn’t been on tour since pre-covid – ages ago 2019. I kept saying I wanted to get on the road and when I was younger I used to think I was a bit of a bad boy, a bit of a roadman, so I thought it would all…I thought, oh that works.
“There’s a bit of me and I’m going on the road, so lets do that.”
Darren continued: “I’m hoping to just keep it going. With this tour we’ve got a bunch of dates now and then we’re adding a few more dates, so we can just keep going. I want Roadman to be on the road for as long as I can, because I’ve really missed touring.”
Darren Harriott is on tour with ‘Roadman’ nationwide later this year. For tickets and information, please visit the comedian’s website here.
Dancing on Ice airs every Sunday on ITV.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
