GRILLING Sean Hughes is a risky business. Ask him a question and he’ll riposte with two.

Dare to throw in a “silly” query and he’ll call you out on it – before magnanimously throwing you a line.

The notoriously outspoken Irish comedian famed for his blunt honesty is not in the habit of mincing his words or beating around the bush.

His patience is wearing thin with age, with interviewers and unimaginative or downright “stupid” hecklers alike.

“I like it when the audience is engaged but not when they say stupid stuff. I am at that age where I will tell people to f*** off,” he declares with a chuckle.

After a seven-year hiatus from stand-up because, of his own admission, he had “run out of things to say”, he re-emerged in 2012, getting back on the road following his father’s death.

A “smart arse” who is quick as a whip, he made up his mind to break into comedy at the tender age of 14. His parents were baffled by his aspiration.

“They weren’t supportive in the slightest. They didn’t understand what I was talking about. They didn’t have much ambition for me.

“And there was not much comedy happening in Dublin so I had to emigrate to London.”

Undeterred though, he formed a double act with a school friend and against all odds got himself on the telly.

“Bizarrely at 19 we got a slot on this Irish TV show, we did sketches and we were terrible. But it was great.”

A self-proclaimed lone wolf, he doesn’t fit the mould (“I’m not married and don’t have kids”), but dismisses the label of outsider.

“I look in from outside,” concedes the 49-year-old. “All comedians have to do that really.”

Never one to shy away from sensitive issues or bow down to the arbitrary concept of political correctness, he navigates some treacherous waters in his latest tour Mumbo Jumbo, touching upon the dicey subject of disability.

“I tell a true story about disability and I was doing the show and this guy with MS really got the better of me on stage. He really put me down. I don’t really believe in censorship and the way this country is going is a little bit frightening. People say, ‘You can’t say this, you can’t say that’. As long as you’re telling the truth you’re fine.”

Mumbo Jumbo happily layers light-hearted (dare we say low brow) anecdotes over his broader social commentary, he insists - he is in the business of getting laughs after all. In the show, he waxes lyrical about his latest realisation: the two sides of his brain are in constant conflict. There is common sense against mumbo jumbo and mumbo jumbo seems to have the upper hand.

Prepare to be regaled with tales of his escapade to Rwanda, searching for mountain gorillas or the time he was serenaded by The Cure’s Robert Smith at the break of dawn.

“I was just invited when the band were recording down in Bath, at Jane Seymour’s house I believe. And the rest is in the show,” he adds breezily.

He likes a bit of fun but steers firmly clear of the mind-numbing, bog standard or formulaic.

“I’ve no problem with being silly. But the bland stuff doesn’t interest me in the slightest. I’m looking for more philosophical ideas to hang on to jokes.”

This low boredom threshold and abhorrence of flat, samey gimmicks are partly to blame for his decision to leave Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2002. He makes short shrift of the panel show’s recent cancellation.

“I couldn’t care less,” he deadpans. “It was all very amicable. You get to a certain age when you’re on a panel of boy bands and you don’t really know who these people are.

“All panel shows are fine in their own way but they pretty much do the same show every week.”

In the spirit of mixing things up, the stand-up cum actor cum writer will get the show rolling with music and even a smattering of poetry in Mumbo Jumbo.

“I always like to surprise people, keep them guessing about what I’m going to do next.”

Sean Hughes will be at the Arts Centre on October 11 at 7.30pm. To book go to swindontheatres.co.uk or call 01793 524481. marion sauvebois