How Alison Spittle deals with her anxiety through stand-up comedy

Two nasty break-ins at her home may have shaken Alison Spittle, but the comedian is very much back on track and mining the Midlands for laughs, writes Ellie O’Byrne

IF YOU suffer from anxiety, taking to the stage to perform stand-up comedy might sound like a living nightmare. Not so for Alison Spittle, hailed as one of Irish comedy’s fastest rising stars. Although she’s making waves as a broadcaster, with her own six-part sitcom due out on RTÉ2 in the autumn, her podcast, The Alison Spittle Show, and past contributions to Republic of Telly and The Right Hook, live is where it’s at, she says: “When I did my first gig, it just clicked; it was like falling in love, very hard.

“I know it’s ridiculous, but I just feel safe doing stand-up. I think it’s because no one else is in control. I don’t feel in control of a lot of things, but with stand-up I don’t have to answer to anybody except the audience and if things are going badly, it’s my responsibility to change it.”