Michael McIntyre insists comedians don't need 'a TV producer' to be a success

Michael McIntyre says comedians are no longer beholden to "the whim of a TV producer".

The 48-year-old star is marking 25 years as a comedian with a one-off BBC show 'Michael McIntyre's 25th Year Stand-Up Special', and he has reflected on how comedy has changed since he started out.

He said: "I love how comedy has evolved with funny people creating their own content on social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok.

"For a long time your career was at the whim of a TV producer, now you can become famous and successful without even leaving the house."

Michael has had plenty of success on the small screen, and he is looking forward to the future hosting the like of 'The Wheel'.

Teasing "what's next" for him, Michael added: "I have a brand new series of 'The Big Show' starting in January which we’ve filmed and is better than ever, then more Wheels to film in the summer and hopefully another 25 years of stand-up!"

The new special will air on December 14, and he has promised viewers a real treat.

He added: "The material is all new so I’m really excited for people to see it.

"There are naturally some references to ageing, given it’s my 25th year as a stand-up."

Having another big BBC special to mark the occasion is a far cry from Michael's early days as a comic, when he was struggling to get people in the audience.

He recalled: "My first stand-up gig was in 1999 at the Comedy Cafe in London and I did get a laugh with the first thing I said, unfortunately I didn’t get another laugh for about 2 years.

"The process of finding my voice on stage was tough. It wasn’t really until the Edinburgh Festival in 2003 that I started to work out who I was, although not many people witnessed it.

"One night only one person bought a ticket for my show, and it was a 2 for 1 offer. They couldn’t even get someone to join them for free!"