Comedian Chris Forbes had a baptism of fire in the Dundee comedy scene when he supported Kevin Bridges in a packed out Caird Hall in 2012.
Now the Scot Squad actor, known for his portrayal of PC Charlie Mackintosh in the BBC mockumentary, is looking forward to returning to the city as the host of The Big Fab Comedy Show later this month.
“It’ll be lovely to come back,” enthuses Chris, who hails from Stirling. “There’s a great sense of humour in Dundee, and lots of great local references and turns of phrase.
“I love the ‘Twa pehs an an ingin ane in aw’ thing,” he continues. “I had to say that in an episode of Only an Excuse once and it took me ages to get it just right.”
But when it comes to Dundee delicacies, Forbes reveals it was the infamous ‘helicopter burger’ from Clark’s Bakery – featuring bacon, egg, and chips – which left a lasting impression.
“For some reason, the overriding memory I have of Dundee is of asking the audience where we should go for something to eat afterwards, and they told me and Kevin to go to some 24-hour, late-night place and order a helicopter burger,” he laughs.
“We were blown away that such a thing existed!”
‘Rare’ touring line-up of comedians
Now over a decade later, he’s returning to host one out of the two runs of comedy promoter Gilded Balloon’s Big Fab Comedy Tour, with a bumper line-up including Thanyia Moore, Rosco McClelland, Catherine Bohart and his Scot Squad co-star Liam Farrelly.
“Liam’s a new, young, fresh voice, and he’s got a very unique background and a lot of different stories that not a lot of comics can tell,” says Forbes proudly.
“I think that always sets the best comics apart – if there’s stories only they can tell, it just resonates more on a personal level.
“The whole line-up for this tour is excellent as well, it’s a really eclectic, high-quality bill, so it’s just nice to work with great comics who are also very nice people.”
Devised to combat the closure of regular gigs in Edinburgh’s Rose Theatre, the Big Fab Comedy Show is a mini tour where the same line up of UK comics will travel across the country together, each taking the stage for a smaller set, giving audiences the chance to see multiple acts in the same night.
“It’ll be a great show, people should come out,” urges Forbes. “It is quite rare for a line up of the same kind of touring comics to be together for a run of nights across Scotland.”
Chris Forbes: ‘My wife didn’t know my show was about her until she came to see it’
As far as his own comedy goes, Forbes finds his inspiration in home and family – but when it comes to running his jokes by his relatives, he admits it’s “funnier” to see their reactions in real time.
“My wife’s the main person that’ll come and see me every so often,” he explains.
“There was one Fringe show where she was really the core subject matter, which she hadn’t known until she came to see it – which amused me greatly!
“But she’s never that bothered. She knows that comedy is about hopefully speaking as truthfully as you can and drawing on these inspirations.
“There’s only ever certain things where she’ll say: ‘Let’s not turn that into a joke’ or ‘you don’t have to tell everyone about this thing’.”
Love from Andy Murray for his ‘other brother’ Duncan
Meanwhile Forbes has a whole other family to mine for comedy gold when playing as his alter ego, Duncan Murray – the ‘other brother’ of tennis stars Sir Andy and Jamie Murray – with their mother Judy.
Their own tour, The Duncan and Judy Show, is stopping off in Courier Country this weekend, but Forbes can’t say for sure whether his ‘other mother’ Judy will pop up at one of his Big Fab gigs.
“Judy’s a law unto herself,” he laughs. “She’s been lovely, actually, coming to support me in a few different things. She’s a riot.
“The whole Duncan and Judy thing is still very surreal to me, but it’s very very funny.”
The real question is, has Duncan’s brother Andy embraced him as one of the family yet?
“He was very kind because he sent us a video to use in the live shows, so I think if he completely hated it, he wouldn’t have wanted to be involved at all,” Forbes says hopefully.
“But the only time I’ve ever heard him talk about it properly was via Jamie.
“I said: ‘I’ve always been curious about if Andy’s seen it, because I don’t know if he’s insulted or anything’ and Jamie just went: ‘Well, he’s seen it.’
“And that was it! So that sounded pretty damning, but I like to think he’s OK with it.”
The Big Fab Comedy Show hosted by Chris Forbes will be at Dundee’s Whitehall Theatre on October 26.
The Duncan and Judy Murray Show will be at Perth Concert Hall on October 14 2023.
