When meeting Greg McHugh, it's difficult to decide initially what is brighter: his neon orange trainers or the garish tangerine fake tan caked on his face. It's a close run thing, but the latter may just edge it.

As it transpires, the writer and comic actor is fresh from shooting a video as his alter ego Gary: Tank Commander, whose forthcoming engagements include a duet at Proms in the Park on Glasgow Green this September followed by a three-night run at the SSE Hydro in October.

It has been a busy few months for Greg, 36, whose star turn as the loveable, camp and cheesy pasta-obsessed squaddie Gary McLintoch – a corporal in the fictional 104th Royal Tank Regiment of the British Army – was a highlight of the 2016 Scottish Parliamentary election campaign.

Gary interviewed the main political party leaders for a BBC Scotland election special in April. He grilled them on issues such as tax, climate change, nuclear weapons and how they would make daytime TV show Homes Under The Hammer less addictive.

"We are used to politicians speaking in a set way all the time," says Greg. "The interest for me was trying to eke out a different side of them in a way that Gary could and myself as Greg couldn't because I would be far too politically unaware and nervous in front of them.

"There is something about his character with its silliness and gentleness that no matter what Gary is saying, you can't really take offence, which is a useful tool. We never wanted to do a set-up of trying to make them look horrendous – arguably a couple of them did it on their own."

With 30,000 seats to fill for Gary: Tank Commander – Mission Quite Possible at the SSE Hydro, the election programme's success saw a welcome boost in sales – and popularity – for a character that has largely been out of the public eye since the third and final series aired in 2012.

Not that Greg has been idle. He played socially-inept geology scholar Howard McGregor in acclaimed Channel 4 comedy Fresh Meat for four series and earlier this year starred as cuckolded Eddie Scott in BBC family drama The A Word, which has been recommissioned for a second series.

He is looking forward to reprising Gary: Tank Commander for the stage shows and while tight-lipped on the finer details of the plot does reveal that the character has evolved since the TV series.

"We will see him having to confront who is he and what he wants to be – that is a theme running through this show," says Greg.

"You see him looking inward, albeit in a Gary kind of way. It is quite a big concept and hopefully that will come across because we have taken him on a journey."

A decade has passed since Greg first performed Gary: Tank Commander as a stand-up routine to 50 people at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

"It is nice because I have done other things as well," he says. "I don't think I would like him as much if Gary had been with me for the entire 10 years."

The youngest of three brothers, Greg grew up in the affluent Morningside area of Edinburgh. His first taste of showbiz came in primary one when he was selected to audition for Michael Aspel's game show, Child's Play. Unfortunately, when his big moment came, Greg clammed up.

It is a tale that could equally be used to sum up Greg some three decades on. While outgoing on screen, he is more subdued in person and has a tendency to retreat into his shell whenever a hint of life away from work is mentioned.

Greg lives near Brighton in the seaside town of Hove with his wife Katie, 35, a producer. The couple met through work and married on Skye in 2013, but that's about as much as he's comfortable divulging.

"You give yourself out to the public by the profession and so I don't see why I should give that side as well," says Greg. "It is really important to me that it is totally private."

These days, he gets recognised most as Gary: Tank Commander in Scotland and Howard from Fresh Meat south of the Border.

"Although more recently it is Eddie from The A Word," he says. "That is happening quite a lot. It is three different audiences, which is nice."

Do people still get him and Gary muddled? "They often expect me to be like him," says Greg. Having names with the same initial doesn't help. "It was idiotic why I chose Gary when I'm Greg," he says. "People say 'Gary' all the time, but it is my fault for choosing that name."

To that end, Greg admits folk are often disappointed to discover that he's not Gary. "I think people want me to be that" – he morphs seamlessly into Gary's distinctive east coast brogue – "'Brilliant, let's go for a drink, let's hang oot, let's dae aw that', but I'm not."

Greg's motto is "be nice, be normal" but that is not to doubt his drive and exacting standards. "I'm a worrier and a perfectionist," he says. "I worry too much, but then it is part of my motivation. I'm already thinking to the summer and autumn of next year."

He reels off an impressive list of future aspirations. "In five years I would love to be doing the Fresh Meat reunion, a fifth season of The A Word and Gary: Tank Commander interviews the president of America," he grins. "I just want to keep on working."

Before all that can take flight, the SSE Hydro beckons this autumn. Greg has been to the venue and stood on stage to look out at the cavernous arena where he will perform to 10,000 people each night.

"The nerves are part of the motivation," he says. "It is the unknown and the scale of it. But with scale comes excitement. We are doing a big mad show and that is exciting. You can't be too scared of it."

Gary: Tank Commander – Mission Quite Possible is at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow from October 20-22. For tickets, visit thessehydro.com