WITHIN about two minutes into a chat with comedian and actor Kieran Hodgson, we are already, a little unexpectedly, discussing Victorian globalisation and the post-war collapse of industry in cities such as Berlin and Glasgow.

“I am quite an academic person,” he acknowledges. “I have an academic approach, I think, to my live shows. Most proper comedians start their shows with a funny story about something that happened on the bus on the way in.

“I start with a reading list.”

Oxford University graduate Kieran (he has a first class honours degree in history and French) is bringing his one-man show, Big in Scotland, to the Glasgow International Comedy Festival later this month.

It is the story of being a “not-quite immigrant in a not-quite different country”, as the Yorkshire native delves into national stereotypes, Anglo-Scottish relations and the history and culture of his adopted home.

It sounds like he could write a PhD at the end of it.

Glasgow Times: Kieran HodgsonKieran Hodgson (Image: Kieran Hodgson)

“Oh, I would not have the concentration span for that,” he says, laughing. “This is my equivalent of doing a PhD. Hopefully, the result is quite cheeky. With jokes - a show done with knowledge and love.”

Big in Scotland is coming to the King’s Theatre on Friday, March 29.

“I am terrified of performing in this big, prestigious venue, the size of which I have not performed in since I was a 12-year-old in the West Yorkshire Scouts gang show at the Victoria in Halifax,” he says, with a nervous gulp.

“I am excited, though, and delighted that Glasgow Comedy Festival thought I could do it.”

Kieran moved to Glasgow during the “eat-out-to-help-out” summer between Covid lockdowns, when, as he says, “we were enjoying ourselves while still looking over our shoulders.”

He adds: “My other half got a job in Glasgow, so I came here with him. It was odd, trying to adapt to life in a new city when that new city was firmly shut.

“My main memory is lonely, wet walks around the city centre, admiring the architecture and imagining what the buildings might look like inside.”

Glasgow surprised him, he says.

“Its ‘recentness’ surprised me,” he ponders. “Like most UK cities, medieval buildings are almost non-existent. The rest of Glasgow is a product of Victorian globalisation. It’s a city of huge innovation and modernity, which has reinvented itself, in the light of painful economic changes, the collapse of major industry in the early 20th century, for example. In a way, it’s similar to Berlin, where huge things happened fast, and it has been fascinating to discover that.”

Glasgow is now home, says Kieran, who is best known for playing Gordon in Scottish hit sitcom Two Doors Down.

“People yell out my name in cafes here, because of Two Doors Down,” he says, grinning.

“That’s really humbling. When you get a role in a TV show, you know it more than likely won’t happen, or it will and no-one will watch.

“So to be in a show that has come back year after year, and is so genuinely loved that people can’t wait to watch, is unique.”

Kieran adds: “We had the sad news about our writer Simon [Carlyle], who died, and I think most people understand there won’t be another series of Two Doors Down any time soon.

“And I’m aware I will probably never be in anything so beloved again.”

His live shows have won many plaudits and rave reviews, but Kieran jokes he "feels sorry " for his audiences.

“I feel sorry for people who turn up expecting to see Gordon and end up being bombarded by this man of 1000 voices,” he laughs.

“Thankfully, after a 10-minute adjustment period, most decide they want to enjoy it, and stay.”

Kieran’s love of performing started when he was around five years old, he says, when he would imitate people on the TV, or memorise little scenes and reproduce them with a string of funny voices.

“When I took part in my first school talent show, aged 11, I knew this was absolutely the thing I had to do,” he explains.

“Back then, everyone said if you wanted to be a comic you had to go to Oxford or Cambridge, so I went to Oxford, just as everything changed and being at Oxbridge was not a good route into comedy,” he says, sheepishly.

“When I graduated I started doing sketch comedy, and it grew from there.”

The rest of 2024, says Kieran, will be devoted to “doing all the things I have put off because of the live tour,” he laughs, including a new show about HS2 (England’s controversial high speed rail link) because he LOVES trains.

“But I am the world’s worst procrastinator," he groans. "So, if you see me outside my house at any point over the next 12 months, just yell at me.”

Glasgow International Comedy Festival runs from March 13 to 30.