An unforgiving audience on his previous tour couldn’t put top comic Ed Byrne off coming back to Carlisle on his latest run – in fact it remains one of his favourite places to play.

The Irish stand-up is also a committed fell-walker and a some-time columnist for The Great Outdoors magazine, and he relishes his Lake District trips – so much so that he’s booked three Cumbrian shows on his Outside Looking In tour.

His first visit passed without incident when he entertained a Barrow audience in October, then he had a double-header in Millom and Kendal before a winter break.

But he’s back to Cumbria on February 12 to play The Sands Centre, even though his last appearance there left him baffled.

He explains: “The last time I was in Carlisle there was actually a bit of a misunderstanding.

“My support act for the tour was Ben Norris, and every night he would tell a joke about a Scottish footballer who got substituted because of a knee problem – obviously, to Scottish people that’s like saying “no problem”, and it was all very funny. And he would even tell that joke in Scotland and it would always go down well.

“Anyway, every night I would come on and say ‘I can’t believe he did the knee problem joke again – can you believe he told that joke in Scotland?’ and that would get a laugh and we’d move on.

“Everywhere except Carlisle, where everyone booed me!

“I had no idea why, and just assumed they really liked him and thought I was picking on him or something.

“It was only much later on I realised that they thought that I thought Carlisle was in Scotland.

“I’m sure that happens quite a lot, but I’m actually offended that they would think that about me – of course I know Carlisle’s not in Scotland!

“So when I come back in February I might have to bring it up: ‘Hey Carlisle, I’ve got a bone to pick with you....’”

The new show follows much in the same vein of his previous tours, discussing his social shortcomings, his tendencies to mess around – usually in the most inappropriate places – and now the recent realisation that he should be growing up. A regular on our TV screens for more than a decade, with appearances on shows such as Mock The Week and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, he’s one of the most familiar faces on the UK circuit and also one of the busiest, with his huge tours every two years.

He says: “I’d like to think I’ve got a bit of a fanbase in most places and it’s the same people that come back each time, but I usually make a reference to the previous show when I return to a venue and ask who was at the last show, and it’s usually not that many.

“Is that a good or a bad thing? I don’t really know. There’s lots of new people coming to see me, but not all that many coming back.

“I think this tour is about 130-odd shows, and it’s a long one, so maybe next time I’ll only do 100.

“I only really tour once every two years, so the other year gives me chance to write some new jokes. Though if nobody’s coming back again, I’m not sure why I bother – I could keep it the same every time.”

Despite having the material – and even the film footage – he’s never been among the main stocking fillers when Christmas comes around.

While seemingly everyone who’s ever taken to a mic puts a DVD out at that time of year, Ed struggles to see the merit of spending money and time on creating something only for the internet pirates to snap up illegally.

“I haven’t got a DVD coming out, though I will be recording the show at some point,” he says.

“Black Friday is the big thing now, and everyone rushes to have their DVD out, but it’s a really crowded market. Unless you’re one of the top five comedians, it’s all a bit pointless.

“It is kind of a memento of the tour more than anything and I recorded the last one but never did anything with the footage.

“There’s still the element of people buying it as a gift for someone else, but such is the market and the culture now that anyone who wants to see it will just download it.

“And anyone that’s interested has probably seen the show live anyway and resents paying to see it again.

“People like Jimmy Carr aren’t even bothering putting a DVD out this year, and a lot just do it for their fans and give it away on their website.”

Seeing Ed live could be the only chance you get to experience his cleverly-crafted material. Tickets are £19 (plus booking fee) from the box office on 01228 633766 or online at www.thesandscentre.co.uk .