The last time comic Russell Howard was in Croydon he left me in stitches.

The energetic 28-year-old was previewing his Edinburgh Festival show in the Warehouse Theatre at the end of July and was simply nothing short of hilarious - I honestly haven’t laughed as much for years.

In a childlike can’t sit still for two minutes kind of way he immediately drew the audience in and had them captivated as he bound from story to joke and back to story again, not looking at any notes until the end - when he bought out a list of ‘try and see if these work so they don’t bomb in Edinburgh’ gags.

Many of the stories simply talked about his love of everyday things, like a recently discovered new range of shower gel, zest of orange I think, that he insisted was the best thing since sliced bread.

There was a very funny section about his paranoia as well when someone in the back row kept clinking glasses together by accident and Howard began to worry he was putting together some sort of weapon to throw at him - before apologising in case the guy had a glass leg and couldn’t help it.

He continually pounced on any slight thing the audience said or did and was able to improvise at a whim, something that probably comes form his permanent slot on Mock The Week.

Comedy has been in Russell’s blood for a long time, coming to prominence at just 19 when he reached the final of Channel 4's So You Think Your Funny? competition in only his fifth gig.

Since then he has secured himself a BBC6 Music show every Sunday, loads of Mock The Week and Never Mind The Buzzcocks and a Live At The Apollo show to name just a few.

But his TV appearances are nothing compared to seeing him live - a sell-out show at Edinburgh for the last five years and two massively over subscribed solo tours are testament enough to that.

Russell Howard: Dingledodies, Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, September 25, 7.45pm, £15. Call 020 8688 9291 or visit fairfield.co.uk.