BIG INTERVIEW: Shappi Khorsandi explains why a childhood promise was so important

When she was a youngsters she decreed she would stay true to her 10-year-old self who wanted to become a comedian or at least an performer.

The young Shappi like the older Shappi did not want to clock watch and did not want to be ruled by the clock.

As she herself said: “I made a very conscious decision when I was 10-years-old to be a performer.

"I never wanted to do anything else. I did not care how long I was poor and it turned out to be a very, very long time.

"What I decided to do is in my nature to stick to it.

"I wanted to be a comedian and if I did not become a comedian then I would have been a gardener or writing weekly bits and pieces or at least do something which got me out and about.

"I have never been driven by money or stuff. What I wanted to find was something which made me happy.

"I just like living a life which means I am not clock watching. I watched the clock at school as the hands turned inch by inch, millimetre by millimetre. I felt like I was in prison.

“Before becoming a comedian I worked on a voluntary basis with young people who had become homeless after leaving prison.

"I felt so fulfilled, I had an inner satisfaction.

"I knew every single day of my life had to be different and I wanted to meet as many people as I could.

“I wanted to do something I enjoyed and becoming a comedian gives me more freedom than I could have imagined.”

This freedom has given Shappi the opportunity to notch up numerous high profile television appearances and has appeared as a panellist on ITV1’s Loose Women and BBC ONE’s Question Time.

She is now back on tour with her 2017 sell out Edinburgh Festival Fringe show ‘Mistress and Misfit’ which will be at the Bridgwater Arts Centre at 7.45pm on June 11.

As you can see from the photographs, Shappi is wearing a stylish tricorn hat.

This is her hat as she bought it on Ebay and for the photo shoot to publicize the show she wore her newly acquired hat.

Speaking about the show, Shappi said: “All the shows I do are personal and are about things which I feel passionate about.

“I wanted to tell people how Nelson changed his will to include Emma Hamilton and when he was dying the last thing he asked about was who would look after Emma Hamilton.

“She sunk into debut and depression and died in a debtors prison.

"There was all the pomp and ceremony for Nelson after he died. As his death was made all about the Battle of Trafalgar.

"What happened to her was those in power wanted her erased from history as she was a prostitute and Nelson’s mistress.

"His wife would not give him a divorce.

"She had a child out of wedlock like I did, but Emma had to give hers away while I kept mine.

"She wanted to be a performer as I did so there are lots of things about her similar to me.

“So it is a story spliced with some of my own.”

The Shappi we see on stage being a comedian is not the Shappi off stage but it is her.

It is just having talked to her you realise, like anyone we all have different moods and are act differently around different people.

As she said: “On stage I feel comfortable as it is easy to me. For me it is like being a surfer who is riding a wave.

"It is what I enjoy doing and I have given 20 years of my life to this. I am familiar with it all.

"The person on stage is very much me.

"But off stage when I am ferrying the kids around I am a lot quieter.

"It was while doing I’m a celebrity get me out of here..I realised how shy and quiet my natural self is.

“When I am with my people and by my people I mean the people I connect with or relate to then I am like the person who is on stage. Otherwise i am just very quiet.

"I remember being at university and saying to my friend Rose was she coming out?

"She said no I want to stay in and read my book.

"Standing in the hall way I thought I wish I was that confident to stay at home but I always felt things were going on outside.

“Now I appreciate being part of being at home.”

Tickets £15 full £13 students.

Buy online at bridgwaterartscentre.co.uk or call: 01278 422700.