“Who thought this gig would ever happen?”, asked Jason Manford at the start of his postponed Taunton gig on Thursday evening (September 1).

“Some of you must have had those tickets for three years.”

A lot has changed since Manford was forced to push back his ‘Like Me’ tour due to Covid in 2020. 

He has turned 41 and welcomed his sixth child, giving him plenty of sharp observational material to deliver in his typically warm fashion.

“It's lovely to be back here in Taunton,” he told the crowd in a sweltering Wellsprings Leisure Centre.

“Not the venue,” he added, poking fun at his unglamorous surroundings. 

“There's nothing I like more than being backstage with people with towels wrapped around them. You need a proper venue in Taunton!”

Unusually, Manford opened the show before his warm-up act, Brighton comic Stephen Grant, began his 15-minute routine. 

The Mancunian spent much of the first half speaking to crowd members, which saw him riff on some of Somerset's distinctive town names. 

He then recalled a toe-curling encounter during the BBC's New Act of the Year Competition involving compere Peter Kay before introducing Grant.

The support act - who had one finger wrapped in bandages after a mandoline accident - told stories about visiting Millwall as a Brighton supporter, his experiences as someone “wired to be pedantic”, and the perils of dating apps.

When Manford returned, he took a quick selfie with the audience (“let's make sure we get the basketball hoops in”) and launched into the main bulk of his routine.

He handled Zoom gigs, his voluntary work, masks, and home-schooling with aplomb and plenty of laughs during a thought-provoking set.

That was followed with his nightly game of ‘Who has the most non-essential non-essential job’, quickly won by a sticky tape seller called Greg.

“I ask every night and it's rare the best one is the first one,” laughed Manford, whose seemingly effortless brand of down-to-earth comedy will visit dozens more venues before his UK tour ends later this year.