The future star of comedy...

Chris McCausland triumphed over hundreds of other comedy wannabes to be crowned the winner of the J20 Last Laugh Comedy Search 2004 last month. The native Scouser, who now lives in sunny Surbiton, won a Jongleurs contract, £1000 and a chance to perform on the New York comedy strip. On the cusp of what's sure to be a glittering journey to comedy superstardom, ThisisLondon caught up with the 26-year-old funnyman...

Hi Chris. When you won the competition last month did you think, 'Jiminy crivens! I'm a superstar now!'

Ha ha — no, not at all! My immediate thought wasn't about the £1000, because you can always earn money, and the trip to New York, well, you can always go to New York. The main thing was the regular paid work for Jongleurs. It would be great if that could develop into my main source of income.

So you're not going to jack in your job as a salesman?

No, I've got to hope my boss doesn't read this! I want to dedicate myself to comedy full time, but at the moment, I've got to wait until I can pay all the bills from it!

Why do you think you won the competition — what gave you the edge?

God, I don't really know! It was difficult to judge how everyone was doing — before I went out I was behind the stage curtain and all the sound and action was muffled. So it's hard to compare with my reception. But I think it might have helped that I was on last…you certainly don't want to be up first!

Do you work your blindness into your routine at all — is it a central part of your humour?

I try not to make it too important, because I don't want to talk about it all the time — but you've got to make a joke at the beginning though, to put people at their ease. Then everybody becomes more relaxed. There are a few funny things that happen to you when you can't see very well, but I do stuff that's personal to me, rather than just doing "Oh, the thing about being blind is..." People have got to relate to what you're saying!

So who are your comedy heroes?

Eddie Izzard — he's influenced me in everything but clothing! I like him because he has a knack of taking things that seem like they won't be funny and finding stuff in them that's a bit surreal. Also, he doesn't offend people — but I also love Denis Leary and he offends everybody!

Being from Liverpool, do you think there's truth in the cliché that Scousers are funnier than other people in the country?

No — but I think you're at an advantage if you have a Northern accent rather than a posh one. I think you can sound warmer and get away with more stuff — no-one would let Ross Noble say what he does if he didn't have that Geordie accent. And Peter Kay, I mean, 'garlic bread' is only funny the way he says it...

Have you found any regional differences in how people respond to comedy between the north and south?

I think it's pretty much the same across the country, but then, maybe I'm being naïve. I might go and play in Birmingham and die on my arse!