Vic Reeves in conversation made you wonder why he wasn't doing stand-up. He may wish to be called Jim Moir nowadays but comedy props of a funnel and a paint brush were suitably Reeves and Mortimer.

"I think they're rather attractive," he smiled.

"The most mundane things are always the most exciting," he later added, "like doilies."

And with this effortless good humour he read passages of his autobiography, answered interviewer Ben Thompson's superfluous questions and entertained an eagerly giggling audience.

We heard of his childhood and the morals of egg theft.

"I always presumed I was an alien, which I think a lot of kids did at the time. I was a kung-fu alien."

His formative years were spent castrating pigs and working in factories, effortlessly funny anecdotes all.

But we didn't hear the stories we expected - how he met Bob, their years on the road, why Ulrika's show was rubbish.

What became apparent was Reeves is by no means ready to relive his highlights at the top of the comedy tree.

So why was he relaxing in a chair when he could easily have been tearing up the stage of a packed Theatre Royal?

The pub singer and Dove From Above were easy laughs. Animals and meat were, as ever, his staple diet.

"Meat has always been a great interest to me," he chuckled.

An hour in his company felt like time spent with an old friend.

But one who is far too funny to be sitting down.