Zoe Lyons lasted 30 days on the ITV series Survivor, stranded on a desert island in the South China Sea with a group of strangers.

The 16 contestants, including winner Charlotte "the harlot" Hobrough, put up with hunger pains and tropical storms in the hope of winning the £1 million prize.

Zoe, from Brighton, learnt to spear fish and went through a series of gruelling challenges during the 2001 series.

She made it through to the last six contestants but was then voted off the programme.

Although she missed out on untold riches, she believes Survivor made her stronger and helped propel her to success in another field - stand-up comedy.

Last week she scooped first prize at the national Babycham Funny Women Awards, earning her £2,000 and the chance to perform at the Edinburgh Festival.

Zoe, 32, said: "Survivor was very competitive and it made me realise I should pursue my dreams.

"I lasted 30 days on the show and was starving for most of them. I lost about 16lb. I was like a rake when I got home.

"I did all sorts of things I never thought I'd do. I got quite good at spearing fish."

One of the biggest tests of endurance was a task in which the survivors stood on a wooden pole over the sea.

Despite tropical temperatures and the lack of anything to hold on to, some managed to stay on for hours.

Zoe, who admitted lying about her fitness levels to get on to the show, said: "I think I lasted about 30 seconds. Some of the people were so competitive."

However, she says the experience gave her the inner strength and confidence to pursue stand-up comedy.

She returned from the island to London but moved because "Kilburn is not known for its natural beauty".

In April she arrived in Kemp Town, Brighton, with partner Sindy De Jong. Since then she has performed at Komedia and the Joogleberry Playhouse.

Last week she appeared in the final of a national Babycham competition in front of a packed Comedy Store in London.

She said: "There were ten finalists and we had seven minutes each. It was very tense.

"It was a great event and I'm pleased as punch to have won. I'm totally over the moon.

"I can't deny it, I really, really wanted to win. Stand-up comedy is still very male-dominated so this is just a great platform for female comedians and it's an honour to win it."

Zoe, who has a psychology degree from York University, admitted one of the reasons she wanted to win was financial.

She said: "I've been lucky but I've worked very hard.

"I trained as an actress, which meant I ended up repeating the same line all the time - 'Do you want fries with that?'.

"I've waited so many tables but this win means I don't have to put my waitressing uniform back on for a couple of months."

Zoe's act includes references to her Catholic upbringing in Ireland and celebrity baby names such as Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter Apple.

Audiences may also catch a mention of Zoe's new home.

Zoe, who lists Eddie Izzard and Victoria Wood among her idols, said: "One reference to Brighton is at the start of my act. I say it is a very bohemian city - so much so that there are even two heterosexuals on my street. They're okay, as long as they don't ram it down my throat.

"I also talk about the gay dog show because I just love it."

As well as waitressing, Zoe has had a variety of jobs, including working on a banana farm in Australia.

She said: "I met some of the strangest people during those two months picking and packing bananas.

"One of them was known as Snake Woman.

"She had no teeth and lots of tattoos and she always had a pillow case with her while she was working.

"I later discovered the pillow case had her pet snake inside it which she would feed tree frogs she found while picking bananas."

The Babycham Funny Women Awards started last year.

About 100 women with three years' experience or less were selected to perform at nine venues before the final.

Zoe will be at Underbelly at the Edinburgh Fringe between August 22 and 28.