Maisie Adam on stand-up success, Scottish crowds and Soccer Aid

As she heads to Glasgow on her latest tour, comedian Maisie Adam reveals all about finding success and rubbing shoulders with the stars.

Your show is called Appraisal. What’s it all about?

I’ve been very lucky to be able to get to say I do this as my full-time job for five years. I’ve not had to do other work to keep myself going as lots of people in the arts have to do. In any other job you get a five-year appraisal. This tour is that.

I guess in my world I do get an appraisal every night, really, in that there’s a bunch of people sat across from me letting me know in real-time how I’m doing!

How was it for you rising to prominence during Covid?

I felt like I was finding my groove and I could feel this rise in terms of the amount of work I had in the diary. I had gigs and was starting to break through on some telly.

All of a sudden I was in Australia, which felt a really big thing to be able to go to the other side of the world to do stand-up. I did Adelaide and then was meant to go to Melbourne and the week we were meant to fly there it was all cancelled and we were all sent home.

It was terrifying because I worried whether or not the momentum would carry on. Somehow I was very lucky enough to, if anything, break through during Covid.

How have you found it becoming a well-known name in comedy?

It’s strange. Last night I looked out at the audience and it was sold out. These are the sorts of things I used to go to on my evening off work and now it’s me on the stage.

It feels really special because you know people come to see you. It’s not like when you’re on a line-up show – don’t get me wrong that used to feel electric – but they had people in for comedy in general. On tour, they’ve really invested in me.

You rose to prominence on Mock The Week – do you miss it?

I’m so grateful for what it did for me and how it introduced me to an audience I don’t think I’d have had. It felt really special to be on a show I watched as a kid.

I used to come back from school and watch the Scenes We’d Like to See round on YouTube. You never for a second think you’ll end up on there. I owe a lot to it.

How pivotal was following the likes of Peter Kay and Aisling Bea in winning So You Think You’re Funny in 2017?

That definitely felt like a big turning point. I remember cycling back through Edinburgh at three in the morning with a cheque for £2,500 in my back pocket which is more money than I’ve ever had in my back pocket.

I’d sent all these emails to agents over the years and got nothing back, and then I’d been at this after party with them all giving me their cards and wanting to take me out for tea.

How much do you enjoy a Scottish crowd?

I love going to Scotland. As an English person, you think it’s just England and Scotland and that’s as much as the rivalry gets. But you learn each place has its own banter – or as I’ve learned the word is patter – and it all gets quite tribal.

I always get the vibe that it’s like part gig and part parish council meeting! I really, really like that.

You host Big Kick Energy alongside Suzi Ruffell, how good a platform are podcasts for comedians?

You get more of the real comedian because they’re not doing a set. You get their sense of humour because they’re naturally quite funny, but in a more conversationalist way. You feel almost like you’re in the green room with them or you know them personally.

I also think it’s just far more accessible. The comedian isn’t having to wait to be booked by a certain club or TV show or agent for a certain job and the consumer isn’t having to source out tickets and leave the house.

It universally works for everybody in terms of its accessibility. I think it’s really changed the landscape of how we consume entertainment but for the better.

How has it been being part of the rise of women’s football as a pundit and presenter?

I feel like I’ve won the lottery. Any fan just wants to get to talk about and be around football. The fact I can mix it into my work is really exciting. I also think that that’s something that football needs. We have players and pundits giving their professional analysis but, at the end of the day, football is nothing without the fans.

It’s about bridging the gap between the people providing the entertainment and the people watching it. As it is in comedy, you kind of want the two to be as close together as possible.

It’s really exciting to see the women’s game growing and its audience is so diverse. People think it’s just watched by women but we went to the Women’s World Cup last year in Australia and there’s big burly blokes there with their lads.

You’ve played in Soccer Aid. How was that?

To be near football for work is a privilege but being on the pitch with Alessandro Del Piero and Jill Scott is unbelievable. You feel like you’re in a dream.

I kept looking up and thinking “I had the Panini sticker of you growing up and now you’re next to me in the queue for the salad bar asking me what touring is like”. It’s so weird!

Are you getting used to these surreal moments?

I was driving recently with my husband and in-laws. My phone was plugged in for the satnav but it also shows you messages. Roberto Carlos texted me a belated birthday message which I wasn’t expecting and it came up on screen.

My father-in-law was like “pull over!” That’s definitely one of those moments where you’re like, ‘oh, this is weird actually!’

Maisie Adam: Appraisal is at The Glee Club, Glasgow, on October 30 and in 2025 at Aberdeen’s Lemon Tree Theatre on February 26 and Dundee Gardyne Theatre February 27. Visit maisieadam.com