Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Life according to… Surrealist comic, Milton Jones

© Aemen SukkarMilton Jones
Milton Jones

The surrealist comic talks the perfect joke, Mock The Week… and spuds.

What makes the perfect joke?

If a gag works, it makes a cartoon in someone’s head – a very brief picture where they think they know where it’s going, and then you pull the carpet from under them and it was about something else all along.

It’s reverse engineering from an idea or a phrase.

Your last tour played to more than 100,000 people and you have appeared on Mock The Week more than 40 times. What’s more fun to do, a live show or TV?

Going to a small place on a Saturday night where they’re all determined to have a great laugh – I don’t think that can be beaten. With radio orTV, you’re as good as the edit, so it’s out of your control.

With Mock The Week, when I think I’ve done a bad show, I’ll watch it back and think, “Oh, it was all right”, but when I think I’ve done a really good show I’ll watch it back and think, “Oh, it was all right”. It all evens out.

Do you always watch your appearances?

Yes, as I need to know what they used and what they didn’t. Doing several episodes, the same subjects may come back, so I don’t want to say the same thing that has already been aired.

I’m very grateful to Mock The Week. It’s a younger audience, and those people will come to a tour show, sometimes even bringing their grandparents or parents. My audiences are a motley selection of people, which I quite like, actually.

How do you cater for those different generations?

I’m aware if I make a reference to Instagram or something I’m going to lose everyone over 50. But that’s fine because overall my references are quite general, and even if you didn’t get it, the joke’s only going to last 20 seconds, so there’ll be something else along soon enough.

When do you consider a joke finished?

When I’ve got an idea over in the minimum number of words, then I know it’s done.

The new tour is called Milton: Impossible. What made you decide on the spy theme?

I came up with the title before the show! I thought: “That sounds good!” So I made a rod for my own back by theming it. But sometimes it’s easier to write to a theme than have a completely blank page.

The show is based on Mission: Impossible, but the films have a huge budget and lots of special effects. My show is just me, some hats and about 250 jokes.

So the show has a narrative?

If you’re going to do a show for more than an hour you can’t just tell bits, you want something with the veneer of satisfaction, otherwise it’s too fragmented.

This show has an interrogation scene, a car chase with a swivel chair, and I end up escaping on top of a Vince Cable Car. It’s not strictly realistic, but it’s as daft as ever.

You have a Radio 4 series in the works, the tour and more Mock the Week episodes. After that?

I don’t have anything else planned but who knows what will turn up. Sometimes the unexpected things that come along are the most interesting – other quiz shows, a corporate event abroad – things you wouldn’t have predicted.

Like doing Celebrity Mastermind, you know? You get to meet and talk to people you wouldn’t otherwise.

What was your specialist subject on Celebrity Mastermind?

Potatoes.

Potatoes?

If I’d taken it seriously I’d have done something like Arsenal. But when he announced it – “Your specialist subject is potatoes” – the audience all laughed.

I came last, obviously. But I’m employed as a comedian. It’s entertainment. If I get to do it again I’ll choose carrots.


Milton Jones is at Volunteer Hall, Galashiels, Caird Hall, Dundee, Tivoli Theatre, Aberdeen, from Friday to Sunday