For Des Clarke, performing at Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre during Glasgow International Comedy Festival brings him back to the start, close to where he grew up in the city.

For Des Clarke, performing at Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre during the Glasgow International Comedy Festival brings him back to the start. The radio presenter and comedian grew up directly across the road from the historic theatre in the Gorbals, meaning the venue that will host his new stand-up show is the same one he looked at every day as a child.

“It’s a huge thing for me to do the Citizens Theatre,” Clarke says. “I was brought up in the Gorbals in the high-rise flats in Norfolk Court, so I lived directly across from it. That was the first stage I ever saw.”

The connection goes back even further than that. Clarke laughs as he recalls how similar his family’s phone number was to the theatre’s.

“Our home phone number was one digit away from the Citizens Theatre, so we used to get loads of calls,” he says. “My dad was a bricklayer and we’d think it was someone wanting a patio done, but it would actually be someone wanting to see an art-house revolutionary socialist play.”

Clarke has been a familiar voice on Scottish radio for more than 25 years and is known for hosting the Heart Breakfast show and BBC Scotland’s satirical panel show Breaking the News. Stand-up comedy was where it all began. His Citizens Theatre performance marks his first full solo stand-up show in more than a decade.

“I’ve not done any kind of long-form solo stand-up show for over 10 years,” he admits. “Now that it’s approaching, I’m thinking, what have I taken on?”

“This was my day job,” he says. “Everything else that came after, the broadcasting and presenting, I’ve loved it, but it was a bonus. I got into this to do stand-up.”

The reopening and refurbishment of the Citizens Theatre also played a part in persuading him to take the leap. “I thought, they’ve rebuilt the whole theatre in the time I’ve not done a proper stand-up gig. So if the Citizens can rebuild, then I can do it as well.”

“You’re going to see reflections on growing up in the Gorbals and growing up in Glasgow, and where I am now,” he says.

Clarke began his comedy career performing in small venues across the city and he believes Glasgow’s audiences remain some of the most honest anywhere. “Funny’s funny,” he says. “If they like you, they love you. If they don’t, you’ll know about it right away.”

Some of the venues that helped shape his early career are still around today. Clarke recalls performing in the basement of Blackfriars in the Merchant City and later at gigs in bars including The State Bar. “You need places where you can go and make mistakes,” he says. “I remember dying so many deaths on stage starting out, but you learn from it.”

He believes Glasgow still has a vibrant comedy scene with plenty of emerging talent, even as the venues have evolved over the years.

Clarke traces his earliest steps into comedy back to school. Although naturally shy growing up, he discovered performing almost by accident when a friend entered them into a school talent show.

“My pal told me he’d signed us up and my mind was blown,” he recalls. “I wrote a five-minute sketch doing impressions of the teachers. That was the first buzz I ever got from being on stage.”

From there, the path slowly unfolded: early gigs in Glasgow venues and eventually a career spanning radio, television and stand-up.

Despite the national profile he has built through broadcasting, Clarke’s affection for Glasgow remains central to both his comedy and his life. Returning to the Citizens Theatre carries a particularly significance. “It’s right where I grew up,” he says. “To stand on that stage now after all these years, that’s going to be something really special.”

Des Clarke: Life After Des is at the Citizens Theatre on 26 March as part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival