91Èȱ¬

Energetic Irish stand-up Jason Byrne is back with a new series of his Radio 2 show, and he took a moment to tell us about how events in his own life provide him with even the most unlikely material he could wish for:

"So it's the second series! Hurrah for me, and everyone else that worked on it, but mostly me. It's been great for me doing radio, as it's made me a better and more disciplined performer. In live stand up I go out, say what I want, and leave. In radio you go out, and what you say has to be so carefully thought about.

People ask me where the stories come from and how I think them up. Well believe or not, all this stuff really happens to me. That's why we chose the themes that we picked - they slot into my life perfectly.

Stuff happens to me all the time. My house and family life is like The Osbornes with Frank Spencer looking on. I've had TVs fall on me; my arm fall off; I knock a nail in the wall and the house falls down; mice think they're my friend... no matter what I go to do, disaster soon follows.

Like in the HOLIDAYS episode, I had just got back from holidaying in Florida, a very common holiday to most, but not for yours truly here. My producer Julia McKenzie even held off doing the holiday episode till I returned from Florida in case anything weird happened. How right she was: my children fell ill on the plane, one needed air, the plane got diverted to Miami instead of Orlando, the two kids ended up in hospital with a dose of the measles, we couldn't go outside because it was too hot, the kids stopped eating as they didn't like the food in America and my wife cried for three weeks because she hates fun parks. If you listen to the 5th episode Holidays, then you'll hear that disaster and more.

In the first episode we tackle AGEING. It was lots of fun doing that one - we're all ageing so that topic was on the nose. In the episode you'll hear about, at the age 37, my stark realisation that I was getting old, and the warning I got was my knee falling off in the toilet. When I was young I fell all the time, as I had a lazy eye and a patch over my good eye, because Satan was in my lazy eye and the doctors needed to drive it out, and I used to never break anything, but here I am in AGEING and all is coming apart, as age creeps up on me like the NOTHING from never ending story. But be sure to tune into the AGEING episode and find out how my wife rescues me with my broken knee.

I miss this show when I'm not doing it. Its hard work, but great fun, and as you'll all hear, I have an amazing time on stage as we record it. I'll miss talking to the radio theatre audience, I'll miss the boy who swallowed a thinking it was a Smartie (episode two), the father and son double act (episode five) and the New Zealand man who was forced to wear bondage as a child (episode three). There's just too much to remember them all, and the only way will be to listen to it when it's aired, just like you lot. Except while you're all laughing, I'll be sitting in a rocking chair, listening back and remembering the madness of my life, and The Man Who Hated Cheese (episode two - see video clip above)."

Series Two of The Jason Byrne Show starts Thursday 23rd July at 10pm on 91Èȱ¬ Radio 2.