1. How did you get into stand-up comedy?
2. Who are your influences?
3. What is your comedy about?
4. Where are your favourite places to perform?
5. Is it more difficult to be a female stand-up?
6. What would you do if you didn’t do comedy?
7. What is your radio show about?
8. You do a lot of work with Graham Norton. What is your connection to him?

Short version: I got drunk, entered a comedy competition and won!

Long version: I went to see a friend do a 5 minute spot at the Comedy Store. And even though he died on his arse I was hooked.

The following day I went through Time Out Magazine, where all the comedy club were listed, and booked myself into a couple of open spots.

I had no idea how to write jokes. I just scribbled down half a dozen things I’d said that made friends laugh.

My first gig was the Wednesday night New Act competition at The Comedy Cafe, Old St, London.

Before the show I was so nervous I ended up getting drunk. I have no idea what I said onstage. I don’t even remember being on stage. But I won the competition.

That makes me sound like I’m a natural.

I wasn’t.

I was dreadful - but I must have been slightly less dreadful than everyone else on the bill that night.

Luckily I knew so little about comedy I was under the delusion I was quite good, so I kept going. The truth is I wasn’t even good enough to know how bad I was.

That’s what happens in the beginning. At first your excitement and enthusiasm can win over an audience. It’s like any job; they let you off for a while because you’re new but eventually they get pissed off that you still don’t know what you’re doing.

A couple of months later another standup advised me that regular compering was one of the best ways to improve as a comic, so I saved my ‘waitressing tips’, bought a cheap microphone & a small amplifier and opened my own comedy club, The Hampstead Clinic, in the basement of The White Horse bar in North London.

It was getting on stage at the Hampstead Clinic every week, safe in the knowledge that no-one could sack me, that gave me the confidence to experiment and improvise. And ultimately improve.

The first comic who really made an impression on me was Dave Allen. My parents are Irish so watching The Dave Allen Show became something of a family custom. There was something about the way he would sit there with his drink and tell jokes in that great conversational style that just connected with me.

Billy Connolly has influenced everyone. He’s the ultimate storyteller. He has that incredible warmth and the ability to make you really feel like he’s your mate.

Joan Rivers was another huge influence. Her “Can We Talk?” album is a master-class in celebrity bitchiness.

I always liked the American sitcoms that starred funny, strong women. Shows like “I Love Lucy”, “Mary Tyler Moore”, and “Rhoda”. And much later, “Roseanne”.

The first British woman I ever saw telling jokes on TV was Marti Caine. Most women were comedy actresses or comedy characters but Marti Caine was just being herself and saying funny things about her life. She wasn’t a foil to a male comic - she was the comic.

There are so many comedians I enjoy for so many different reasons. Take your pick: Wanda Sykes, Kathy Griffin, Roseanne, Rhona Cameron, Chris Rock, Jack Dee, Ellen Degeneres, Jason Byrne, Todd Barry, there’s too many to list.

I’ve always loved Jack Dee’s ability to take everyday topics like his family or rail travel or the supermarket and make the audience laugh when they realise we all share exactly the same stupid experiences. That’s something I aim for.

And if something, or someone, has pissed me off during the day - I’ll try and get that off my chest.

One review called me a “celebration of anger”. I liked that.

Other people have described my show as:

“Best-known for her legendary one-woman shows, Jo Caulfield is definitely the rising star of women’s comedy. Her mixture of cutthroat wit and wildly accurate observation regularly brings audiences to their knees with laughter. Jo is undoubtedly charming. But don’t be fooled - with her razor sharp tongue, like Baby Jane on speed, no-one is safe” - Evening Standard.

“Feisty but friendly, Caulfield takes no prisoners on her ruthless comedy rampage. Striding through all manner of topics, from Jorvick Fudge to council estates, and from middle class parents and their children to house parties, Caulfield destroys all in her path. Despite this clearly evident bitter streak, her comedy is familiar and comforting. Hearing Caulfield, one feels good about themselves and their life, able to see it from a somewhat funny, always irreverent, perspective” - BBC.CO.UK.

The Comedy Store in London and The Stand in Edinburgh. Two of the best comedy clubs in Britain.

There’s also a smaller club in London called Camp Comedy. It’s a gay comedy club and the audience is fantastic. No one is sacred to them so you can be as loathsome and unpleasant as you like about anyone in the media and they’ll happily cheer. It’s also a great place to start rumours about celebrities because gay men don’t need facts but appreciare gossip and slander.

And The Junction in Cambridge is a great example of how to design a modern theatre.

I’ve no idea. I’ve never tried being a male one. I couldn’t be bothered with having to watch ALL the Star Wars films to be able to write an act.

I wonder what some people would do without their hilariously original Chewbacca and Scooby Do routines?

Give up - I’d like to think.

Probably go back to being a waitress.
I was a waitress for 10 years. But I was a real maverick, I took orders from no-one.

I had great fun when I was waitressing; I also cried a lot about the fact that I was waitressing. But I did like the power. Customers don’t realise that if you’re rude to a waitress they have the power to ruin your evening, and indelibly stain your clothes. It is also the perfect job for someone who likes listening to other people’s conversations.

Haven’t you ever noticed that when you’re arguing with the one you love - you get very attentive service?

My favourite theme = ME!

Each show is a mixture of stand-up and sketches based around the main events or annoyances of my week. Be that an argument with my husband or a visit from my parents.

I also do a lot of improvising with the audience, so we never quite know where that bit’s going.

I’m half way through writing the 4th series. We record it sometime later this year.

Along with the very funny Simon Greenall I’ve also got two of my favourite comedians in the show - Marion Pashley and Zoe Lyons.

Dates of the recordings will be announced here. Keep checking back for FREE tickets.

I’ve been writing for Graham ever since his first Channel 4 series, all the way thorugh to his recent BBC show, The Bigger Picture.

I’m also the studio warmup.

Grahams production company, So Television, made both series of my Radio4 show, “It’s That Jo Caulfield Again”. We’ve just started work on the 3rd series.

And earlier this Autumn we made a pilot together, My Lovely Audience, for BBC.