The South Bank Show

In 1999, Merton undertook a stand-up tour entitled "and this is me ... PAUL MERTON". "I did this show on tour last autumn," he explained to one of his audiences. "I did sixty-eight dates. I did shows all over the place: Liverpool, Dublin, Stoke. Sixty-eight dates, two hours per night. Two hours, and not one laugh." Merton, speaking to Melvyn Bragg at the former's home, explained: "I hadn't done stand-up comedy for about ten years, and it was like I'd never done it. People had no idea I'd been a stand-up comedian; they thought I was born to sit behind a desk and make quips about the week's news." The show charted his beginnings in the comedy business, to the development of his improvisational skills, his mental breakdown, and the popularity of Have I Got News For You.