Comedians are increasingly adept at finding extra-curricular employment.

This has been a uniquely tough year for those comedians who usually thrive on the live circuit, but it's also an interesting time to take a step back, and look at the other opportunities that can crop up for funny people nowadays. Years ago you were largely just aiming at quiz shows and cruise ships when you reached a certain status; today you could end up doing pretty much anything.

The whole tone of stand-up has completely changed since the 1970s of course, and it's a different type of character working the clubs these days (when the clubs are open, that is). Where once the busy comics were grizzled old characters, now they're often young, fresh-faced, and keen to get up the showbiz career ladder.

Stand-up is a popular stepping stone now. You can imagine some budding comics also looking for presenting jobs on stuff like those TV phone-in gambling shows, late at night, although they do seem a bit pointless now, given that you can easily play poker, slots, roulette and everything casino-related online these days. Mind you, a sparse, unresponsive comedy club audience probably seems quite enthusiastic compared to trying to get people to phone those TV shows. Perhaps it's the ideal preparation.

Comedian Ken Cheng, who won the Joke Of The Fringe contest in 2017 with the gag "I'm not a fan of the new pound coin, but then again, I hate all change", certainly knows a bit about poker. When not on stage, he's a professional poker player, living out his poker dream. He first started gambling with cards at school, and after making several thousand dollars, he decided to abandon his degree. A path that would lead to him playing the game more often, and having the time to take up comedy.

Making it as a really good stand-up can lead to all sorts of interesting opportunities. Look at Joe Lycett (or Hugo Boss, as the Birmingham-based comic changed his name to), who in a couple of years went from popular circuit comic to toast of the TV town, hosting everything from a sewing competition, The Great British Sewing Bee, to a modern evolution of Watchdog-style consumer affairs, with Joe Lycett's Got Your Back. Who saw that coming?

Susan Calman is another excellent stage act who was bubbling under for several years, before suddenly bursting forth. Appearing as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing was probably the tipping point, and since then she's hosted whodunnit quiz Armchair Detectives, Edinburgh Fringe highlights, a feelgood Radio 4 show, Susan Calman Makes Me Happy, and even a lockdown series from her own back garden, Socially Distant, on BBC Scotland. There was no tricky time away from the cats while filming that one, thankfully.

And then there's Dara O Briain, who would surely have laughed in your face if you'd mentioned, back in his early days of stand-up, the mad breadth of stuff that he'd end up hosting: topical comedy (Mock The Week), a classic quiz comeback (Blockbusters), a classic geeks-go-berserk smashing stuff up comeback (Robot Wars), popular astronomy (Stargazing Live), a travel series (Dara And Ed's Great Big Adventure) and competitive computer games (Dara O Briain's Go 8Bit). Plus lots more besides.

Comedians also find themselves radio presenting, after-dinner speaking, acting, writing (fiction and journalism), script-editing, singing, cartooning, directing, promoting, venue-running, teaching (comedy and otherwise), advertising - we could go on. And, of course, you can sometimes make a living from podcasting, which most comics have now taken a swing at, with varying degrees of success.

You name it, a comedian has tried it. And if a new venture doesn't work? Well, perhaps they'll get a routine out of it instead.