Hi Steve. Who are you and what do you do in comedy?

I am Steve Hili. I am a comedian/comedy writer/broadcaster from Malta living in London. I gig all over the place, I do a radio show on XFM, I present the Wrong Answers Only podcast, I write for theatre and I do a bit of acting too.

Tell us about how you first became involved in the comedy world.

I was in Malta. After uni some friends and I opened a radio station (even though we had no money!) The bank told us this was mad and that we would all be bankrupt in 6 months. But we were all broke anyway so we went for it. The station existed for 10 years! By then I had decided that I wanted to do a bit of travelling, but when I came back I was approached by another radio station and started working there. Meanwhile I was being cast in some plays and I decided to write one - Romeo and Juliet 2 (and a Zombie!). I directed this and loved it and started doing more. Whilst all this was happening I was approached by someone who wanted to set up a local stand up scene. I was very excited by the thought and I got involved. And it was awesome. We were doing 20 minute sets from the off because there were not enough of us to go round. And we had to write new bits for every show because the same audience would show up! After about a year of this I moved to London.

Tell us about your comedy favourites.

I LOVE Rik Mayall more than anyone else in comedy. Running him close would be Bill Burr and Dave Chapelle. And I think Nick Helm is incredible. I'm also a big fan of radio - Steve Wright and Chris Moyles are gods to me.

What are your strengths?

I think my creativity is my strength. My first stand up hour was a mish mash of free lasagna, disgusting sex stories and a video message from Linda Lusardi. I am very proud of that.

If you had £1m to spend on comedy, where would your money go?

I would use it to bribe someone to get me a netflix special!

Where would you like to be in 10 years' time?

I want to be touring my show, messing around on the radio, paying back the million I spent on getting that special, and spending lots of time being drunk on a beach.

If you ever get free time, how do you spend it?

I love Everton so I watch them as much as I can

If a genie offered you one wish, what would you ask for?

Unlimited power.
Or the ability to light my own farts. I've tried to about seven times in my life and always end up injuring myself

Published: Saturday 20th March 2021