The IT Crowd

We went to visit the filming of an episode from the second series and caught up with Patrick Monahan, the stand-up who has been warming up the audience before recording...

have you worked on all the episodes of this series? 
Yeah, I did the last episode of the first series, and then when this series was commissioned they asked if I wanted to do it and I was like 'Yeah!'

Is it a good crowd who come down to watch?
Definitely - they really love it. It was odd when I started, because I came in cold and didn't know anything about it; but, now I've done all of this series and the end of the first series, I've really got into it, and that's what the audience is like - they know everything!

Having worked the live comedy circuit I understand why people go to the clubs, but I never understood why somebody would come and watch the recording of a show, especially as it sometimes takes four hours or so to finish. But then when I started here I totally got it, and actually it's a very funny experience.

It's like watching Only Fools and Horses. I'm a really big fan of Only Fools and Horses, so imagine being only three feet away from watching David Jason doing his stuff - how amazing would that be? For these guys this is their Only Fools and Horses, and filming it in front of a live audience gives them a chance to see their heroes in action. It's a great show, and the audience are really into it.

Have you managed to catch up with the last series?
Yeah sort of. The good thing about it is even though it's a new series it's very topical so you don't need to actually know anything about the last series.

The great thing about this show is the characters are so unique and well written. They have a little bit of a back story but you don't need to know that much about it because they are so quirky and different and so extreme you pick it up quickly. Within five minutes you think, 'Okay, I know what he's like, he does that and she's a bit like that,' so you don't really have to watch the episode before to know what's going on. At times it's like watching a really brilliant sketch show rather than a sitcom.