Tom Allen’s star is on the rise: he is a regular on TV panel shows, the host of Channel 4’s Bake Off: The Professionals spin off, and now on a nationwide tour with sell-out dates – including Wednesday night’s stop in Norwich.
His polished appearance gives way to increasingly hoarse recollections, as he tells stories of his childhood in Bromley: his high school gay rival, singing the Muppet Show theme tune – in French – on a school trip, and the questionable delights of municipal leisure centres.
Camp asides and easy innuendo drip through the set, accompanied by a sparkly eye and knowing glance.
His capacity to shock is dwarfed by his audience though: their interaction started with volunteering at a prison and the Northern Distributor Road, but it ramped up with the couple that met on a website called Sexbuddy. You won’t get that on Bake Off.
Jake Lambert gave good support, with some neatly-crafted takes on relationships and his own deceptively young appearance.
