As the veteran political comic takes a new show on the road, he talks to Andrew Palmer about tax law, wrongful convictions and a swim in a peer's moat Mark Thomas has been "standing up" for forty years, which is impossible and also true.

Scan the room at a Jason Manford gig and you’ll see hundreds of happy people nudging each other and exchanging knowing nods. Whether the Salford-born comic is talking about relationships, life on the road, paddle tennis or anything else, really - being relatable is near the top of his list of priorities. Can he make out those responses, from under the bright spotlights?