He has become known for TV shows such as Mock The Week and Live at the Apollo, and is a name that continues to attract sell-out crowds at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Back on the road again with his new tour Outside Looking In, stand-up comedian Ed Byrne is once again Scotland-bound to reflect on his life as a father and how being a comedian makes you a constant observer of life.

The trip north is also the perfect opportunity for the Irish Munro-bagger to add to his impressive list, with climbs planned between his packed tour schedule.

You have been on a lot of TV shows, which one is your favourite?

It would have to be Mock The Week. It's the one I have probably had the most fun on, just mucking about and having a laugh and assuming that none of what we were saying would make it into the show. And then, apparently, it did actually make it to air.

What was it like being a part of The Great Sports Relief Bake Off?

I have been hosting it the last few times which is a lot easier. Having done the baking, it is a long day and it is a lot of work.

Hosting it is actually a lot of fun, there's a lot of downtime and you just get to pity the poor sweaty bakers.

Observational comedy is what you are best known for so what's the funniest thing you've observed that made the cut into your latest show?

There's an extended rant about the way people behave when you bring children into coffee shops. People will say things to you like, 'it's not a creche you know', so one of the more satisfying routines I have in this show is me ranting on stage at imaginary people saying that to me.

Any other parents in the room who have ever had people be snippy to them because they have brought children into a coffee shop will also find it similarly cathartic.

Do you have any pre-gig habits before a show?

I have a couple of beers and I am generally just sitting backstage playing Civilization V on my laptop - that is pretty much what happens.

So if I ever walk on stage and I don't look like I am in a very good mood, it is because somebody just invaded one of my cities.

What's been the most memorable heckle you've ever had at a gig?

"Blah, blah, blah."

It is still the most devastating heckle anyone has ever thrown at me. It was in Australia and I think it was made all the more devastating for the Australian accent.

If you had to choose one song to be the soundtrack to your life, what would it be?

All Those Yesterdays by Pearl Jam.

What's about the most embarrassing thing that's happened to you on stage?

Anything embarrassing, you can always turn it into comedy, although I was on the stage one time and got frightened by my own shadow.

I thought someone had leapt on to the stage but it was just my shadow on the back wall and it really made me jump. I mean it looked comical but, at the same time, idiotic.

How would you sum up your current tour Outside Looking In three words?

Funny, honest, sweary.

What's the idea behind the name of this tour?

It is to do with being a comedian and sometimes feeling like I am an observer rather than a participant in the whole thing of life so there's a lot of stuff in the show about being a comedian.

I talk about interviews that have gone wrong and I talk about dates. In fact, if anyone has any bad date stories they would like to bring along, that would be good.

But it is also to do with, as a parent, trying to introduce your child to the world at a pace you set but the outside is always trying to get in and often a little sooner than you want it.

Do you ever get the chance to relax then when you are out and about?

Once the show is written, I am far more relaxed and, generally, I do find I can switch off and not be constantly looking.

Then it comes around to the start of next year, it is like turning the light back on again.

You studied in Glasgow so what is your favourite memory from your student days?

It was sort of three and a half years of mayhem.

Maybe it would be the first day, moving into my own poky little room that was mine and just imagining the adventures that lay before me, that was the most thrilling bit.

Who is your favourite person to follow on Twitter at the moment?

I enjoy Graham Linehan. He can be quite funny and if you were to only follow one person on Twitter, he is quite good at retweeting other people.

He is quite - and I use this term more sincerely rather than as a put-down - a social justice warrior.

I think social justice warriors are good things. So yes, I think he is someone who is funny but also fights the good fight on social media.

Ed Byrne will be touring Scotland between April 27 and May 1.