'My daughter is more cut out for this than I am'

When: Tomorrow, 8.15pm

Where: Pave, Princes Avenue, Hull

Tickets: £8/£6 advance. £10 otd

To book: 0845 8381558

Visit: www.yorkshirecoastcomedy.co.uk www.katherineryan.co.uk

Roots: Katherine Ryan was born in Sarnia, Ontario, in 1983.

Funnymen: Other famous comics from Ontario include John Candy, Jim Carrey, Martin Short and Dan Aykroyd.

Primetime: As well as Let's Dance For Comic Relief she has appeared on Mock the Week, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and 8 out of 10 Cats.

Act: Her act deals with subjects touching on the personal with motherhood, divorce, celebrity gossip and MTV all up for discussion.

Gift: If you want to bring a gift to her Hull show, she says she'd quite fancy a vegan chilli.

She's the kooky Canadian comedian who's cracked the UK's stand-up scene. Ian Midgley finds out why Katherine Ryan's unsure about touring – but why her three-year-old loves it

I f you want to be respected as a stand-up, you've got to put in the hard miles. There's a certain kudos to being a comic who has travelled the length and breadth of the country, staying in cheap hotels and playing to half-empty venues.

It's called paying your dues, says Canadian funnygirl Katherine Ryan, and the jury's out on whether she's enjoying it or not yet.

When the sweetly kooky comic arrives in Hull tomorrow as part of her debut UK tour, Nature's Candy, she says she'll enjoy exploring a new city – and adores being on stage in front of an appreciative audience – but admits she can live without the interminable travelling in-between.

As she puts it, there's "nothing glamorous about being endlessly delayed on a First Great Western rail line".

"You gain a great deal of respect doing 'the road' among your fellow comics," says the Ontario-raised 29-year-old.

"When my agent said 'hey, the next step is to get you out on the road for a solo tour', it seemed like a great idea.

"You know, like things do when they're a long way away.

"But, you know, we all make mistakes. Look at me – I got married."

Truth is, Katherine gets extra circuit Brownie points because, not only is she on the road, but she's bringing her three-year-old daughter with her.

"My daughter absolutely loves touring," laughs the comic. "I mean, she's a three-year-old on a train, with colouring books and my undivided attention. She's in her element.

"And sometimes people bring her presents to the show, which is really sweet, so we've got more cuddly toys than we can shake a stick at.

"To be fair, I think she's more cut out for this job than I am."

If you still haven't quite placed the face yet, it's more than likely you'll remember Katherine's rapidly inflating backside. As one of the contestants on Let's Dance For Comic Relief (she made it to the final, where she came fourth), she spent most of her act with an ever-expanding posterior and cleavage – in homage to pneumatic American rapper Nicki Minaj.

The Canadian says she hasn't noticed any sudden spike in recognition since appearing on the primetime show; adding she's slightly uncomfortable with the prospect of her encroaching celebrity status, seeing as her act mainly consists on satirising the worst excesses of celeb culture.

"No, I don't think stand-up comedians are ever celebrities," she shrugs.

"We go so many places where people have absolutely no idea who you are, that it's hard to get too big for your boots.

"I don't consider the number of Twitter followers you have as a relevant currency.

"Even when you're huge name like, say, Jimmy Carr, I bet you still have bad nights, so I think that's why even the big guys still manage to keep grounded."

As an outsider to our island nation, the former waitress says she enjoys poking fun at our eccentricities and unraveling our Great British foibles.

"I love it here. You're so different to us and yet there are so many similarities," she says. "I quite like being an outsider, though. I was a freak in my own home town, so it's no different for me here.

"And, as my mum says, it would be weird if we were all the same and we all liked the same things – because then everyone would be married to my dad.

"And that kind of sends a shudder down my spine."