An established comedian affording half an hour of her time to a student journalist is exceptionally generous. Considering that she was performing that night, and the next two nights, the deed was almost preposterous. But Harriet Kemsley was willing to talk to me for that long — in-between nappy changes (for her baby, not me) — and more than matched her bubbly, amiable on-screen personality during our phone call.

I opened by asking about her route into stand-up. It was unorthodox: her parents recommended she try it, saying “stupid things always happen to you and you make them quite funny”. A self-professed “awkward and shy child”, comedy was Kemsley’s outlet to “communicate with people and say what I really thought and felt”. “I did always feel a little bit odd when I was younger”, she said — a sentiment that many Cambridge students can sympathise with.

When she first dipped her toes into the treacherous waters of stand-up, Kemsley maintained a day job that she’d leave in the evening to do gigs at night. She described herself as constantly “wired” on the job: she would mentally recite her sets repeatedly, to the point that a rumour circulated in the office that she had a severe drug problem. “My drug was stand-up, I guess”, she joked.

Kemsley quit her job and was a quick hit, receiving an endorsement from Rhod Gilbert and supporting big names on their tours. One of these was Katherine Ryan, one of Kemsley’s comedy idols. Another was Sarah Millican, whom Kemsley has been likened to in various alcoves of the internet. She agreed that this is a “massive compliment”.

Kemsley is now a fixture on telly, appearing on, among others, Hypothetical, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and Live at the Apollo, where I first saw her perform live. That was a very special night for her: “When my parents suggested I do stand-up, they suggested it after they watched Live at the Apollo the night before. It felt like a very full-circle moment”.

As for future directions, Kemsley sees herself remaining in comedy rather than returning to acting (which she did a fair amount of near the start of her career). “Writing stand-up will always be the driving force”, she said, citing the control she has over her comedy as a major factor. “I’d love to write my own sitcom,” she added.

I asked her about Taskmaster, the brainchild of Sidney Sussex alumnus Alex Horne. “I would absolutely love to do it!” – “It’s one of those shows that I think I’d have a lot of fun doing”. She also mentioned appearing on Would I Lie To You? as a long-standing desire.

Kemsley is married to comedian Bobby Mair, whom she competed against in Comedy Central’s Roast Battle in a contest that was nothing short of legendary. She confessed that the insults contained “more truth than I’d like to acknowledge”, but knows that “the [Roast Battles] that were the best were the ones when there was a lot of love behind it”. She called it “free therapy”, and quite candidly admitted that “talking about things and being open about things does make me feel better”.

Having a comedy compatriot ever-present has its advantages. “If I’m just driving, he’ll ask me about things and that’s where some of my best material will come from”. Their relationship is often mentioned during sets and on TV - to the point where Romesh Ranganathan officiated their wedding. She described Romesh as “kind”, confirming that his grumpy on-screen persona is just a persona. Kemsley also revealed that “we actually got married, just the two of us, a few days before in a registry office”, which was “really special because we just got witnesses off the street”, a sentiment that I found rather confusing.

In terms of audience interaction, she recounted a “very stressful” gig in Middlesbrough as her worst heckle (of sorts), wherein “the audience started arguing about whether they liked me or not”. “Even when the people that liked me won, it was still very awkward”. On the street, she isn’t recognised too much; “[on TV] you get put in so much hair and makeup that I don’t look like that most of the time”.

At the moment, she is on tour. Her tour’s name, Honeysuckle Island, is the imaginary location where she would hibernate as a child. Kemsley hopes to see many Cambridge students at her show. “I do love performing to students”, she said, lamenting that “they often get a bit of a bad rep”. “My worst audiences are the opposite of students”, she said, which I responded was “the employed”. “Those are the people that can actually buy the tickets, I shouldn’t be insulting them”, she replied. Touché.

Harriet Kemsley’s tour show Honeysuckle Island is visiting Cambridge Junction on Saturday 22 October