The title of Stephen K Amos’ new show, The Spokesman, is highly ironic. Among the things that the globally successful London comic would least like to be, a spokesperson is right up there.

“I couldn’t be a spokesperson or a role model; people are often saying to me, do this and do that. And I say no, I have my own issues and if I can’t be 100 per cent certain about what I’m saying, I’m not going to speak up about it.“

Stephen knows what it’s like to be asked for his views on social matters especially after he made a film for Channel 4 in 2007, which later went on to win a Royal Television Society Award.

“I did a documentary called Batty Man, because I knew someone who had been killed in a homophobic attack. That was my impetus to speak out, but I was then asked to appear on all these programmes, current affairs shows and Newsnight and so on and be a spokesperson. Well, I said no; there’s more to me than that and I don’t want to be defined as a black gay comic. I don’t want to see that in the press; my stuff is much more than just being black and gay. It doesn’t define me; we are all very different and there’s a myriad of people in the gay world.“

If you are after a definition of Stephen K Amos, you can arrive fairly quickly at a comedian who is at ease on his stage and very comfortable with an audience. Which is just as well, as his shows wouldn’t be the same without lengthy periods of crowd interaction.

“I never want an audience to feel that I’m going through the motions; there has to be something about every show that makes them know that this is all in the moment.“

In the show he will be talking about phobias.

“The fears and phobias we get are not something we’re born with. It’s a trigger or something that happens that effects you; if you had it as a child, then you might be effected forever.

“I can’t swim, and the idea of going into the ocean fills me with dread. As an adult now I just can’t overcome that. I try to find ways of overcoming these fears but I haven’t found any.“

While he admits that touring can be a tough old slog (“it’s one night here, then one night there: the travel is a killer but the gigs are just terrific“), he is not alone among the comedy fraternity in believing that he has landed the best job in the world.

“I don’t know of any other line of work where you can go up before a captive audience and say what your perception is on absolutely anything at all. If you work for a TV channel, you have to toe a certain line: not with this.“

  • Stephen K Amos; The Spokesman is at artsdepot, Tally Ho Corner, Nether Street, North Finchley on February 28 at 8pm. Details: 020 8369 5454, artsdepot.co.uk