Having spent the last seven years "crammed into a tellybox", shouting the word "BAKE", Sue Perkins is stretching her legs on the UK stage.

She tells us what prompted her to hit the road

Q: Tell us more about your new tour, LIVE! in Spectacles

A: Writing a memoir begins a process that doesn’t necessarily end with publication. You begin to think about family life and stories and relationships, and those are ongoing. Once the book was published, I thought, “There is so much more still to say without necessarily writing another book. Why not animate the book with a live tour?” It’s like a companion volume, I guess.

Q: What do you particularly like about interacting with the audience?

A: It enriches me. Performing live challenges you to be more engaged. And the great thing is, each venue is completely different. What I have done lately has been TV-based, so I haven’t had the same feedback as I get live, and that’s what I love. I adore the raw surprise someone of asking a question you would never have expected. I love the spontaneity of it. I don’t encourage hecklers, but sometimes a heckler is the funniest person in the room - why not embrace that?

Q: So what subjects will you be covering in the show?

A: Births, deaths, lemon drizzle and getting fondled by a Cambodian hermit. I’ll talk a lot about the catastrophising that went on in my family. There was always a sense that something awful, that imminent doom, was around the corner. It came from my mum – she’s a worrier. Everything was a potential trip to A & E!

Q: I believe you will also be showing some slides.

A: Yes, there will be lots of slides. There is only one picture of me in the book and I have this horrific haircut in it. People say, “Surely that was just one bad haircut day.” But I’m afraid I have 150 slides of myself at different ages, all with the same haircut! My mum had someone round to cut my hair who, it transpired, had only done dog grooming before. So I had a low Dougal-style fringe that was perfectly straight. It swayed like a trimmed, bearded collie! A bowl for all seasons. Perhaps that should be the title of the second volume….

Q: You have a wonderful relationship with your fans. What do they ask you?

A: They always want to know what Mary Berry is like. Well, Bez is the best. End of. She’s the nation’s sweetheart. I love her – so much so, I’ve been trying to get her to adopt me for the last seven years.

Q: Why do you think The Great British Bake Off has proved so popular?

A: I think the chemistry between the four of us – Mary, Paul, Mel and I – works so well. We’re all big kids at heart. We’re all very playful. We don’t approach it as a job. We approach it as a day out at a country fair! But the real reason why the show is so successful is the 12 people who come to bake every year. Although we four have received a lot of attention, I really do believe that the bakers are where the magic is.

Q: Finally, do you believe that a sense of humour is vital?

A: Of course. Life is boring without the punctuation of punchlines. If you laugh at a joke, it’s because someone has put something you already know in a way you had never thought of before. You’ve always been aware of that idea, but it’s the expression of that idea that catches you. The other person encapsulates it or puts a new twist on it. It illuminates and cheers in one fell swoop. Without humour, what’s the point? Life would simply be one long argument with a man from the BT helpdesk.

Sue Perkins, LIVE! in Spectacles, will be at Lighthouse, Poole on Friday, February 24. Tickets are available from 01202 280000 or lighthousepoole.co.uk