STAND-UP comic Matt Richardson has gone from obscurity to national fame in the space of a year.

His breakthrough came when he bagged one of television’s biggest presenting gigs and became familiar to millions through the X Factor.

Now The Xtra Factor presenter brings his first tour, Hometown Hero, to the Lighthouse in Poole tonight. Though, this won’t be his first visit to the town.

“It’s nice to go to back to Poole with my own show. I played the Lighthouse a couple of years ago as part of a stand-up triple bill. I’ve gone from being an unknown club comic to being able to do a tour, so the Xtra Factor has been massively beneficial to my career. It was my break basically,” says Matt, 22.

Oxfordshire-orn Matt hopes to spend more time in Poole than on his last flying visit in 2012.

If you keep your eyes peeled today, you may just spot one of the UK’s most exciting stand-ups exploring the town.

“Typical comedian, I went and did the gig and then left. But this time I’m coming down early on Friday and going to have a wander around.

“I think it’s really important to talk to people in the area, especially if they’ve paid money to come and see you. I like to try and tailor the show to the audience,” added Matt.

Matt discovered comedy aged 14 after watching a Jimmy Carr DVD during a sleepover, “I couldn’t believe that was someone’s job telling jokes and getting loads of attention. Ever since then it’s what I wanted to do.”

The material for his first touring show Hometown Hero is very different to the sharp one-liners of his comedy hero Jimmy Carr.

“It’s basically an hour of stand-up, there’s no message or theme. It’s just things that I think are really funny and hopefully the audience does as well. My show is pretty rude and I over share a lot of personal information.”

His exhaustive UK tour has been running since September and Matt has mixed feelings about the touring lifestyle.

“It’s brutally unglamorous. People have this notion that it’s like being on tour with a rock band and you’re really cool. The reality is that it’s just me and my support act sat in a car grumbling about the traffic. There’s nothing glamorous about that. The show is definitely the best bit.”

Matt Richardson appears at the Lighthouse Poole tonight.