WHO says women aren’t as funny as men? Adrienne Coles is one of a growing number of female comics who makes a living from laughter.

Adrienne runs Coastal Comedy, based at the Hotel Celebrity, and has just been nominated for two awards in this year’s Bournemouth Tourism Awards.

Not only does she host the monthly club, she’s also the warm up act, organiser, promoter and resident MC.

The single mum from Bournemouth who is in her 40s, says she has always been very outgoing and loved comedy.

“All my life people would say to me that I should be on the stage,” she explains. “When I got divorced six years ago, it made me stop and think about what I want to do as there was no one holding me back and no one to blame for not doing it.”

One night she went to a comedy club to see Milton Jones - known as the king of the one liners - which she says inspired her to get on stage.

“I just loved him and ended up laughing hysterically. It was a really intimate club like mine and you could see all his facial expressions.

“They says it is good for us to laugh and I felt so much better and uplifted that I went and found him afterwards and gave him a kiss on the cheek!”

Adrienne started visiting more comedy clubs and was eventually invited to take part in an open mic night in Bournemouth.

“I kept going on about doing comedy until one of my friends told me to either shut the **** up or do something about it!”

So Adrienne did her five minutes at a bar in Christchurch Road in Bournemouth.

“It was terrifying but also really exhilarating,” she laughs.

“I got some good feed back so I started honing my five minutes and going to more open mic nights until eventually I started getting paid gigs.”

Three years ago she was invited to take part in a Christmas Show at the Hotel Celebrity which is how she got the idea for setting up her own comedy club.

“I saw the room and thought it would be a perfect venue for a comedy club because comedy is a bit of a science,” she explains.

“There’s a low ceiling, the seating is facing the stage – there’s no blocks and people are there purely for the comedy not for dinner

“It feels like a very intimate venue so you can see someone you might have seen on Live At The Apollo for example, and it is quite a thrill to be so close and interactive with that person.

“People also say I help create the atmosphere as it is a very friendly and welcoming club. Some people go on their own.”

Adrienne says she doesn’t prepare material – she prefers to “rift” off the audience as she puts it.

“It’s like you get on stage and step into a different persona. It’s not really me – I would never be rude to people like I am on stage.

“Sometimes I make out that I’m single and a bit desperate so I’ll start hitting on people’s husbands and pretend I haven’t noticed their wife – but it’s all done in good humour!”

Some comedians like Lee Mack have famously in the past said that women don’t make good stand up because they aren’t as competitive as men.

But there is now many more successful comediennes Miranda, Ruby wax, Shappi Khorsandi and Nina Conti to name but a few.

“Apparently half the room switch off when it’s a female comic so you have to work a lot harder,” says Adrienne. “But women can be just as funny as men.”

Adrienne says she loves been heckled and always invites the audience to talk to her rather than the main acts.

“This man was really heckling and shouting at me. I said to him please be quiet because I’ve only got ten minutes to make an absolute idiot of myself up here but you’ve got the rest of your life!

“The audience loved it - he sat down and shut up. I ask them to heckle me or talk to me but not the main acts because that’s where the comedy comes from.

“I always invite the audience to talk to me and heckle me but not the main acts because if you’re doing carefully crafted material with a punchline it makes it much harder if people interject.”

Coastal Comedy was nominated for Best Night Out in 2016 for the BTS awards and this time has been nominated again for Best Night Out and also Great Time Out.

Adrienne has also been commissioned to organise a show for the mayor on February 4 at the Shelley Theatre in Bournemouth for the mayoral charity.

“It is quite a small circuit so you soon get known and now I’m getting emails from people asking if they can be part of the show which is great. I’m now launching a second venue at the New Milton football club on April 7 and hoping to find a third venue before the end of the year.”

Adrienne adds: “ My main satisfaction in life now, apart from my children, is seeing a room of 150 people who are watching a headline act and killing themselves laughing and knowing that they are only there through my endeavours!”

Tonight’s main act is musical comedian Jonny Awsum (doors open at 7.15pm) followed by Ellie Taylor( as seen on The John Bishop Show) on February 24. Visit coastalcomedy.com