Top 10 James Acaster Moments

Back in early 2016, Acaster found himself trapped in New York by the storms that hit the US, and made headlines worldwide. But the less than perfect weather clearly didn’t dampen his affection for all things American. In this routine, he treads controversial territory by arguing that that US slang is cooler than UK slang… But it is hard to disagree with his reasons. A year later, and Acaster makes his US TV debut on the talk show “Conan”... So look out America, because this lad’s likely to stick around.

Next, Acaster is one of eight top comedians asked by TV channel Dave to give a “Ted Talk”, a spoof lecture with the tagline “Ideas No One Needs”. The brilliance of Acaster’s routine lies principally in the contrast between the absurdity of his words and the seriousness of his delivery. He demonstrates a showman’s use of gesticulation and also throws in a scattering of hilarious prop fails. Spare a thought for the members of his audience though, who had to sit through the talk without laughing.

James’ performances at the Edinburgh Fringe have won him a record five nominations for the Edinburgh Comedy Award. And if the sight of Acaster doing the conga doesn’t get you laughing, wait until you hear his take on the dangers of breaking away from the dance. Then, with the dancing finally behind him, he takes us through his difficulties learning pool. This routine now forms part of Acaster’s show “Recognise”, and the material from it was later recorded for Netflix and broadcast in early 2018.

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the third-largest event of its type in the world, and Acaster regularly takes it by storm. In a typically quirky routine, the comedian tells us what he wants to do with the rest of his life – and spoiler alert, he doesn’t want to be a comedian. Unfortunately, it seems a career in music isn’t on the cards either, judging by his experiences when trying to learn to play an instrument. Perhaps he should stick to playing air guitar, or even find work as a dancer.

Acaster claims his breakthrough in stand-up came when he realised he wasn’t cool, so you might not expect him to set his material in a nightclub. This routine, however, revolves around a man cheating on his partner, then trying to justify his behaviour with the phrase: “You wouldn't bring an apple to an orchard, would you?” Acaster has since revealed that the story was based on a real-life event, but admitted to changing some of the details – not to protect the people involved, but to protect himself from the people involved.

James is a well established regular on various panel shows, but he’s probably best known for his appearances on “Mock the Week”. Here, he tells the story of his struggles to buy a Christmas tree at his local Budgens. But what should be a festive experience becomes anything but, as he hunts down the family who have bagged the tree he wanted. But when he confronts the father, he finds him unapologetic. James eventually gets his tree back, but not before tarnishing Christmas for the family’s two young children. Does he care, though?

This was Acaster’s first time on “Mock the Week”, and in the stand-up round he takes an especially unusual approach to the topic of “Adventure”. James takes observational comedy to new extremes of triviality, as he spends the entire routine complaining about one of his many minor grievances with everyday life - cheese graters. Acaster has said that he thinks he’s funnier when in deadpan mode, and his stony-faced delivery has both the audience and his fellow panelists applauding.

In this round of the popular BBC panel show, each of the members of one team must explain their relationship to a special guest. And James has a predictably strange tale to tell about Mick, with the details causing David Mitchell’s team to descend into hysterics. Acaster delivers an assured performance, stumbling over the facts just enough to suggest he’s making things up as he goes along. And whilst Mick may have fired the first shots in the conflict, Ancaster takes revenge in spectacular style. So was the story true?

At the age of 17, before his big break into full-time comedy, Acaster worked part-time in a professional kitchen. So, naturally he was once also a guest on this Channel 4 cookery show. In this clip, he reveals how he once became bored with life and so decided to go on a sponsored skydive. Unsurprisingly things didn’t go to plan, not least when he started feeling queasy. An anecdote which previously featured in Josh Widdicombe’s XFM podcast, and was included in Acaster’s bestselling book “Classic Scrapes”, it’s parachute perfection - or not.

Vintage Acaster to finish, and another story which also features in his “Classic Scrapes” collection. Fortunately, David Mitchell’s team hadn’t heard of this particular escapade, and so proceed to quiz James with evidently increasing scepticism. And just when you think the tale cannot get any more bizarre, he reveals this: . Then this; . It’s easily one of the strangest stories ever told on the show, but did David Mitchell’s team sniff out the truth?