Black Country funnyman starring in new Comedy Central game show
Darren Harriott says his mother was not too impressed when he told her his career plans at 17.
"My mum was a hard-working woman, she worked as a carer, and I told her I was going to be a juggler," he recalls.
"How do you think that went down?"
It looks like his career choice has paid off for the funnyman from Oldbury, who will be a team captain in new game show Guessable? starting on the Comedy Central channel on Monday night.
Darren's stock has soared since being nominated for best newcomer at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe, leading to appearances on Live at the Apollo, Mock the Week, and his latest show Guessable?, where he will be joined by host Sarah Pascoe and fellow team captain Alan Davies.
"It's a lot of the games we would play as kids at Christmas, charades, what's in the box, stuff like that," he says.
"Basically, it's smart people playing stupid games. And when I say 'smart', I mean everybody else but me. Alan Davies is probably the smartest person on the show, but he's not used to that because of being on QI."
Growing up in the Brandhall area of Oldbury, he says his life was a laugh a minute at Perryfields High School, where he became the classic class joker.
"I was quite funny at school, but the trouble with being the class joker is your grades are really rubbish," says the 32-year-old.
"There are times when I wish I had paid more attention at school. Sometimes, when we are on these quiz shows, there will be questions about geography or history, and I'm thinking 'when we did this at school I was too busy trying to be funny'."
He says as a youngster in a tightly knit area of the Black Country there was always plenty of material and colourful characters that would provide him with material.
"I grew up in quite a small area, between Dudley and Tipton the one end, and Smethwick and Birmingham at the other, it was a working-class area, and everybody knew one another," says Darren.
"A lot of my early material came from family and friends, if there was somebody down the road who was known as a bit of a boozer, people would say 'I've just seen him walking up the road with three bottles under his arm.
"I often found the idea of the window cleaner strange, the first time I saw him I was in my bedroom and this man appears at the window on a ladder, and I'm thinking 'are we being burgled?'
"It always seems quite strange the idea of this man who turns up every fortnight without asking, and then demands you pay."
He lives in London now, but still regularly keeps in touch with his Black Country roots, and admits there are many things about the area he still misses.
"It's much quieter, more relaxed," he says. "Last time I went back about a fortnight ago, it was a lovely autumn day and I told my mum, 'you can see the sky', I hadn't seen that for ages. Where I live in central London, you have to crane your neck because all the buildings are so tall.
"All my good friends are from Oldbury, Smethwick and Dudley, they all go 'Darren, are you too big for us now?', but we're all just the same really.
"I think when I go back they expect me to be this high-faluting London type off TV, they're just taking the mick, but a lot of my friends are married or have families, that is something I haven't been able to do yet."
Guessable? launches Monday at 9pm on Comedy Central
