Christian O'Connell is probably best known as the quickfire Absolute Radio DJ, but he harbours a dark secret. Before he got his radio break he was a stand-up comedian. And as if to prove that stand-up is more addictive than crack he decided to go back to it a few years ago. And not just dip his toes in like Madonna. O'Connell has done club gigs, tours and full-length runs at the Edinburgh Fringe. He returns to Edinburgh this August with a new show, You've Ruined My Morning... and Other Fan Mail, which draws on his musical life from teenage mix tape maker to award-winning DJ. Between his DJing and gigs he found the time to answer our Rarely Asked Questions. Read his revealing answers below and then buy a ticket to see him at the Gilded Balloon from August 7 - 29. Tickets and info here.

1. What is the last thing you do before you go onstage (apart from check your flies, check for spinach between teeth and check your knickers aren't sticking out of your skirt)?

Firstly I make sure my knickers are sticking out my skirt as I know some people have paid good money to see me dance in panties. 

I take a moment to remind myself I’ve chosen to do this and why. I look up, breathe slowly and head out…

I love watching comics walk out from back stage into the great beyond. Its so exciting. I went to see Louis CK at Hammersmith Apollo and from my seat could see him in the wings waiting to go on. I reckon you can tell so much from just the walk out and taking the mic out of the stand. 

2. What irritates you?

How long have you got? I’ve been trying to learn how to meditate for a few years and I remember leaving one session and being on the Underground and this dick in a giant rucksack just stopped right in front of me and never said a word. Nothing. We got in a row and I thought “meditation is paying off”. Buddha wouldn’t have done that. But then he didn’t have some mouth breathing 25 tonne American with all his belongings on his back stop to take a photo of an oyster card machine. Buddha would have wanted to kick off too. I’m sure of it.

I’m getting better at filtering out the noise. My day starts at 4am so later in the day I can be very tetchy. That's when I could easily break bad. I have to have my nap in the afternoon like a big man baby. 

At gigs I’m stunned that at a stand up gig where the comic has got things to say, or should have, you start to play with your cocking phone. Now if you are a surgeon awaiting news on a bypass patient, you check that phone, but you're not are you? And don’t be filming it either. Watch, listen, daydream, make plans, get bored but leave the phone alone. And don’t be filming it! It's worse at concerts. People turn into such idiots these days at music gigs. They aren’t really experiencing it. They are filming it, tweeting, instagraming it. 

3. What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done?

At the age of 40 I decided to go back to stand up. About 15 years since I last did it. 

4. What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?

See above then add in two Edinburgh Festivals. 

5. What has surprised you the most during your career in comedy?

Thats a great question. So much. It never ceases to amaze me what exactly audiences find funny. Sure it's hopefully your well-crafted gag, but sometimes it's more the emotion behind what you are saying really gets them. I spend my life telling stories on the radio. When you do some in stand up I love how afterwards it’s not just your story it's theirs. I get such a buzz when they say “that story reminded me of...” or when you talk about screwing up and they really connect to your failures. 

Read more of Christian O'Connell's answers here.