Long is very fond of Glasgow. She also set her slightly autobiographical Radio 4 sitcom Romance and Adventure there and was disappointed that it didn’t get a second series: “I’d already planned for my character to have an ill-advised affair with a member of Franz Ferdinand because I wanted to get them to be in it.”
While other comedians find their voice and stick with it Long constantly evolves. She has had a personal phase, a political phase and now she is weaving these strands together. Her friend, award-winning comedian Nish Kumar, calls her “the David Bowie of stand-up”, and not just because Bowie grew up in Beckenham, close to her Sidcup birthplace.
“She reinvents herself with every show,” he tells me just before I meet her. “Josie changes her style in a way you don’t see in comedy.” Long blushes but sees his point: “I want to change tactics every now and again.”
There have been fewer television appearances recently, which is partly her choice and partly television’s. “I can count on one hand the jobs I’ve been happy with. I’ve got a DIY sensibility. I like it to be my house, my rules. Panel shows are such an alien environment — I don’t think I’ve necessarily shone on them.”
Given this uncompromising philosophy it was surprising to see Long pop up on Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls recently on Channel 4. But she has had a penchant for the outdoor life since she left home to study English at Oxford. She likes wild swimming and was recently hooked on mountain climbing. “I normally get obsessed with something for about 18 months,” she explains. “I’m now into hot yoga.”
Having been approached to appear in the series she spent three weeks filming off the Panama coast. She was initially apprehensive but found herself bonding with Made in Chelsea’s Ollie Locke and TOWIE’s Lydia Bright. “It really taught me things. It made me realise that I live in a bubble and others think differently about the world. The question is how we get over that.” There is a pause. “Others I didn’t get on so well with…” She will not name names while our interview is being recorded but you might spot some friction depending on how the programme is edited. “I just hope they don’t make me look like a Leftie wanker.”
She is still politically active but 2016 has clearly altered her perspective. “I need to be less emotionally involved in politics because it doesn’t make me the best person. I want my show to be about positivity rather than turn people off by talking about politics.”
