Nina Conti is mainly famous for her stage ventriloquism, but in recent years she has branched out into making documentaries around the subject of voice-throwing. The Bafta-nominated Her Master’s Voice explored her friendship with maverick Ken Campbell and delved into the outer fringes of the art. And now she is back on film again in Clowning Around.

Except that this time she is not doing ventriloquism. A couple of years ago Conti decided to train as a “giggle doctor” – a clown who goes into hospitals to cheer up children and boost morale. She thought it would be easy - just grab her puppet Monkey and do her usual playful schtick. Except that due to hygiene issues she couldn’t take her tatty old chimp and had to learn how to be a clown in her own right.

Without giving too much away there is more to making children laugh than sticking on a red nose. So what you get is a voyage of discovery as Conti sets out to find her inner idiot. This involves visiting French maestro Philippe Gaulier who watches her doing some slapstick and mutters something about being "heterosexuale" until he saw her. She also gets advice from contemporary clown-inspired comics including Dr Brown and Sally Phillips.

Alongside Conti’s journey, however, there are also developments for the charity. The red nose, it transpires, doesn’t go down too well with donors (not that it has ever harmed Comic Relief) so changes have to be made and the word “clown” is given the boot. Presumably a big oversized boot...

While Clowning Around isn’t quite as personal as Her Master’s Voice, it does give an insight into a side of clowning that we rarely see. Conti is never less than engaging as our guide, but it was clearly hard work for her. Probably much harder than she expected. I suspect that she was glad to get back onstage and stick her hand up Monkey’s arse again. 

Clowning Around, 9pm, BBC4, March 15.

Watch a clip from Clowning Around here: