Go on go on go on go on go on: Ardal O'Hanlon plays the Music Hall We speak to Father Dougal McGuire a.k.a Ardal O'Hanlon ahead of his gig at the Music Hall tonight at 8pm. Q: Does anyone call you Dougal by mistake? It still happens. Even friends of mine will call me Dougal without even knowing they've done it. I try to correct them and you know, explain the difference between fiction and reality. I've learned to live with it, it doesn't bother me. The show and the character were very popular so it's understandable. It is strange when complete strangers talk to you like they know you really well though. Q: Was your sudden fame tough to deal with? At first it was quite...not daunting, but the attention was strange. I consider myself a private person but you do get used to it. It's not exactly welcome, but I happen to quite like it because I like chatting to people. Ardal on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow: Q: Dop you miss Father Ted? I don't miss it at all. People don't really realise it was actually only filmed for three years, a very short period of my life. I love how it was received, but on some level it was only a job for a small part of my life. It's a given that I'll never do anything else as good or as popular, but every job is just as interesting on different terms. Q: What does stand up mean to you? Stand up is very much my lifestyle. It's hard work, sometimes tours can be gruelling. But it's the life I've chosen. There are no set hours. The best part of it is you're constantly kind of examining your own life and engaging with what's happening in the world and boiling your experiences down to a joke. Ardal on differences between playing to English and Irish audiences: RTÉ - Ireland's National Television and Radio Broadcaster Q: How is TV different from standup? TV is like a holiday from standup. It's not your material, so it's very different and really enjoyable. Standup is very personally rewarding, but TV is very sociable and enjoyable, almost too good to be true. Q: Do you think you'll always do standup? I tried to quit before but it's sort of addictive. It's very exciting and compelling, even though you can be dreading it in the hours before. You're living on your wits and don't always know what's going to happen. I'd miss that, you can't get it anywhere else. Maybe if you were a downhill skier or a fighter pilot. Q: Have you played Aberdeen and Dundee before? On my last tour in 2010 I did Aberdeen and Perth. I've not done Dundee for 10-15 years, but not for any real reason, it just wasn't on my tour map. I worked with Brian Cox though and he never shuts up about Dundee! Ardal on the Late Late show: Q: Do you ever get trouble from Scottish audiences heckling? No, not trouble. Exchanges though! People are friendly, definitely not as reserved as many other places. Put it this way, if you ask a question, they'll answer you. Q: Do you try to make points with your comedy, or prefer being funny? I wouldn't like to be accused of being a preacher. You have to be funny, you can't lose sight of the bottom line. Ardal O'Hanlon plays the Music Hall tonight at 8pm.