Alex Zane: Just One More Thing

It’s disarming when someone you’ve actively disliked on television turns out to be talented and likable in person. If you’re put off Alex Zane by fleeting glimpses of his television output for the teen demographic then I urge you to give him another chance.

Just One More Thing takes its name from Columbo, a show which made a big impression on Zane when he was young. His childhood influences and experiences are dominant subjects and he speaks at length about how awkward and unpopular he was at school. Carrying a briefcase and playing Dungeons & Dragons were among the ways he ensured his status as a social pariah.

These sections are funny, but he also uses them to lay bare a more vulnerable side of himself, and it’s one that seems considerably more appealing than his brash TV persona. Still, his more cocksure performance style does come in useful when he interacts with the audience. In fact his off-script moments are some of the funniest of the night.

His skill as a performer shone through when he fluffed one of his skits – presumably accidentally. Taking us back through it ended up being far funnier than the joke itself.

This is Zane’s first standup show in a while and definitely his most high-profile one so far. He does have a real flair for this, so hopefully we can expect more in the future. With any luck Channel 4 will find something more worthy of his ability than Rude Tube.