There’s a good chance you’ve seen Stephen K Amos on your TV at some point. He has regularly featured on panel shows such as Mock the Week and Have I Got News For You and he has made a BAFTA-nominated Channel 4 documentary called Batty Man, which tackles homophobia in the black community. When he’s not on the small screen, Amos is working on his stand-up comedy material.

Right now, Amos is currently touring the UK with his show entitled Bouquets and Brickbats. The name, he says, stems from how he views the world around him – the good and the bad. Amos thinks it’s important to remember the good in the world, amidst all the negativity that can be found in society. He hopes that his shows help to bring this about.

“We all receive the news at the same time and it’s not all happy, positive stuff. People do need that release”, said the 51-year-old.

“There’s a great emotive response that you get from live comedy. I deliver a punchline, you laugh, it’s like the orchestra leader conducting the whole affair and bringing you to a crescendo”.

This isn’t Amos’s attempt to downplay the importance of the news, as he does cover topical issues in his show. Rather, it is an awareness of why people come to see him.

“I want people to come and laugh and in essence leave all their troubles behind for the evening”, he said.

“If I can throw in some topics of interest that might spark conversation or debate, then that’s great.

“But I can’t let any news story or angle derail what I’m trying to do. I don’t have all the answers, I’m just a bloke, like you are. I just say things and see things from maybe a different perspective”.

Outside of his comedy though, Amos does think that people should be at least informed about the state of the planet. And in an age where social media news feeds can be selective and tailored specifically to individual people, he places great importance in trying to understand those who have different thoughts to your own.

“I don’t think enough people do that at all”, he said.

“You have to consume news from different sources. I don’t want to be one of those people who have a one-type philosophy in terms of where I get my information from.”

The whole beauty of the world is that you get to go and meet people from different backgrounds, different ages, different cultures and you can learn from each other.

Amos will also feature alongside Katy Brand and Les Dennis in a new BBC Two series called Pilgrimage: The Road to Rome. The three-part series which is due to air sometime in Easter, sees the trio giving up all luxuries in the life and recreating a pilgrimage from the Swiss Alps to the Vatican. Amos described the journey as having a large influence on how he now lives his life.

“It was just incredible. I now walk an hour every day and I haven’t smoked since September”, he said.

“I’m not religious and I’m not a keep-fit fanatic, but I can honestly say it was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life.”

Stephen K Amos will be performing at the Gulbenkian Theatre on 6^th February.