Rob Rouse has been entertaining audiences with his stand-up comedy since his breakthrough, winning Channel 4’s So You Think You’re Funny? in 1998. TV audiences will also recognise him from his appearances on 8 Out Of 10 Cats and his role in the BBC’s Upstart Crow with David Mitchell.
Meanwhile, podcast listeners may be familiar with his podcast, The Unlikely Weightlifters Podcast, which he hosts alongside Tom Wrigglesworth and contains “only 2-3% weightlifting.”
He arrives at Glastonbury 2025 ahead of a new tour next year. We caught up with him to find out more about his plans for the shows – and his experiences of the muddy years of the festival.
Q&A with Rob Rouse
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’ve been a stand-up Comedian since 1998, it’s the only job I’ve ever had. It’s taken me all over the world and up and down the country more times than a seasoned trucker. I’ve been lucky over the years to have done a few bits and bobs on the telly, most recently in Upstart Crow alongside David Mitchel, I was his man-servant ‘Bottom’, but stand-up has always been the beginning, middle and end of it all. I’ve had a really fun year, touring with Nina Conti and Kerry Godliman and am going out on the road with my own tour in Spring 2026. I live in The Peak District with my wife and kids and our overweight whippet – It’s not his fault he has a medical condition. He’s still very fast in straight lines, but has lost all cornering ability.
How did you get into live performance?
After a break-up some friends of mine encouraged me to audition for an amateur play. At one point when I was the only person on stage – and I can’t emphasise enough, how loose a handle I had on my lines – the set fell down all around me. I looked at the audience and they looked back at me, I realised it was incumbent on me to start talking, the laughter felt very different and I realised I’d stumbled into something that I genuinely loved. I knew what I had to do. I moved to London, kipped on mates floors, got a job as a caretaker in the City and threw myself into the open spot circuit.
What’s it like to be performing at this year’s Glastonbury Festival?
I’m really thrilled, I’ve not been for quite a few years and I’ll be there with my son, which will bring a whole new dimension to it.
What can you tell us about your plans for the shows?
Well I always have a plan, but part of that plan is that it could all go out of the window at any moment and that’s the joy of it too. It’s a special festival, so you’ve got to be prepared to hang it all out there and see where it takes you.
How do you approach performing at a festival like this?
I remember being at Glastonbury many moons ago, it was one of the ones where all of our tents got washed down the hill towards the main stage in a thunderstorm. We spent a whole afternoon watching people unwittingly fall into a muddy puddle up to their waists like lemmings falling off a cliff as they marched across the site. There may have been several thousand people cheering total strangers as they proudly took their bows, emerging victorious from Willy Wonka’s chocolate river. I think you’ve got to factor that kind of stuff in, the audience have made a real effort to get to your performance, so give it everything.
Will you be checking out any other acts across the weekend?
I have plans to see loads of stuff, but there’s every chance I could fall in a puddle.
He is on tour in Spring 2026. Sign up to his mailing list for more information
