"My biggest inspiration though, is Fozzie Bear." Interviewing Luke Poulton AKA @veganluke

Luke Poulton is a comedian and viral content creator on TikTok and Instagram.

Luke Poulton is a comedian and viral content creator on TikTok and Instagram. He is known for his extensive collection of Wallace & Gromit merchandise, and for winning Essex Comedian of the Year in 2019. I chatted to him about his comedy and how he experiences autism.  

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How did you become a comedian?

I’d been making comedy sketches on YouTube for a while and then in 2016 my girlfriend and I would go to a comedy night near us. My girlfriend had said why don’t I give standup comedy a go, as I was already writing stuff. So, I got talking to the MC of the night and they gave me a spot the next week. I did two minutes of material but it was so much fun, and I’ve not stopped from there.

It sounds like you felt confident, or had a good support network to feel comfortable trying it. Who did you look to for inspiration when you first started?

When I first started, the comedians I was watching were Stewart Lee, Bo Burnham [and] Mike Birbiglia. My biggest inspiration though, is Fozzie Bear.

Fozzie Bear! Now that's an iconic statement. That's the strapline sorted! How did he influence you?

His style, his delivery… He just brings me a lot of joy, and he has the best jokes.

I understand that kind of joy. Specific pieces of media give me great pleasure too. I wanted to ask you about neurodiversity; since we're both on the spectrum. Are you comfortable discussing that, and how do you think it influences your comedy?

Very happy to discuss. It definitely influences my comedy massively. I tell a lot of stories about being autistic, but it’s also helped me [to] be very open about it on stage.

I struggle with sharing too much information about my special interests; because I feel like people won't understand the intensity of my obsessions, and why it all means so much to me. Has finding an audience online and at shows made you feel like, okay, people DO want to hear about the things that interest you?

I absolutely get you with sharing too much. I used to worry but don’t anymore. Yes, finding an audience that wants to hear about my interests has been a real big help and it’s been wonderful.

I know collecting facts about my favourite things is a part of my autism. Could you tell me some of your favourite facts about the Wallace & Gromit films and how they're made?

My favourite facts are that Wallace was going to be called Jerry at one point, Gromit was going to be a cat and Gromit was meant to talk at one point. …The fact that for most of the films, they only [captured] one minute of footage a day because of it being stop motion; and The Curse of The Were-Rabbit took five years to make.

That's very interesting. They made the right decisions in the end, don't you think?

Yes definitely!

How do you weave your interests into the shows? What I mean is, how do you translate it into humour?

Currently, I start with talking about being autistic. And how I make videos about my special interests online, which allows me to then go into what they are… But adding jokes as to why I like them and about all the facts I know.

Haha, that sounds good to me. Lastly, in terms of your collection of memorabilia, what would you say is your prize possession? The one you'd rush in to save from a hypothetical house fire.

Probably my Wallace & Gromit alarm clock or The Curse of The Were-Rabbit VHS!

Okay, I can't resist another question. Do you actually use the alarm clock?

I don’t because it’s with my collection in another room in the house, but there [are] times I’ve set the alarm and it goes off in the middle of the night!

The Curse of the Alarm Clock, am I right?..

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Okay, I won’t transcribe the cursory “haha” that my LUKEwarm joke received, but that concluded the interview. You can check out Luke’s TikTok here and his Instagram account here.

Luke was friendly in all our interactions and I thank him for his time. He is currently touring his stand-up show Cracking.  

Luke’s Upcoming Tour Dates:

20th October - Faversham, The Alexander Centre

16th November - Brighton, The Caxton Arms

2nd February 2025 - London, The Bill Murray