Who made you laugh as a child?

My gran. She had a slightly twisted sense of humour. She bought my mum a huge cobra ashtray. My mum has a morbid phobia of snakes. And doesn't smoke. My dad is a very funny human. Excruciating at times, but funny. He never adhered to the strict breakfast times in family-run B&Bs and was often found helping himself and making an omelette. Landlords and landladies mostly found it charming and only on one occasion were the police called.

What was the first joke you told?

Man 1: "My brother-in-law is Irish." Man 2: "Oh really?" Man 1: "No, O'Reilly." When I told that aged four I howled laughing even though I didn't get the joke myself.

When did you first realise you could make people laugh?

Aged seven, I did Thatcher impressions and made my parents' dinner guests laugh. The real Thatcher made them cry of course.

What made you laugh on TV?

I was a 1970s/1980s kid so of course watched all the British classics. Even the racist ones. I discovered Richard Pryor aged about 11 and got quite obsessive about him. Funniest man that ever lived.

When Rik Mayall, Ben Elton and all those guys came alone, my world changed. I related to them: they hated the things I hated, they made comedy look like the most fun, most incredible job and that was that. I found my yellow brick road.

Ever made a joke that bombed?

MCing at a wedding once I thanked the bride's gran for being there ... not realising she had passed away a week before.

That wasn't as bad as getting booed offstage in Belfast when I was a rookie. You're nothing until you're booed off. It built my comedy steel.

How do you get along with hecklers?

A man got up during a very early set of mine and shouted: "You'll never be my real dad", then wandered off. I miss him. If he is reading this, get in touch, son.

Are you funny off-stage?

You can say something very serious about, say, heart disease, and some people will laugh because they assume as a comic, everything you say is a joke.

Since my children found out what I do for a living, they have been a very tough crowd. I cracked a joke the other day and my son said to his sister: "Oh, Genevieve, we're going to starve."

"Mummy makes people laugh to buy me chocolate" was what my son, then aged three, said to a neighbour.

Is everything fair game for comedy?

If I find it funny, I do it. My own values and the manners I was raised with don't leave me when I have a microphone in my hand. I tend not to kick people when they're are down or be a bigoted wazzock in my offstage life so I don't do anything like that onstage.

Ever made a really inappropriate joke?

I could have done without filming Live At The Apollo the day after I received a letter saying that lawyers were taking me through divorce courts. I regret one or two things I said in that routine. But I'm human, and I've learned that sometimes it's OK to say: "I'm not well. Can we hold off on this?"

How about laughing inappropriately?

A funeral. I lost it. A woman was grieving very dramatically (she didn't even know the deceased very well) and I just lost it, then my mum did, then my dad, then my brother. The four of us went into a group hug to pretend we were crying.

Who is your comedy hero and what's the secret of their success?

The secret to the best comedy is honesty. Billy Connolly, Richard Pryor and Louis CK do honesty to perfection.

I have loads of heroes on the comedy circuit. I am a huge stand-up fan so am blessed to work with people I admire all the time.

What type of humour leaves you cold?

That bawdy, suited, post-work drinks humour when people just take the piss out of each other has never been my bag.

Any non-comedians you find hilarious?

Bette Middler is a Twitter humour Queen and bizarrely, William Hague is a hoot. My best friend Penny is the funniest human I know. She is an incredibly private person and so I shall change her name to Maureen for this: My friend Maureen is a maths genius and floors me with her wit frequently.

How do you write your material?

I go out, I socialise. Funny thoughts and ideas happen when I'm out and about. I jot down notes but never ever have I had a script of a show.

Is humour an aphrodisiac?

Yes. I fancy myself rotten after I have a good gig.

When you're feeling down, what's the trick to getting onstage and acting funny?

My divorce broke my heart and dragged on and on. I'd weep all the way to a show, get it together for the duration, leave the stage and weep again. Luckily this only went on for three years.

You’re playing the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. Do you have a favourite Glasgow comedian?

Billy Connolly, of course, but also Kevin Bridges. I've known him since he was a baby comedian. Most Glaswegians have a terrific, direct sense of humour so the bar for a comic from there is already very high.

Why should we come and see your show?

To prove to my son that I can feed him and his sister.

Tell us a joke.

My mate's allergic to rice – he's basmatic.

Shappi Khorsandi – LIVE! is at the Citizens Theatre on Friday 25 March as part of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival glasgowcomedyfestival.com