Angela Barnes: ‘Comedy’s the only job I’ve had where I don’t feel like a failure’

‘People underestimate my intelligence all the time’ … Angela Barnes Photograph: -

As a BBC regular Angela Barnes is used to triggering the anti-Auntie trolls, be it her political views, voice, appearance or – in one bizarre week – being too good at Richard Osman’s House of Games, the cheerful teatime quizshow. Most of which she ignores, but the sanguine standup does engage with another novel complaint: that she’s too loud.

“I get that a lot, as people don’t realise that I’m deaf and can’t necessarily regulate the volume of my voice,” explains the comic, now sitting quietly in the corner of a big Brighton pub. “Sometimes they’ll say ‘Oh shit, sorry, I didn’t realise’ – and it’s not their fault, they wouldn’t know. But sometimes they double down: ‘That’s no excuse!’ Which really makes me laugh.”