EDINBURGH Festival Fringe starts this week with performers coming from all over the world – including an ex-reporter from the Cotswolds.

Five years ago, Alex Love, 30, left his job at the Standard to move to London to try and make it as a stand-up comedian. This year, he takes his first solo show to the Fringe.

Alex, who attended Sir William Romney’s School in Tetbury, has no regrets about his gamble.

“It was definitely a risk, but I thought it was worth taking,” he said. “I had the option to stay in my job for another 18 months and get a journalism qualification, or take my chances and give comedy a proper shot. I thought I had to go with comedy, otherwise I would spend years thinking ‘what if?’”

Alex’s show is called How To Win A Pub Quiz, which he describes as a very interactive show where the audience get to play along.

“The show is roughly split between me doing stand-up and a quiz,” he said. “It also gives me a chance to use all the pieces of trivia I’ve accumulated over the years.

“Doing a full-run at Edinburgh is the most brutal challenge there is for a performer. It is non-stop and there’s nowhere to hide, but this will be my fourth year up there and I know what I’m letting myself in for.

“It’s going to be strange not doing a show with a friend this year, but the previews have gone well, so hopefully that’s a good sign.”

He says that although comedy is difficult, he finds it easier than being a reporter.

“I don’t think anyone realises quite how tough it is being a reporter for a local newspaper,” he said. “You work long hours and there is usually someone shouting at you for something. In comedy, you do sometimes get drunken hecklers to deal with, but you can put them in their place with a stinging insult. That approach definitely wouldn’t go down too well with editors or councillors.

“Also, a lot of comedy material can just be made up – but you get into a lot of trouble for doing that sort of thing as a reporter.

“I’ve had some truly horrendous gigs, but they’ve all been more enjoyable than being on a print deadline or in a council meeting.”

How To Win A Pub Quiz runs from August 2-23 at the Kilderkin, venue 227. For more, visit: www.alexlove.co.uk/howtowinapubquiz.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world and takes place every year in August for three weeks in Scotland’s capital city.