Piece of advice that changed comedian Tom Allen’s life

Tom Allen struggled in his younger years because he was ‘different’ and ‘flamboyant’. But a single piece of advice changed everything.

British comedian Tom Allen has opened up about the life-changing piece of advice he received from his dad.

Allen spoke to news.com.au’s podcast, From the Newsroom, to promote his upcoming Australian tour, and during the interview talk turned to his tough childhood.

Growing up in Bromley in Greater London in the 1980s, Allen was bullied at school because of his flamboyant mannerisms.

“I knew I was different,” Allen said. “I used to think I wanted to be an actor … then it turned out I was just gay.”

He continued, “Being gay at that point … it wasn’t an easy thing at all. In schools in the UK (at the time), it was something that was banned, the teachers couldn’t talk about it (homosexuality) … so you felt very, very alone and being different and flamboyant made it even more sort of awkward.”

Tom Allen is one of the UK’s most loved comedians.

But Allen told news.com.au that his life eventually improved after he received some words of wisdom from his dad, who has since passed away.

“My dad told me that the world takes you at your own valuation,” the comedian said. “I learned that actually if you learn to believe in yourself, people will (too).

“You can either apologise for yourself and the world might therefore treat you not as nicely, but if you go, ‘hey, I’m here, I don’t need to explain myself to you,’ people will kind of come with you.”

The advice came in handy when Allen started doing stand-up comedy in his 20s, with crowds initially giving him a hard time on stage.

“I was booked for these gigs where it’d be these quite blokey, you know, macho crowds and I’d be walking up trying to talk about my mum’s hostess trolley,” he recalled.

“They (the crowd) were apoplectic with rage that I’d be mincing around. They were just furious!

British comedian Tom Allen is coming to Australia.

“But again, I had to remind myself that …. the world takes at your own valuation, and that’s when I became a bit more sassy.

“I took it upon myself to walk out and be like, ‘shut up, all of you, you’re gonna listen!’ I mean I didn’t do it quite like that, but I had that in my mind.”

Since then, Allen’s career has exploded and he’s now one of the UK’s most popular comedians.

He has his own radio program and regularly appears on TV shows including The Great British Bake Off, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

British comedian Tom Allen on the British version of wheel of Fortune.

But he’s best known for his stand-up, which he’s set to perform in Australia in April.

When asked what people can expect from his Completely tour, Allen said, “I talk about moving out (Allen lived with his parents for most of his 30s), getting my own place, getting a partner, and reflecting on my own childhood and how different it was to grow up in the 1980s.”

He added, “I always say to people the show is never the same two nights in a row. I try to make it a bit about the people who are there and I always say, well, ‘that combination of people on that day will never happen again!’”

Tom Allen will perform in Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Sydney in April. For ticket info, head to bohmpresents.com