HE spent years trying to convince the organisers of Oxford hospice fundraiser Childish Things to put him on stage with some of the biggest names in comedy.

And just a few months after being given a slot alongside Michael McIntyre and Jimmy Carr, 20-year-old Matt Richardson, pictured, has his own headline show.

He will be previewing it in Oxford this month before taking it to next year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Mr Richardson, who lives in Didcot, dropped out of a degree in publishing at Oxford Brookes University to pursue a career in comedy, and is one of the youngest professional comedians on the UK circuit.

His hour-long solo show is at The Cellar, Frewin Court, on Saturday, June 2.

He said: “I am very excited about it. The first few years of a comedian’s career are building up to doing your own show.

“It’s brilliant to do it in Oxford, especially at The Cellar, where I am resident compere on a Monday, because it is an amazing place where I had one of my first gigs.

“Jack Whitehall used to be a compere, I saw Sarah Millican there – it’s my favourite venue.”

The show is called Hometown Hero and many of the gags are about living in Oxfordshire.

Mr Richardson also makes a few jokes about his own mother, Mandy.

He said: “Didcot is quite a small town and there is that kind of small town mentality which I find quite interesting.

“It also has a reputation for being a bit rough, but it’s not really.

“There’re always jokes about my mum and she’s thoroughly unimpressed, but when she stops saying the silly things, I will stop saying them on stage.”

Mr Richardson performed on two consecutive nights at Childish Things, which raises money for Helen and Douglas House, at the New Theatre, George Street – cumulatively his biggest audience so far.

Performing at the Edinburgh Fringe is likely to cost him in the region of £15,000 and he can only expect to claw back about £2,000 in ticket sales.

Mr Richardson said: “Doing the clubs and pubs is your job, but going to Edinburgh and doing an hour-long show can make your career.

“It can be a huge benefit, but it’s a big risk as well.”

Childish Things organiser Kate Day said it was “fantastic” to hear the young comic had landed a solo show.

She said: “We were delighted to have him as part of Childish Things this year and his act went down a storm.

“He has a string of awards behind him so we are not surprised his solo career is taking off – catch him while you can.”

Tickets to the gig cost £5 and are available from oxfordcomedytickets.co.uk