'It's all a bit much isn't it?' - the rise and rise of Vittorio Angelone

If you've seen a lot of Vittorio Angelone popping up on your socials recently, particularly in the wake of his viral tangle with former Conservative minister Penny Mordaunt on prime time TV, he is quite sorry.

"It's all a bit much isn't it? I can only apologise to everyone's phone who I've infested with my face recently," he said.

But that's how it goes when you're an up-and-coming stand-up with tour dates, your own podcast and regular invitations to shows like House of Games and The Last Leg.

All told, this feels like an Angelone moment - and it's one he's enjoying.

Vittorio Angelone was born in Belfast to an Italian-Irish family.

He trained as a classical percussionist at one of London's most prestigious music schools.

When asked what he's passionate about outside of comedy, he basically said he's a rugby player who loves his girlfriend and a cryptic crossword.

But he said comedy is a "sort of obsession".

He told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme that he has recently been diagnosed as autistic and described his younger self as a "very anxious, stressed out child".

When he started comedy he said he "found [his] tribe".

Angelone left the concert halls for comedy clubs, and he has never looked back.

He said being on stage doing stand up is actually when he feels least anxious because he is fully focused on one thing.

"Being on stage in front of people, it feels like an environment that I am really in control of and there's rules that are very clear.

"That's probably the most relaxing part of my day."

During the Covid-19 lockdown, he launched his own comedy club in his back garden, 30 socially distanced audience members at a time.

His debut show at the Edinburgh Festival earned him a Best Newcomer nomination.

He's done stand up shows in lots of different places across the world.

His Ireland and UK Tour kicked off last week and next month, he's heading to LA to perform at the Netflix Is A Joke festival.

But that's not to say there's never been a show that didn't go to plan.

He described a show in Omagh: "I promise you, it was silent for the entire 60 minutes that I was on stage.

"Like sweat dripping down my back, just horrific."

But the night before he had performed in Dublin and the night after to 1100 people in Belfast which he said were "two of the best gigs of my whole life".

"Slapped right in between them was just this absolute humbling gig," he added.

Angelone described how he was inspired by other comedians from Northern Ireland like Colin Geddis, Shane Todd, Mickey Bartlett and Aaron McCann.

"Nobody's given these guys, you know, space to make it happen. They've just sort of carved their own path and that felt quite appealing," he said.

Angelone was also clear on the impact of social media on his success.

"The internet has been brilliant," he said.

"I've found a way to package [comedy] online that seems to work for the, sort of, great pagan god that is the algorithm.

"And people remarkably want to buy tickets to see me and I'm just sort of not questioning it as best I can."

Speaking about his comedy, Angelone said he is "striving for something that's accessible at multiple levels".

"You can get the jokes on the face of it, you can get the silly stuff. But, there's also, sort of, layers of structure and deeper meaning and other things that I'm trying to get across maybe in the subtext."

Famously, Angelone doesn't shy away from difficult topics.

"I do think on some level I want to be active in the world and want to be an active participant," he said.

"I think I've got this platform now and I've got an audience who like coming to see me and I don't want to just waste that."

More stand-up and more acting.

Angelone has already been doing some acting including being the lead in a short film called Rewarding.

Also, "I'd love to write a play", he told Talkback.

He described creating something "like the stand-up comedian's guide to the orchestra" or "a stand-up show that's with an orchestra".

"I want to sort of broaden my horizons and be creative in as many ways as I can possibly imagine."

Angelone was thrust further into the mainstream following a viral exchange with former House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt on Channel 4's The Last Leg last month.

What started as a conversation about a new storyline in Peppa Pig turned into a sparring contest

The exchange, shared on social media by both the show and Angelone, has been viewed more than 1m times.

After a back and forth, Mordaunt told Angelone she would like to introduce him to "women that put their lives on the line to defend people like you being able to do what you want to do in your life, and make jokes about the government and all sorts of things, and enjoy the freedoms that we do in this country".

"It's a tough sell to a guy from Belfast," Angelone replied.