'Growing up with deaf parents inspired my new comedy show'

When Ray Bradshaw was growing up, he never thought there was anything unusual about the fact he could hear while his parents were deaf.

"You don't realise how unique your upbringing is, until you get older and speak to other people - you assume everyone is like you," said the comedian, who has been one of Scotland's top stand-ups for the last 16 years.

While young, he was referred to a speech therapist to help him with hearing spoken words - something he saw as just part of normal life.

Ray has since become conscious of the challenges deaf people - and their families - face, and used his own experiences to inspire material for his new show, Coda.

The Glaswegian has for several years had a sign language interpreter onstage at his shows.

He told BBC Scotland News it might seem like a small gesture, but he has found it can make a huge difference to some of those who go to his gigs.

"I was in Bradford for a show once, and went out to the lobby afterwards for pictures with people there," he said.

"There was a family - two deaf grandparents, two hearing kids and three hearing grandkids - and the gran said to me 'this is the first time we've all gone to the theatre together'.

"That's class, being able to do that."

Coda, which he is taking on a tour of the country, goes back to his upbringing. It mines his experiences as a Coda - a child of deaf adults - for material.

Some of those memories had been long-forgotten, and only returned to his mind after chatting with his family, including his parents Jill and David and siblings Pamela and Mark.

Challenges around hearing spoken words at home came up during their chats.

"The speech therapist recommended to my parents that I had a radio on in my bedroom every night when I was growing up, so I could hear words and language," he chuckled.

"I don't remember that at all so I asked my parents about it.

"My mum said they would put the radio on for me - the problem was they had no idea if it was receiving a station or not."

He brings the show back home this Saturday for a gig at Glasgow's SEC Armadillo, with his family in attendance.

Ray expects his parents will enjoy some of it, and "question why I've brought other bits up", but feels it is a topic worth exploring.

"Growing up with deaf parents is a big part of my identity," he said.

"It's who I am and it has shaped me a lot. I've always been quite confident, and I think that's partly because from an early age I would be doing things like talking to adults.

"The other night during a show there were a few other Codas in the crowd, and we were all sharing stories about the worst companies or banks to deal with on the phone as a kid."

The 37-year-old was the first professional comedian to stage a show in both English and sign language.

However, he said he wanted to establish himself on the comedy scene before bringing deafness into his sets.

He said: "The first six years of my stand-up, I never spoke about my mum and dad being deaf as I didn't want it to feel like a gimmick.

"I wanted to make sure I was good before doing it, so it wasn't until my first big Edinburgh run at the Gilded Balloon that I decided I would have it signed."

Ray was 20 when he first tried stand-up, something he said was down to being "a bit drunk" and deciding to just have a go.

It was a decision that paid off. He has established himself as a critically acclaimed touring stand-up and a regular on comedy panel shows.

He has also been able to indulge his passion for football, working with the Scotland national team and his beloved Patrick Thistle.

When British Comedy Award-winning comic John Bishop asked Ray to go on tour with him - which included performing to 11,000 people at London's O2 Arena - he thanked him by getting the Liverpudlian a Thistle top with "Bishop" on the back.

Unfortunately the die-hard Scotland fan, who is a regular on BBC Scotland's Off the Ball, has found himself with a slight clash ahead of this summer's tournament.

"My second child is due the day of the Scotland and Haiti game," he laughed.

"Maybe if the baby comes early I might get to do something for the knockout rounds."

He added: "It was funny because we knew we were having a baby but we hadn't told anyone at the time Scotland qualified.

"I was having to pretend to my friends I'd be going, and my friends were all wondering why I was being so non-committal about getting flights and tickets."

Ray's son Alex is already following his father as a fan of Thistle and the national team - and in knowing how to sign.

That is something that gives the comic joy.

"Watching my son interact with my mum and dad, watching him sign to them, is great," he said.

"They're all thick as thieves communicating, and that's an amazing feeling."