HE has been invited onto pretty much every major stand-up TV show in the country from Dave’s One Night Stand to Live at the Apollo.

And he performed to his biggest crowd when he joined the star-studded lineup of Channel 4’s Comedy Gala at London’s 02 Arena in 2013. But these days, when it comes to appearing in front of the camera, Tom Stade prefers working alongside his 22-year-old son Mason.

Filmmaker Mason often joins his comedian dad on the road and has created movies based on two of his shows, I Swear, and Decisions, Decisions.

Tom said: “He will come with me now and we will do our own productions and make our own shows. Will they get seen by millions of people? Probably not

“But who cares though? For the people that matter to me those shows will be seen – even though they’re not on the ‘universal library’ of Netflix.”

Despite doing things on his own terms these days, Tom appreciates the impact that TV has had on his career. He made his breakthrough almost a decade ago on Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow which he described as a ‘tsunami wave’.

The 48-year-old, who grew up in Canada but now lives in Edinburgh, added: “I was very lucky. I went viral on TV so now I have my beautiful fans, who I love, who come to every show.

“My shows never really get bigger but they never get smaller either.

“I can do what I do now because of things like shows on Dave. At any given time in any given week I’m on TV somewhere.

“But there’s a whole new landscape out there now. I’ll be on another TV show someday but I’m not just as gung-ho as I used to be when I was a ‘warrior’.

“I feel more like an elder statesman now. I know it sounds stupid but I produce my own films now for my fans and all that sort of stuff.

“The I Swear feature I really loved because my son made it look like it was a ‘film’ – not just a regular way of shooting it.”

The films have helped Tom bond with Mason too.

He said: “It’s awesome. Some people work on a car with their son but in the same way we work on these films together.

“I appear in all his films then I get some of my friends to be in them and we just have some fun.

“Eventually one will be good enough to put in a film festival and we’ll start there.”

Not one to shy away from dark topics and controversial material, Tom also feels right at home in the UK for his act.

Tom, who has lived here since 2001, added: “I think the UK is becoming the last stronghold of comedy because people aren’t getting sued for saying things here.

“People aren’t getting shot for saying things here. Canadians have this phoney politeness that is building and building in them as they want to be known as the nicest people.

“They’re going for that award. And in America they’ve exhausted anything they can say about anything. So the UK is this cool place that still has this edge to it.”

A case in point has been the reaction to American-Mexican comedian Louis CK’s recent routine in which he appeared to mock survivors of the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Throughout the western world, the debate rages on about censorship versus freedom of speech in cutting comedy and Tom – who co-wrote Frankie Boyle’s controversial series Tramadol Nights – has plenty to say about it.

The dad-of-two said: “I love all these guys with their rules. Comedy is about being funny.

“In the real world don’t punch down (make a joke at the expense of the less powerful). That would make you a horrible person but in comedy it’s funny.

“Everything has a side to it. Even a plane crash has a funny side to it. And it’s got a sad side and it’s got an angry side.

“It’s got all the different sides but you’re not coming to stand-up angry or stand-up sad – you’re coming to stand-up comedy.

“So that’s the way we’ll be looking at all these horrible things. People don’t know the difference between teasing and persecution anymore.

“I mean try and talk about other cultures that you’re not from. Try to laugh at them now – it’s a lot harder – you better be really freaking good at it.

“People say: ‘How dare you. If you were that person how would you feel if somebody was saying that about you?’

“I would have walked away – or if it was funny I would have stayed. There you go, there’s your answer.”

But if you are after a particular theme or narrative from Tom’s show think again because the comic’s whole routine often changes each night.

He added: “Everyone knows I’m spontaneous. I’m explosive actually. But it all depends on the mood and the night.

“I’ve got enough material to talk for an hour but it’s when you get in and have a laugh with the audience – that’s when things change...”

Tom Stade is at the Pyramid on February 8. For tickets visit pyramidparrhall.com or call 442345.