Tom Houghton: comedian known for The Circle and living in the Tower of London returns to Chorley

38-year-old Tom Houghton is part way through his ‘Absolute Shambles’ tour, and contrary to the name, it has proven so popular, he has extended it, and is set to return to Chorley this month.

Who is Tom Houghton?

Originally from North Yorkshire, as his social media handle ‘The Honourable Tom Houghton’ may suggest, Tom had a privileged background. A self-confessed ‘pad brat’ (military child), his father is the ex-Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Houghton.

Tom grew up on various barracks across the UK and Germany, moving around 12 times before he was 18, but from the age of six he attended a boarding school in the Lake District called Sedbergh School.

Tom said: “As I was growing up, they realised, when I was performing ‘Cats the Musical’ on the stairs in a leotard, that I wasn't going to be for the military, and so I wanted to be an actor for a while. Then I realised all the roles I was going for were the comedy roles, I don't like acting, I like making people laugh.”

Tom went on to do a stand-up comedy degree at the University of Kent, before joining an improvisation group for 10 years.

He has now been a solo stand-up comedian for the past six years, finding fame originally through the interesting fact that he lived in the Tower of London…

How did Tom live in the Tower of London?

General Houghton was appointed Constable of the Tower of London in 2016, and Tom lived there with him until 2021.

Tom explained: “I left Brighton to try to move up to London and become a solo stand-up at the same time that my dad moved into the Tower of London and so I was met with the choice of either renting a cupboard in Zone Five for ridiculous amounts of money or I could live with my dad in a historical palace. I thought that sounds like quite a cool USP to have, so I was there for six years with many happy memories.”

How did Tom’s solo career take off?

For the first four years in London, Tom said he gigged anywhere and everywhere to gain experience. During this time, he appeared on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle, and Channel 4’s First Dates when a friend signed him up secretly.

However, it was when Tom turned to social media during lockdown that he gained wider recognition. “My girlfriend at the time was like, you live in the Tower of London, you should do videos on this, it’s really interesting, so I did and then they started gaining popularity”, he said.

From his videos, Tom, who now has 326.3 TikTok followers, was scouted for the Netflix reality show, The Circle, which he says “resulted in some amazing things, like I'm now doing a tour of Europe and America, which is unbelievable. I feel very, very fortunate.”

What is Tom’s current tour?

His second tour ‘Absolute Shambles’ is his biggest yet, with 44 dates originally, he has now added another 20 due to the show’s popularity.

Describing Absolute Shambles, Tom said: “It tackles the year and a half in the run up to being on The Circle, and then the epiphany I had while being on The Circle. Me during lockdown going down an internet rabbit hole of validation, and then coming to the realisation, at a time when my sister was just giving birth to my nephew, that it's the friends and family you have in reality that really matter, and I'd lost track of that while trying to pursue myself online.

“The end result is hopefully very heartwarming, silly and more importantly, just funny. I like to put a message across, but hopefully not while sacrificing having a laugh.”

The show covers family dynamics, and the things he got up to during lockdown – such as selling foot pictures online – but there are also “poignant” sections, where Tom discusses mental health in what he promises is a non-preaching way.

Tom said: “Especially in Britain, we use humour as a tool to communicate, so it softens the blow, and it gives us elements of hope as well, because I think being able to laugh in the face of adversity is a really important thing.

“I went through time periods where I was genuinely very sad, and because I'm from a very privileged background, I think sometimes it's looked on that, you've got this lovely family, you live in a palace, you can't possibly be sad, so it’s putting out the message that mental health doesn't work that way, it can come for anyone, at any time, and the message that it’s not embarrassing or weak to feel however you're feeling.

“I get a lot of men, but also partners of men, message me saying, ‘you just opened up a conversation between me and my other half about various issues that he was struggling to talk about’ and that really means a lot. It's lovely to know that people are not just having the laughs and the escapism in your show, but they're also finding value in it when it comes to more serious issues as well.”

When is Tom returning to Chorley?

Following a sold out show on February 14, Tom will be performing again at the Chorley Theatre on Wednesday, June 14. Tickets are available online.

Speaking about coming to Chorley, Tom said: “I went to school in the Lake District, so not a million miles away from Lancashire. My first ever girlfriend, I met her at Preston Bowling alley, so I've got warm connections with Lancashire, and I’ve done gigs in Preston and Chorley several times. Chorley’s such a lovely theatre, with a lovely atmosphere, lovely vibe of people.

“You can tell that they're all very supportive of the theatre, and it makes for a fun time in the audience as well because everyone knows each other, and they're all there with their own characters, it’s a very characterful audience if I remember from last time.

Why should you go see a show?

Tom joked: “Well, realistically, what else is going on in Chorley that evening?” He added: “Hey look, it's happening in your town, come along, I promise you a good laugh.”