The organiser of a small comedy club in Swindon that is going from strength to strength has big plans for the town. 

Sam Michael, who runs The Old Town Comedy Club, has enjoyed sold-out nights of his new material nights in the upstairs of The Hop Inn pub. 

He has also launched two professional shows taking place at the community centre next to Christ Church.

But Sam is not content to rest on his laurels and says he wants Swindon to become a destination for comedians trying out their Edinburgh Fringe shows ahead of the big Scottish event. 

He said: "Since relaunching in Feb 2023, the comedy club has been a huge success thanks to the brilliant support of our punters.

"The regular new material night at The Hop was packed month, after month and it is great to be able to bring award-winning professional TV comedians to Swindon for just a fiver!

"This summer we ran a series of special Edinburgh Fringe Preview Shows, in very much the same fashion as the Bath or Leicester Comedy Festivals… They have been very well attended and comedians have been quick to express how great Swindon audiences are for warming up their shows for the Edinburgh Fringe in August.

He added: "Does this mean Swindon is ready for an independent comedy festival? Maybe…"

Since launching, The Old Town Comedy Club has attracted some big television and comedy names such as Fiona Allen, Tom Little, Stu Goldsmith and Abi Clarke to name a few.

In one of the more recent shows, star of television programmes Friday Night Dinner and Pleb's Tom Rosenthal was the headline act with Swindon's very own Bella Humphries as one of the support acts. 

When previously interviewed about why he wanted to start the Old Town Comedy Club, Sam said: "I've been doing stand-up and travelling all over the country for just over five years now but I've lived in Swindon pretty much all that time and there's never really been a 'comedy scene' here.

"I'm a Swindon lad, this has been my home for a good few years now and ultimately, I want Swindon Old Town Comedy club to help create a scene here that will one day stand toe-to-toe with the likes of Oxford, Reading and even Bristol."