TV Not Quite Wangtastic For Phil

Cambridge student Phil Wang took his own brand of deadpan comedy to the masses when he appeared on the prestigious Rob Brydon Show last Friday, alongside guests Dame Edna Everage and Will Young. But, his experience wasn’t quite what he expected.

Phil’s agent arranged his appearance on the comedy slot of the show, which regularly gets over 1.5 million viewers, before Phil took his exams. But, although the up-and-coming comedian got the star treatment on the show, his experience was more lacklustre than luxury.

“I got my own dressing room,” Phil told The Tab, “but it wasn’t as glamorous as you might expect. I spent the whole day before I was due to appear frantically buying clothes. Then the wardrobe lady took one look at me and asked: ‘So when are you going to change?’”

He’s like Gok Wan, but funnier

Although the Footlights President is already a celebrity on the streets of Cambridge, alongside chat show heavyweights Dame Edna Everage and Will Young, this got him nowhere. Most upsettingly of all, “I didn’t get to meet Dame Edna,” Phil confessed. “But she’s notoriously a bit of a recluse! Will Young was very nice; but that’s just Will Young.”

And it seems that not only does the camera add ten pounds, but also makes you unrecognisable: “It was very weird. I felt like an impostor,” said the fourth year engineer. “It didn’t look like me. My face is normally really greasy and shiny, but the anti-shine make-up and the lovely make-up lady sorted me out. I’m also not used to studios, so it was really eerie.”

“I was quite nervous,” Phil admitted, “but I’d recommend it to anyone.”

Watch Phil’s performance on iPlayer here, and read his interview with The Tab here.