Susie McCabe was in an ambulance when her agent received a selfie captioned: ‘suspected heart attack. Next year’s show shaping up well!’ As it transpired, the Glaswegian was still able to perform the Edinburgh Fringe run of her show, The Merchant Of Menace, less than a week later, after an operation. ‘It was the best Fringe I’ve ever had,’ she enthuses. Sales stayed strong and the 44-year-old focused on getting better.

Yet as she continues to tour this show (about her honeymoon and a chance encounter with Theresa May), McCabe is already developing her next one, Best Behaviour. Set to debut at Glasgow International Comedy Festival in March, it nods to some lifestyle changes but isn’t defined by them. ‘It’s important to share this stuff,’ she argues. ‘Three minutes in that ambulance, I knew I wasn’t going to die. Tablet in my mouth. Spray up my nose. I felt like I was back in a gay club in the 90s. It’s the most serious thing to ever happen to me; and the most ridiculous. Everyone asks if I’ve had a stent: there are so many heart-attack authorities in Glasgow.’

The last 12 months have been a ‘bonfire’ for people close to McCabe. Even her Billy Connolly Award, presented for epitomising Glasgow’s gallus spirit and humour, is now bittersweet. ‘I’ll be bathing in that glory for the rest of my life,’ she reflects. ‘It was special having that special man know my name and know my jokes. And so much more poignant receiving the trophy from Janey [Godley], the inaugural winner. I don’t think she ever truly appreciated the impact she had, how instrumental she was in so many people’s careers.’

Alongside Bad Behaviour, McCabe is bringing a first live recording of Here Comes The Guillotine to GICF. The cult podcast, which she hosts with Frankie Boyle and Christopher MacArthur-Boyd, wasn’t the easiest listen as she was convalescing. ‘I was getting all these messages going “Susie, get back in that studio! They’re running amok!” They truly went rogue without me there. I feel like a mum who’s been away. It’s lovely though, we attract such a broad spectrum of listeners.’ 

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