Mock the Week has been around for what seems like a gazillion years (it's been 13, actually), and one of its stars has opened up about why it's lasted so long.

Ed Gamble has been a staple of the line-up for the past three years, and in an exclusive chat with Digital Spy, he discussed how it has changed from the days of Frankie Boyle and Russell Howard.

The comedian joined at what he calls the start of "a new era", and says that since then "there's a lot more encouragement to mess around and chat amongst the comics" than there used to be.

"It used to be a bit like a machine gun of topical jokes, which is great and I love watching them back. But now there's a looser, funner element to it, which suits me I think. And because we're all sort of mates with each other, it's for the best really."

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He continued: "Apparently it used to be quite stressful work, because everyone's just tunnel vision, getting their gags in there, whereas now you look forward to having fun and messing around.

"Dara [Ó Briain] and Hugh [Dennis] are so up for that, they've obviously been doing it for a long time, so any opportunity to deviate from what they do they really relish. It's a really fun show."

Speaking about why it has the longevity factor, Ed mused: "I think it's such a strong format. But it's a format that can be shaped by the people who run it on any given week. So, there's such different episodes week to week, but the actual tentpoles of the format work really well.

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"So Scenes We'd Like To See is a lot of people's favourite bit, but even the shape of that can change depending on who you've got. If you watch old episodes with people like Frankie Boyle and Russell Howard, you recognise it because of the different format points, but it's almost a completely different show to what it is now.

"They're very good at getting new people on, and especially at the moment. They really get out there and they watch stand-up and they pick new people to get on the show. And it's changed the rhythm of the show recently."

However, despite claims from some, Ed assured us that the show is not scripted, explaining: "When people say that, do they think we sit down all together, and Dara says his line and I say my line? No, it's not scripted.

"We know, we go in there armed with some jokes that we want to make about topical stuff, because that would be mad not to do that, not read the news and not prepare that. But scripted, we know what each other is going to say – which is absolutely not the case."

Ed is currently performing his latest stand-up show, Blizzard, at the Edinburgh Fringe, which touches on topics such as being stuck in the titular snowstorm in New York and being conned by a guide dog.

Catch Ed Gamble's brand new show Blizzard at this year's Edinburgh Fringe until August 26 before he sets off on a 44-date nationwide tour from January 2019. For tickets and more info, please visit www.edgamble.co.uk.

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