A year ago Bill Bailey was left questioning life and his entire career and wondering what on earth to do next.
The TV favourite, comedian, actor and musician - so used to being always on the go - found himself with too much thinking time when life came to an abrupt halt due to lockdown.
And mulling over his limited options made him worried and anxious.
Read more: 10 comedy shows around Newcastle to cheer away the winter blues
"I did think that perhaps I was going to have to re-think my whole life and think about what I had to do," he says now, adding: "90% of what I do is live - that's my main gig, my source of income, my main job - and it had just stopped for the foreseeable future."
He was shaken, stunned even, by what was happening and, like the whole arts world, was filled with existential dread.
"I was a bit stumped as to what to do," he says. "I spent a lot of time reflecting really on what my life was up to that point."
Bailey had been in Germany, in the midst of his Larks In Transit tour, when the world stopped and "we had to bail out," he recalls.
He was finishing a gig at midnight in Hamburg when news came through of Europe going into lockdown and he was literally leaving the stage just as restrictions kicked in - earlier than over here - and it was like a case of last one out, turn out the lights.
He remembers how as word got out on that last evening, realisation seemed to dawn upon the audience and they did not want him to leave the stage, shouting him back for more.
"There was a kind of tremendous poignancy about that night; people realised it was the last time for who knew when.
"As I walked off stage we discovered the staff had been let off and the theatre was then closed and padlocked."
He joined a full plane of people returning to the UK while flights were still being allowed. "I went home in a bit of a panic."
Nobody knew then what would happen, of course, nor how long the lockdown would last but Bailey realised that further travel - essential part of his stock-in-trade - was off.
A regular on the festival circuit, he Initially hoped that outdoor events might go ahead but then came cancellations "one after another, like dominoes".
Having had a full diary of live gigs planned in London and throughout the summer, he at first found everything "quite scary - uncertain and precarious."
"It was very difficult. To be honest I didn't do very well in the beginning.
"I'm so used to going out and about doing things - I felt myself drifting along not doing anything."
His fall-back when not touring or writing are TV programmes and the occasional film but these were at a standstill too.
"I always try to vary what I do," says the British Comedy Award winner, whose unique brand of sharp, insightful humour has made him popular worldwide as well as a household name on TV, in shows ranging from comedy panel hit Never Mind The Buzzcocks, which he previously hosted, to series about wildlife - a passion - and serious acting roles in dramas including, most recently, Midsomer Murders.
However one surprise upside of lockdown - which gave him a chance to add another string to his bow - came in the form of Strictly Come Dancing.
He'd been invited before to take part but always had touring commitments.
"I'm normally very busy in the run-up to Christmas but suddenly found myself not doing anything so I thought 'if I'm going to do it, this would be the time as this year can't get any stranger."
So in the 2020 series of the BBC1 primetime show he took on his fellow sequin-clad celebrity rivals and finally whirled off with the Glitterball Trophy, shared with professional dance partner Oti Mabuse.
He later heard that at the beginning of the first week of rehearsals, when he'd worn all the wrong gear and was "sweating buckets", one of the dancers had joked that they didn't think he was going to make it through the day.
But he went on to fling himself into the competition and was soon buoyed by support. Looking back on it all now, he says: "It was an amazing experience.
"It gave me a lot of confidence and self-belief."
Now, Bailey is back on track and, with that diary full again, he will be sharing things he's learned from life, and also history, during his new UK-wide tour, En Route to Normal, which sees him make a return to what he does best and brings him to Newcastle in December.
He'd come up with a new tour title before anyone had even heard of Covid and while his material has, of course, changed in response to the the pandemic, he agrees it was strangely prescient.
Fans will find him in great form, thoughtful and funny, when he gets back on the road for what will be the first time in years: starting in Plymouth on December 12 and wrapping up in Belfast on January 15, with Newcastle's Utilita Arena date slotting into the diary on December 20 .
He admits to having a few nerves at the thought of getting back out there in front of people but more over how he might react.
He could be overcome with emotion he laughs.
"I'm apprehensive about how emotional I will be, standing there, with a lot of people, back on tour - that's going to be an unknown.
"This is the longest time I've not been touring shows in 30 years so it's quite something.
"Perhaps I'll break down, I don't know. I'm sure something will happen!"
After all that lockdown time for thought, he's fascinated by the communal global experience we've all had, the moment in history we've lived through, and will be tackling some big questions on stage, drawing parallels from history as he negotiates a way through this strange new world in its constant state of flux; looking at human resilience at times of strife; the experience of isolation and the solace to be found in the natural world.
He mentions the little pleasures he had in, for instance, having time to enjoy a morning coffee in the garden with his wife, taking a walk and appreciating the outdoors - and trees which have been proven to have "significant" health benefits, he says; in sharp contrast to social media which can have a "corrosive effect on your psyche and wellbeing".
The climate conference Cop 26 has been timely in its focus upon environmental issues and what we are doing to the planet is he thinks "right up there in most people's concerns about the world".
Writer of books Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to British Birds, which he also illustrated, and Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to Happiness, he already has found a calm away from the 'frenetic whirl of modern life' but what he calls "the soundtrack of lockdown" - the birdsong and natural world which came more to the fore - got him thinking about how music in nature has inspired composers throughout history.
And then there are his thoughts about our reliance upon technology and these triggered an idea to create dance remixes of video-calling ringtones.
It all feeds into this new show in a mash-up of music, songs and memories which, in the run-up to Christmas, sounds about as big a festive treat as fans can get.
For available tickets to see Bill Bailey's En Route To Normal tour when it stops off in Newcastle on December 20 see here and for the full schedule of tour dates see www.BillBailey.co.uk.
For the latest What's On news, announcements and reviews direct to your inbox, go here to sign up to our free newsletter
