Nish Kumar looks back: ‘My parents had to bribe me with Crunchies and Batman pens to stay in school’

The comedian on learning from his fearful family, the ferocious fallout to The Mash Report, and how he was a dweeb happy in his own world

Born in 1985 in Tooting, London, Nish Kumar is a comic and presenter. He started standup while at Durham University and has twice been nominated for best show at the Edinburgh comedy awards. He fronted topical comedy news series The Mash Report and co-hosts political podcast Pod Save the UK with the journalist Coco Khan. He takes his show to the Edinburgh festival fringe this month.

This picture was taken at our house in Croydon, and I’m sitting opposite a ThunderCats book. At five, the central pillars of my life were ThunderCats and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was obsessive about the things I loved and I didn’t have a good distinction between reality and fantasy. During one intense period of SuperTed fandom, I even called my mum Spotty.