Why Sam's still suffering the baby blues: Sam Avery talks ahead of Shrewsbury show

"I've now finally learned how to fold the double buggy up," he says. "Just as my boys have started walking."

Avery brings his stand-up show, The Learner Parent, to Shrewsbury's Theatre Severn on July 9.

The show, which follows on from his best-selling book with the same title, reflects on how his life has changed since he became the father of twin boys four years ago.

"The second you master something, it changes the game so you're rubbish at it again," he says.

"I talk about the biggest, and most explosive, and most public tantrum one of my sons ever had.

"Until I became a father, I didn't have a clue, I didn't know what a tantrum was. A few years ago I was with a friend who had children before me, and his little lad who was about three was playing up a bit.

"I said 'does he have many tantrums?', and he looked at me in disbelief. It wasn't until I had kids of my own that I learned what a tantrum was."

The 40-year-old says parenting today is very different compared to when he was a child.

"My dad used to smoke right next to my face, so I make sure I don't do that.

"When I was young there was a little bit more freedom, but I wouldn't necessarily say that was a good thing.

"People talk about the days when kids used to play out all day, but they forget how dangerous it used to be.

"I once spent three days playing down a manhole because I thought it was a den. It was really dangerous back then."

One disadvantage of parenting today is the pressure social media puts on people to be the perfect parents, and his act reflects the fact that most people can't live up to those expectations.

"The reaction I get from people who see the show makes me realise I am not the only one, other people are making mistakes too.

"It's pretty relate-able to a lot of the audience."

He says the new parenting challenge he is facing at the moment is that his twins are now at the age when they start questioning his actions.

"You have to be very careful what you tell them now," says Sam. "If you tell them stuff that's completely made up to get through the day, they will remember it.

"My kids now seem to remember stuff, I will tell them something that they will say 'that's not what you said at 10.30am last Wednesday'," says Sam.

Sam got a taste for the limelight as a teenager when he formed a band with some friends at the age of 15, but life took a different direction with a series of dull office jobs.

"I worked in a bank, and then at a stockbrokers' at one stage, it was awful, it wasn't what I wanted to do at all, but I think it's useful to do at least one job you really hate because it makes you appreciate what you've got," he says.

"I've been doing stand-up for 17 years now, and I absolutely love it."

*Sam Avery will be bringing his show Learner Parent to the Walker Theatre at Shrewsbury's Theatre Severn on July 9 starting 8pm. Tickets are £19.